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“Let’s rest here for the night, and I will tell you what I know,” Yaro said. In the growing darkness, he led us to a small clearing in the bramble and built a fire.

I inched close to the fire, trying to thaw the frost that had set into my fingers. Kah lay down beside me, and I offered him a small smile, grateful for the body heat. Jeddak was keeping his distance on the other side of the fire.Good, I told myself. I didn’t want him near me. Too many painful emotions swirled inside my chest for me to think straight.

I would never let anyone hurt you, Raven.

He clearly hadn’t included himself in that statement.

I was grateful for the distraction when Yaro handed us food from the pack. The queen had given us leftovers from the feast for our journey. Despite the Bramblemen having little tolerance for “trespassers,” I felt indebted to Queen B’kara. Her insight into my tattoo might help me regain my memories one day. Then maybe I’d remember a time of my life that was better than this.

I glanced over to find Jeddak watching me, his eyes fiery and intense. Heat flared between us. My heartbeat kicked up as I remembered the way his fingers grazed my neck and the taste of his tongue against mine.

Stop it.

I quickly turned to Yaro. “Tell me about the forest,” I said, forcing myself to sound unruffled, even though I could feel my cheeks on fire.

“Honestly, we don’t know much about the Forgotten Forest,” Yaro said, the smoke of the fire obscuring his face. “It’s shrouded in fog even on the clearest day. Those who’ve ventured close claim it’s nothing more than a barren forest. Uninhabited, lifeless …”Reminds me of someplace, I thought ruefully, eyeing the bramble around us. “But like our beloved bramblelands, it’s the rumors surrounding the place that ward off even the bravest travelers. Legends say the Forgotten Forest was once the flourishing kingdom of the Magi tribe, ruled by a benevolent queen. The stories say that when the queen’s lover was murdered, she fell into despair, her kingdom falling to ruin, her fellow tribespeople abandoning her. In her sorrow, she cursed the land, decreeing that any who enter her lands will have their hearts destroyed just as hers had been.”

My lips formed a silent O.

Yaro leaned forward to stoke the fire, his dark skin turning a metallic hue. “To this day, the Magis have no claimed land, no kingdom of their own. They are scattered across Eastlandra. But the legends claim the queen still lives in the forest, weeping in eternal grief, her tears forming a lake of never-ending sorrow.”

“And there’s no other way to Askeland from here?” I asked Yaro.

Yaro shrugged, clearly not invested in our destination as long as we weren’t in the bramblelands any longer. “You could travel west to the wildlands and go around the forest, but there’s no road to follow that way and?—”

“That would take too long,” Jeddak interrupted. He was staring at the fire, brooding. He hadn’t spoken since Yaro suggested Askeland might have fallen to the enemy. His face was expressionless, though it wasn’t hard to guess what was reallymaking his golden eyes burn as hot as the flames. Not me.Lila. She was the real reason he needed to get back home quickly.

“Then what doyousuggest we do?” I asked Jeddak, unable to keep the bite out of my words. I hated how my lips tingled at the memory of his kiss and how his rakish smile still had the power to make my stomach do flips. Fortunately, he wasn’t smiling now. Because his smile was never meant for me.

“We’ll go through the forest,” he said, his tone grim yet unwavering.

“If you go there,” Yaro said in warning, “stay on the path in the forest. Keep in sight of each other. Don’t talk to anyone you meet. And whatever you do, don’t disturb the lake.”

I knew I should have been afraid of what lay ahead, but I wasn’t. Jeddak had already destroyed my heart. There was nothing left for this cursed forest to take.

40

Jeddak

By sunset the next day, we reached the northern border of the bramblelands and stopped to bid farewell to Yaro. I inhaled the fresh, frosted air of the valley, relieved to be free of the confined bramble. It was hard to believe we’d made it through these deadly lands unscathed.At least on the outside, I thought, glancing at Raven.

“Let’s never do that again,” Kah said, looking back at the dark forest.

Agreed.

“According to the scouts, the Rathalans are camped in the valley right over that ridge,” Yaro said, pointing east toward the mountains. “Keep your fires hidden and stay alert. The bramble can no longer protect you out here.”

“Thank you, Yaro,” Raven said with a smile that made my heart ache. “Tell Queen B’kara we are grateful to her.”

He nodded, disappearing back into the bramble without a sound.

With Yaro gone, I could feel the tension between Raven and me intensifying. “Raven, can we talk?”

She ignored me. “How long until we reach the Forgotten Forest?” Her voice was distant and somber.

“A day. Maybe longer,” I said. “Look, I?—”

“Let’s just keep moving, all right?” she said.