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One of his comrades snorted and muttered, "Country boys are such greenhorns." One might mistake it for good natured teasing were it not for his tone.
"I think he's charming," I said loudly and in the direction of the other man. It had the right effect and the man who had tried to insult Dehlion walked a bit faster, putting space between our little group and his. "Don't pay any attention to people like that. They just don't like that you're not the same as them. I encountered plenty like that during my time in the military and again as a royal guard."
"Thank you, Senara. I am glad you find me charming."
I glanced at him and suddenly regretted standing up for him so strongly. The way he was staring at me made it seem like he thought I hung the moon instead of the goddess. I just hoped if he became an admirer of mine he wouldn't be as vindictive as Tower had been, though I'd prefer it if he didn't become my admirer at all. There were too many other new things in these lands that I was still trying to wrap my head around that I didn't want to add romance to the list, even though I already had with Thorn.
That wasn't supposed to count though.
It may not have counted for him, but I was starting to think that it definitely counted for me. It didn't matter that he said we would be forbidden from seeing each other once we got to Caslean. He was the only one who made my heart race. He was the one I didn't want to give up. But I had enough self respect not to go chasing after him. If he didn't want to fight for us then there was no reason for me to either. Once we were separated I would nurse my broken heart and eventually I'd move on, right?
Chapter
Thirteen
Senara
We marched for most of the day. The soldiers that were with us were more curious about the human lands than I had expected, asking us all different kinds of questions, barely giving us a moment's peace or the chance to ask any of our own questions.
When we started to make camp, there was nothing for Wynn and I to do except stand around and watch. Both of us weren't used to not having anything to do, but it seemed like ever since our marks had been found, we had been forced to be useless, whether it was because we were prisoners before or, like now, were being watched over for our safety.
It was frustrating, though, two women who were used to working their hands to the bone in their respective fields were now stuck as nothing more than ornaments. I was sure that would change once we got to the capital, but until then, we just had to follow orders. Something that I was at least good at, but Wyn? Not so much.
She kept wanting to talk to the different guards about magic and what they had seen in the fae lands. They all shooed heraway, too busy to answer her questions or, more likely, not willing to risk their necks by saying the wrong thing.
My new friend wasn't shy about doing his job and making sure I had everything I needed. In fact, he was getting kind of annoying about it, but I gave him a smile every time he asked if I was okay and responded politely, not letting my frustration get the better of me, or at least trying not to. It was challenging though.
I had to admit I wasn't used to people being so kind. The whole time I'd been growing up I always felt like others could sense that I had a mark and therefore ignored me, or treated me as less than, because they didn't want to get my contamination on themselves.
Suddenly a hum of magic filled the air that had me sitting up straighter next to the fire. Wyn was practically glowing with curiosity.
"What is that?" I asked, hoping she'd be able to ease my concerns a little, even though none of the soldiers looked worried in the slightest.
She looked around, suddenly pinpointing on a single individual. "Whatever it is, it's coming from him," she said with complete certainty.
"Can you tell what he's doing?" I asked.
She frowned and shook her head. "Not really."
"He's putting up a magical barrier," one of the guards said, answering the question he must have overheard us ask.
"Why?" Wyn asked, confusion knitting her brow.
"To keep the ferals out."
"The ferals?"
Thorn and Ronan had mentioned them before, but they had still yet to explain what they were to us.
"Ferals are fae that have given into the corruption." The guard was clearly unsure about saying anything to us, judging from the way he was looking around.
"I'm not sure I understand," I said, trying not to sound like a complete idiot, but still wanting more clarification.
Eventually the guard came over and squatted in front of us. "There is a disease in our land that we call corruption, not the political or monetary kind, mind you, a biological kind. It can start small and some can survive it as it is and some just die from it without getting any worse, while others become consumed by it. There's nothing they can do to stop it or fight against it. It just takes hold of who they are and changes them. They become, well, feral. There's nothing left about the fae that they once were. They're mindless, devouring everything in sight as they search for something, not that anyone's figured out what that is yet. To the outside eye it seems like a constant gnawing hunger that they pursue.
"We used to believe that they were most active at night, which is why the barriers were created to give our hunters safety while they were out in the forests and fields doing their work. It turns out that it's not true for all corrupted fae. Some are active during the day. Some are barely active at all, like the corruption has just sucked out their life force completely. It's hard to tell what you're going to get, which is why we still use the barrier as a backup of sorts. If corrupted or feral fae do show up, then we're protected."
"I see," I replied, not quite sure how to respond. I mean, he had essentially just told me that some fae were mindless predators. What was I supposed to say to something like that?
