AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Edored wrestled even harder. Creon’s arms didn’t yield an inch.
‘A heartbreaking accident,’ Lyn agreed hastily. ‘We thought he might enjoy coming on this trip because, well …’
‘It might be good for him to see a little more of the world than his nursery,’ I finished, pulling a face at the forest surrounding us. ‘Poor boy doesn’t have that much to look forward to in his life, you see.’
‘Yes, thank you, Em.’ Lyn’s look at me was half hysterical laughter, half wide-eyed panic. ‘But if we made the wrong decision, we’re more than happy to send him back home, of course. Just let us know if you’d prefer for us to get rid of him.’
For a moment, nothing moved but Edored’s flailing limbs and Naxi’s shaking shoulders as she desperately stifled her giggling.
Then, so swiftly I almost missed it, the earth opened up below the enormous acorn and swallowed it whole. Fresh moss grew back over the hole in half a heartbeat, as if the forest was telling us,Fine, let’s forget about it.
For now.
Edored finally stopped squeaking objections into Creon’s hand, blinking owlishly at the spot that had nearly marked his last living breath.
‘Remarkably kind,’ Tared said, his usual nonchalance no longer so convincing with the furious tension tightening his voice. His look at Edored was only marginally more pleasant than Creon’s. ‘One more word, Bragedson, and I’ll personally gag you for the rest of this journey. Are we clear?’
I’d never heard him address his cousin by his father’s name, and by the unusual meekness of Edored’s nod, it was a rare occurrence indeed.
‘Good.’ Tared hesitated as he turned back to Creon, something in his steel grey eyes that was both gratitude and the absolute opposite of it.Life debts, Agenor had said. Knowing alves and their honour, saving Edored’s life might have been an insult as much as a favour.
Creon merely raised an eyebrow.
‘Thanks,’ Tared said, forcing the word out like a vile accusation. ‘I’ll deal with him, if you don’t mind.’
With the smallest shrug, Creon removed his hand and shoved Edored back onto his own feet, applying so much force that the alf nearly tumbled over. Beyla had to grab his elbow to keep him standing, hissing something when he made the mistake of opening his mouth again.
Whatever the message was, it seemed to land this time. Edored swallowed his words with nothing but a deeply affronted look at Lyn and me.
‘If that’s settled,’ Naxi said, no longer bothering to hide her amusement, ‘I think it’s time to walk on?’
Deeper into this world where even the leaves might be lethal weapons, where every misstep could be a death sentence … I looked at Creon for reassurance but found he’d turned away from me already, his hands back in his pockets as he studied the path ahead. The back of his head and wings gave no clue what he might be thinking, or how high he estimated our chances of survival.
What in hell did he think he was doing?
But I had no chance of talking with him now, and Zera was waiting for us somewhere in this pretty hell of a place. So I cleared my throat and said, ‘Yes. I really can’t wait to see more of the woods.’
I was telling more lies than truths today.
Chapter 10
Creon did not walk beside me this time. Instead, Naxi floated at my right for most of the day, chattering endlessly about the lovely autumn crocuses and the stunning white-grey trees and the breathtaking sunlight dripping over every leaf and branch.
If she was trying to distract me from Creon’s more and more blatant distance, she was failing hopelessly. If she was rather the one keeping him away from me, she could piss right off as far as I was concerned.
I didn’t say it out loud. Every single one of the others would notice and draw conclusions if I were to shove her aside.
We followed the narrow path deeper and deeper into the forest, winding between hills and trees and small marshes until I could no longer tell north from south. Even the sun was of no use: through the dense foliage above our heads, it was impossible to tell what direction the light came from. The longer we walked, the more I began to feel like we were moving away from reality itself, into some uncanny fever dream – an eerie little paradise that could turn against us as easily as it had agreed to let us in.
Despite myself, I had to admit I was happy to have the alves around. Without them, we’d have no way back the moment the forest decided to erase the path behind us.
Apart from Naxi’s ceaseless excitement, the only sound came from Lyn, who was making use of these mindless hours to further quiz Creon on any sign she could think of. Most of her questions came too quietly for me to hear them over Naxi’s rattling, but every now and then an aggravated huff – ‘What do you mean, you don’t have a sign forhexameter?’ – was just loud enough.
Under any other circumstances, I might have smiled at her determination to master this new language as soon as inhumanly possible. In this place, Creon’s silence more ominous than usual, alves glowering at him wherever I looked, even their innocent conversation sounded like a slow introduction to disaster.
But the hours passed without any fatalities. By the time dusk fell, we hadn't seen anything but rows and rows of trees – no signs of life, no signs of wandering deities. For all I could see from the endless path, we might have been walking in circles all day. But Beyla looked content when she finally came to a standstill in a small clearing, and Creon showed no trace of concern when I looked back to meet his gaze for the first time in hours.
He always knew north. If we’d been tricked by the forest, wouldn’t he have warned us hours ago?
