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Thea glanced at him, as though sensing his thoughts. ‘You’ve never told me where you were from… before Thezmarr.’
Wilder hesitated. It had been a long time since he’d spoken of his homeland. ‘A little seaside town between Tver and Aveum. A long way from here. It’s called Kilgrave.’ He could almost taste the briny air on his lips at the mention of its name.
‘What’s it like?’
‘Cold.’
She raised a single brow and waited.
Wilder had to bite back a laugh. He liked that she pushed him, that she didn’t take his moody shit. ‘What? Itiscold. The ice winds from Aveum come down through the mountains in the winter. Even the summers are cold, being so close to the frozen lake. But the views… The views are like nothing else.’
‘When’s the last time you were back there?’
‘A long time ago now,’ he replied, getting up to busy himself with readying the horses once more. He wasn’t used to talking about himself – wasn’t used to anyoneasking.
Thea seemed to recognise that it was a lot for him and changed tact. ‘Are you going to tell me whose hawk that was back at Thezmarr?’
Wilder’s gaze shot to hers. ‘It was from a source in Naarva. A friend, I suppose.’
‘Didn’t realise you had those – besides me, obviously.’
‘Very funny.’
Thea shrugged, waiting for further explanation.
Wilder heaved a sigh.
‘Tell me the whole truth or none at all,’ she said.
‘And if I said none at all?’
‘Then I’d call you a bastard and be done with it.’
Wilder had to hold back his smile. ‘Fair enough.’
‘So?’
‘So… The hawk’s name is Terrence.’
Thea blinked. ‘Terrence? What sort of a name —’
‘Don’t even ask.’ He adjusted his grip on the reins and checked the positioning of the sun. ‘He’s become an unofficial envoy of sorts between some of my sources. He often brings me word from a ranger in Naarva called Dratos. Reports from the Veil south of there, how many monsters are getting through…’
‘How?’
‘How?’ Wilder raised a brow. ‘I told you I was there when it fell six years ago. And there again for the final conflict. There are a few survivors scattered around the kingdom.’
‘But I thought it was covered in shadow… You’re saying people still live there?’
‘Very few. And to the knowledge of even fewer.’ He added that last bit with a note of warning.
‘People you care about,’ Thea guessed.
‘Just people.’
His apprentice gave him a look as if to say she knew better than that. Then she looked to the north, where, beyond their line of sight, Delmira waited. ‘I thought Naarva was lost.’
‘It was.’
