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“How would I know what Bloodbain will do?” I said, not losing the edge in my tone.

“Think about it. He’s Thrailkull’s highest-ranking guard commander. He’s not going to concern himself with one escaped worker. If he sent those guards after us, he wants something.”

“What do you mean?” I said, trying to hide the fact that I knew exactly what he meant.

“Come on, Raven. Why did the commander give you atruthpotion? What did he want from you? More importantly, did you give him what he wanted? That might tell us whether he’ll continue to hunt us down the entire way to Askeland, don’t you think?”

I curled my fingers around the map on my palm, my heart beating faster. I might not be afraid of Jeddak, but his steady gaze was starting to unnerve me. He seemed to know more than he was letting on. Then again, he seemed uncertain what Bloodbain wanted, making me think it was unlikely he knew about the map or the stone.

Skies, if only I knew what this stone was and why Bloodbain wanted it. And why Sora told me my brother might have found it. Until I figured that out, it felt too dangerous to mention to anyone. And I didn’t trust Jeddak enough to tell him more than he needed to know.

“He wanted to know about my tribe,” I said carefully, hiding my unease. It wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t the whole truth, either.

“That’s it? That’s all Bloodbain asked you about when you two were drinking all that tea together?”

No.

“I was a little out of it, in case you don’t remember,” I said pointedly.

“I remember.” His eyes narrowed like he was searching my face for hidden answers. He’d been doing that off and on since we’d escaped Malengard, probably thinking I hadn’t noticed.

“I think we should assume that if the Rathalans followed us here, they won’t just give up and go home now.” Even though I didn’t want to tell Jeddak about my conversation with Bloodbain, I knew we needed to take as much precaution as possible. Especially after the incident in the Magi’s tent when I realized the Rathalans might not be the only ones following us.

“Maybe you’re right. But if you remember anything else from your fancy dinner together, I’m all ears.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered what he asked me that night.”

“Why? Because of the botched poison?”

I sighed, remembering I hadn’t told Jeddak about my misplaced past. “No, I mean, because I have nothing to tell him. My life before the mines is all a blank. I can’t remember anything. My past, my family, my tribe. Skies, I didn’t even know if I liked currant tea or not when you ordered it earlier! Whatever information the commander wanted from me, I couldn’t have told him, poison or not.” That was a lie. I’d told the commander too much.

Rain hammered down on the roof. Jeddak raked one hand through his hair and leaned back in the chair. “I’m sorry, Raven,” he said. “I didn’t know.”

“The only thing I know for certain is that I have a brother, who I desperately want to find. But I have nothing to go on.” Which was true. Not until I got my magic back. “With no memories, no magic, and no way to find the only family member I know of, the only thing I can think to do is to join you in trekking halfway across Eastlandra to remedy at least one ofthose problems. So, if Bloodbain is on our tail, so be it. He’s not stopping me.”

Jeddak cocked an eyebrow at me. “Good to know. And just for the record—when you said you could pay me …?”

“I lied.” It wasn’t worth the hassle of pretending otherwise. He already knew I had no money on my person, and I’d just informed him that I didn’t have a family who could pay either.

For a moment, I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t change his mind.

“You better be prepared to build a lot of fires.” His lips tipped upward.

There was that boyish grin again. My cheeks flushed. It was like he wastryingto infuriate me.

“All right, fine. Can we go to sleep now?” The exhaustion was sinking in, but more than that, I really wanted him to stop looking at me with those piercing gold-ringed eyes.

“Whatever you want,” he said, tossing another log on the fire.

I lay down and pulled the blanket up to my chin, staring at the ceiling. “Wait—what were you going to ask me earlier?” I said, remembering that he wanted to ask me something too.

“Oh, nothing. It’s not important.”

His quick answer caused tiny pinpricks to form in my gut. He was still hiding something. Maybe it was related to his strange quest inside Malengard. It didn’t matter, though. Once I reached Askeland and restored my magic, I planned to fly away and never see him again.

24

Jeddak