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* * *
We took the same path Larisa and I had taken together to Grayson. Through the valleys between the mountains, in the dark path below the mountain, and to the forest on the other side. But we weren’t even halfway there when we stopped for rest.
We set up camp in the forest once the sun became too high in the sky. Now that we didn’t have the cloud cover to protect us, we had to move in the dark, which was feasible since Larisa could see without light.
We secured our horses to the trees and made camp, my two brothers, Fang, and Larisa.
She knew the drill after traveling with me, and she prepared the fire before setting up her own bedroll—which meant she intended to sleep alone. She might have joined me on this journey, but her distance was still enormous.
My brothers grabbed their canteens and drank in front of the fire, choosing to spend their free time drinking.
Larisa stayed away, lying in her bedroll by herself.
Fang moved to the spot beside me in front of the fire, his head resting on top of his coiled body.
Cobra drank from his canteen then glanced at Larisa in the distance.
“She’ll come around,” Viper said. “She wouldn’t be here right now, otherwise.”
How is she?
Fang’s eyes were closed, like he’d sleep right there until the afternoon passed.She ssspoke to me in confidence.
That’s not a good sign.
It’s hard to reject your lifelong beliefs. She truly believes her soul is lossst—and she’s mourning that death. She’s grieving, saying goodbye to a life she asssssumed she would have, surrounded by hatchlings. You take it persssonally, when it has nothing to do with you.
I’ve given her so much more.
She’ll see that eventually—when she’s ready.
* * *
We packed up and left at sunset. The sun was low in the sky at our backs, blocked by the mountains. The monsters in the forest didn’t interfere with our passage, and we eventually made it to the land of the kingdoms.
We passed Raventower, the torches illuminating the darkness, but we continued on our way.
Larisa and I hadn’t spoken throughout the entire trip. I wondered what she thought as we passed her old home, if she wished she had married that spineless king and had his brats. The thought made me want to break down their gate and cut his head from his shoulders.
We moved farther west, close to the border where the werewolves resided in the forest. It was unsafe to stop there and drop our guard, so we continued until we reached the barren lands, an arid, dry place that was similar to a desert. The land had been cursed long ago, so nothing grew, except for weeds.
We stopped at the trees just before we crossed, taking cover under the thick canopy instead of exposing ourselves to the blazing sun. We made no fire, not when it was so warm this far out west.
Larisa was on her own again, in her bedroll away from the rest of us.
Cobra leaned against one of the trees, his ankles crossed in front of him. “You want me to talk to her?”
“And say what?” I snapped.
“You know me.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Handsome. Charismatic—”
“I don’t think hitting on my woman is going to help right now.”
Cobra took another drink, still grinning.
“Why don’t you hit on Queen Clara?” I said.
The comment wiped the grin clean off his face. “I think I’d have better luck with Larisa.”
