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We took a break for lunch, and it was just some more bread and butter with a little bit of cheese this time as well. It wasn't much, but it was something. Though if I was being honest, subsisting on bread and cheese wasn't going to be something I could do for much longer, not if they wanted me to keep moving.
"If we're still walking by dinner, then I'll hunt," Thorn said, glancing over his shoulder at me. "We need to have some kind of proper food."
I frowned. "It's not like we can have a fire."
"Sure we can. We just need to be careful. As soon as the food is cooked, we'll put it out and move, not too far, but far enough that anything that's interested won't be able to smell us." The swagger Thorn had today was annoying, he may as well be screaming from the rooftops that he'd gotten lucky the night before. The scowling, broody man was practically jovial.
"You think we'll have to sleep outside tonight?" I asked.
Wyn shook ever so slightly next to me at the thought.
"Potentially, but I'm hoping not. The guards should be able to meet us, and they'll be on horseback, so getting back to the Capitol shouldn't be a problem."
"If we're that close, couldn't we just continue walking?" Wyn asked.
"Let's just say that horses here are a little different," Thorn replied with a smug smile.
I wanted to reassure Wyn to tell her that the horses that they had here were much different from the ones back home, except in structure, but if I said that, then it would make Thorn's story that he just tended my wounds less plausible. Ronan might even guess that Thorn had taken me somewhere on a horse. So I kept my mouth shut. If I had an opportunity later, I could tell her that when we were away from overly attentive ears.
Wyn would no doubt wheedle out of me all the details about what had happened between me and Thorn, and I'd probably tell her, because we didn't keep secrets from each other. It didn't hurt to have someone to talk to about whether or not I was going crazy, because it sure felt like it when I was around Thorn. The only question was if I really wanted to be sane or not?
Chapter
Eleven
Senara
It wasn't long before our journey took us well beyond the forest. I tried to observe as much of the landscape as I could while also keeping alert for any dangers. As we crested one side of a valley I looked down to the dip in the middle and saw what I thought were leaves floating along in the wind, only for my expectations to be completely reversed.
The others seemed to have noticed as well and Thorn had picked up the pace, even though no one had said anything. I honestly wasn't sure if it was something we should be heading toward or not, but given no one else appeared worried I let it go.
As we got closer the warm gleam of leather reflecting in the sunlight filled my gaze, and it took a second for me to realize what I was seeing. Once I did, I knew it must have been the soldiers that were coming to escort us to the capital.
They weren't wearing metal armor like soldiers I was used to. It was all brown and green leather, and it had all been designed in such a way that from a distance, they just looked like plants, albeit plants on the move. Even the armor on the horses was enough to disguise them from a distance. It was the steadythudding of the hooves and the way the ground was shaking slightly under my feet that alerted me to their presence.
Between not being familiar with the land, the strange plant life, and the delicate details of the armor, they could have fooled me until they were much closer. It was a thought that I found uncomfortable and another reminder of how much I didn't know about fae lands just yet.
"Here's our escort," Ronan said, sounding altogether too chipper.
Dread pulled in my stomach and a shiver went down my spine at the thought of going anywhere with a group of soldiers this large. It wasn't just that they'd be able to easily overpower me, but that it showed that the fae kingdom had soldiers to spare. They weren't at war like the human kingdom was. If they were, then most of these soldiers would have been busy with other things not being sent off to escort one lone individual. Although maybe that was selfish of me, and they were being sent to escort Ronan and Thorn as well. Either way, there was nothing really comforting about their presence, at least not to me.
"What's that blue shimmer?" Wyn asked.
"Blue shimmer?" I repeated, having no idea what she was talking about.
"Can you point out where it is for me?" Ronan asked as he leaned close, probably a little closer than necessary. Wyn pointed in the direction of the leaves, which I knew were soldiers that were coming towards us. "Oh, I see what you're talking about, though, I don't see the blue shimmer. It looks like we've got some elf guards coming with our soldiers."
"Elf guards?" Wyn's eyes went round.
I couldn't help feeling as though Ronan might be poking fun at us for not being aware of anything about the fae lands. "Elvesare real?" I asked, feeling silly for even voicing the suggestion, but needing someone to confirm it.
"Of course they are. Do you not know anything about the world outside of humans?" Trevor scoffed.
I shrugged. "Not really. We know humans and we know a little bit about fae, but everything else...Well, I always just assumed that was it. I had no idea that there were elves as well. Are they short?"
Ronan snorted, and Trevor grumbled something under his breath behind us.
"They are not short, and they will be offended if you suggest that," Thorn called over his shoulder.
