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“Oh, do you? You mean you don’t want to just follow your own plans without thinking them through first?” he said sarcastically. I shot him a nasty look.

“Very funny.” I rolled my eyes. “But listen. We are almost out of food and supplies.”

“Adding three days to the journey and two more mouths to feed will do that,” he snarked.

“I do not regret helping them,” I snapped back. Elias looked to me, eyeing me intently. His shoulders then relaxed.

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said.

I cleared my throat, not expecting him to forfeit so quickly. “What I was saying is, maybe we can stop at Chatus for supplies.” Elias shot me a look of disapproval. “Briefly,” I added.

“That is a terrible idea,” he argued.

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “But maybe not. We can stock up on at least aweek’s worth of supplies and food. We could even buy a bow from a weaponsmith. It would make hunting much easier.”

Elias thought for a moment. “Are you going to explain to the sisters why you’ll have to sneak in?”

“Well no, but you could go in and grab a few things while I wait—”

“No,” he barked, his voice stern.

I tensed. “Why not?”

Elias cleared his throat. “Going into Chatus is foolish. And leaving you by yourself would be even more so. You’re weak from what happened at the river, and may not be able to effectively defend yourself if someone finds you.”

My eyes narrowed. “I can defend myself just fine,” I seethed.

“It’s not smart to take chances, Princess.”

I bit my lip. I honestly didn’t want to separate from him anyway, but I hadn’t thought about what I would say to the sisters when I would inevitably have to hide my face as much as possible. I turned my gaze to Magda and Nadia, who were splashing each other with the cold stream water, Nadia squealing with amusement and Magda laughing. I admired their love for each other more than I could admit. Maybe it was because I didn’t have any siblings of my own to share that kind of love with.

“I’ll tell them what they need to know. Nothing more,” I said.

Elias let out a sigh. “Fine,” he replied. “We’ll go into Chatus. But we make it quick. In and out within an hour.”

I grinned. “Agreed.” I turned back and walked to the sisters, and explained that we would enter Chatus with them, but could not stay long. I explained that my face would need to remain as hidden as possible. Magda shot me a skeptical look, but it was Nadia who asked why. “The less you know, the safer you are,” I replied truthfully.

Magda and I made eye contact for a moment. Her deep blue eyes peered into my green ones, possibly searching for any sign ofdishonesty. She would find none. “Alright, we’ll help you get in and out,” she said. “But what about him?” she pointed towards Elias who now leaned against a tree as he watched us.

I peered at him. “Do you have any reason not to be seen in Chatus?” I asked him. “Have any warrants for being a hardened criminal?”

Nadia laughed while a small gasp escaped Magda.

“Not that I’m aware of,” he answered with no emotion, then took a sip from his canteen.

I smiled and looked back at Magda. “Let’s get going then,” I said as I continued walking towards the kingdom.

When we arrived, we remained hidden behind the tree line to inspect the gates. As I feared, they were being guarded by no less than five muscly-looking soldiers.

“That’s odd,” Magda said from peering over my shoulder. “There’s usually only two guards.”

I took in a deep breath, praying to the gods that they weren’t placed there in case the Princess of Rimor were to show up. “I need to be disguised,” I said stiffly. Both Magda and Nadia eyed me curiously. “Got any ideas?” I asked.

“Mags is a great artist,” Nadia whispered with excitement. “Right, Mags? You can change her face.”

“Change my face?”

Magda let out a sigh, then turned to pick some soil and a stick off of the ground behind her. “Back home, I like to dabble in art. Drawing, painting, clay, all of it.”