Page 17

What a ridiculous man. My hand came up to disguise another snort as a cough, and my lips pressed together to keep from smiling. I was no stranger to suggestive language, lighthearted banter, and the like. So why did his embarrassingly low-effort antics have any effect on me?

Behind Lu, Vyrain made a sound of disgust and pivoted to head toward the water.

My smile faded, any residual amusement replaced by an uncomfortable tightness in my chest. This was part of the reason I’d never entertained Vyrain’s advances—mixing family, business, and affairs of the heart was never a good idea.

Imagine if I did give in and sleep with one of them, and then something went wrong.

The next few weeks would be an awkward dance of trying to avoid them while sharing a road and camp. Miserable all around.

Daethie was where I left her, sitting in the dirt to watch the men frolic.

“All good?” she asked as I approached.

“Yeah.” I settled into my spot beside her. “We’ve got today to take advantage of the water. We may have to vote on staying or getting back on the road; some of them are keen on getting back to it and keeping up the momentum.”

“Who’s in a rush?” Daethie grumbled, echoing my sentiments perfectly. “If something bad happened to the Kereti girl, it happened a long time ago, and if she’s safe, she’ll stay that way until we get there. Let’s enjoy the adventure. ”

“Yeah… adventure.” Recalling the feeling of the bugs and their legs, I shivered.

When the men finished cleaning themselves, Yrra lingered in the water to heal. A body of water for him was like having a mender in his back pocket at all times, which was handy given how fragile he was otherwise. Nature had dealt his kind a strange set of cards.

Once everyone was together, we took a vote.

It ended in a tie, but Luthri was able to sway the others with promises of fresh meat.

He took off into the woods to hunt while I scouted out a good spot to set up camp.

The sky had taken on a subtle golden tint by the time Lu returned, and we rested around a fire with several portions of paya cooking in our lone pot.

Raising his empty hands, Lu gave us a sheepish smile.

“Great!” Vyrain, who had been happily chatting moments ago, directed a fierce scowl in his direction. “We’ve been sitting on our asses all afternoon and have nothing to show for it.”

“Don’t be mean,” I scolded him. “I’m sure Lu tried his best.”

But what could salvage this…? Oh! I had a tin of preserved meat in my pack.

It was a common way working-class fae prepared protein so that it kept without refrigeration—they broke it up into a fine thread-like texture that, when dried, resembled a nest of brown floss.

While it couldn’t truly replace the real thing, it wasn’t that bad cooked up.

I jumped up to fetch my bag.

Luthri rubbed his neck. “This normally never happens,” he admitted with a note of genuine woe. “I’d hoped there was more prey to be had in these woods, but nature can be fickle.”

“I can try for fish?” Yrra offered.

“We could see if there are any bugs left on the road,” Daethie suggested.

There it is.

“Here!” I held up the items I was looking for and shuffled back to the bubbling pot of paya to add the meat along with a handful of spices. “We’ve still got some things from Vee. It won’t hold us over the entire trip, but it’ll do for pinches like these.”

In another twenty minutes, dinner was ready. We ate with gusto, shoveling paya and meat sauce down our throats. After the meal, Yrra took the dishes to wash them in the lake, and Luthri left to hunt down his pipe and private supply of mensa leaf. Vyrain scooted closer to me.

“How are your legs?” he asked, glancing down. “The bites?”

“Good, thanks.” I uncrossed my legs and wiggled my toes in my boots to prove it. “Almost back to normal. Those pants were pretty much a total loss, though.”

“Yeah, mine too.” He cracked a smile. “Might need to pick up another pair somewhere along the way. Make a quick stop at the next town, perhaps.”

Luthri returned with his mensa and claimed the spot next to Hohem, directly across from me. “The salve helped,” I remarked as he settled in to fill his pipe.

Lu beamed. “Happy to be of assistance. And if anyone needs, I’ve made clothing in the past from animal skin or tree bark. It’s a tricky process, but the end result is passable. Handy for those situations when you’re rushed outside without any clothes.”

“Happens to you a lot, does it?” Vyrain’s tone was sarcastic but lacked bite.

“Not a lot.” Lu shrugged. “But more than once, strangely enough.”

He offered the pipe, now lit, to Hohem. After a moment’s hesitation, Hohem accepted it. He held it awkwardly in front of his face, as though it would give up its secrets with enough eye contact. Lu leaned forward to help, pointing out the mouthpiece.

“Put your lips here and suck in. Start with a small breath.”

Hohem obeyed, drawing in a steady, intentional lungful of the herb.

Almost immediately, he began to cough, smoke pouring out from between his lips.

He passed the pipe back to Luthri, who offered it to Vyrain without hesitation.

They eyed each other for a beat. Vyrain’s mouth set in a stubborn line, but he reached out to take it.

My heart warmed at the sight. Given some time, maybe they could get along. We’d adjusted to strangers joining our group in the past, so why should this be any different?

“Oh, that’s nice.” Hohem sighed, setting his hands on the ground and leaning back. His head tipped, making the cords in his neck stand out. “Subtle. Takes the edge off.”

“What edge?” I asked, curious.

“You know.” Hohem waved a hand. “The edge of life.”

A sudden outburst of coughing from beside me told me that Vyrain had helped himself. Wheezing, he handed the pipe back to Luthri, who held it out to me next. It would have been easy to accept, but I shook my head.

“Nah. At least one of us should stay sober.”

“What could happen?” Hohem argued.

Lu accepted my answer without complaint, taking the next hit himself.

“Oh, you know. Man-eating bugs, ornery lake kings. Nothing crazy,” I answered breezily. Hohem grunted in acknowledgment as he borrowed the pipe from Luthri for another puff.

“So, how did you all meet?” Lu asked, shifting so that he lay on his side. He propped his head up with one hand and watched us with bright eyes.

Now that was a question. Where had my canteen gone? Rooting around for the hard cloth texture, I dipped out of the conversation. “You guys want to take that one?”

“My brother and I,” Vyrain began, studying the sky, “are destined for greatness. Before we were born, our mother went to a seer to have our fortune told. Upon reading the stars, the seer predicted that her son would be a hero who inspires a thousand ballads.”

“A thousand ballads, huh?” Luthri sounded suitably impressed.

“Well…” Some of the superiority drained from Vyrain’s voice. “You know se ers like to be poetic about it. Anyway, my brother and I were always competing with each other growing up, trying to prove who was the chosen one and who was the spare.”

“It got intense at times,” Hohem remarked, staring into the distance.

“No more than the usual sibling rivalry,” Vyrain protested.

“Really? Pretty sure you tried to kill me on more than one occasion.”

“We were kids. Everyone does stupid things when they’re kids.”

Canteen in hand, I settled back down and gestured for them to get on with it.

Vyrain cleared his throat. “Yeah. Anyway, we grew up in a small town, but we studied hard. Trained in archery and hand-to-hand combat, learned how to use mana , speak multiple languages. We started small, helping out around town. Once we felt we were ready, we set out to advertise our services. We wandered for a bit before finding Mar and her group.”

“It’s not the best idea to travel without a direction,” Hohem mused. “But, well, we got lucky. Someone told us about a group that traveled around doing odd jobs, and we thought, ‘What better way to make a living while keeping an ear out for the right heroic opportunity?’”

“Of course,” Luthri agreed amicably.

“So we went north, into Kereti, to find this group,” Vyrain continued. “They traveled around, so they were tricky to hunt down, but eventually our paths crossed. And then…”

Vyrain’s gaze shifted to me, and his expression softened. I knew exactly where the story was going before he said it. “I saw the lovely Mar, and it was love at first sight.”

I loosed a long-suffering sigh. “There you have it. I’m sorry the story is so anticlimactic.”

“Not at all.” Luthri couldn’t hide his smile. “In my opinion, the world could use more people who love with abandon. And it’s a pleasure to learn more about you. ”

Oddly enough, he appeared to be telling the truth.

I wasn’t sure how to take that. If his goal was to sleep with me and then move on in pursuit of the ultimate bragging rights, why would he care about learning more about me or getting along with us?

Was it possible that he was hoping for a family of sorts, same as me when I first joined?

I met Lu’s eyes from across the fire. They usually glowed in the darkness, but with the added light from the flames, they were radiant, like gilded suns underneath his dark lashes.

Being direct about these things was always best. If not knowing his true plan bothered me, we could have a conversation about it. A good, old-fashioned “What are your intentions with my daughter?” Except… I was both the father and the daughter in that scenario.

What?

Anyway. I told myself that it wasn’t cowardice that kept me from doing so, we just weren’t at that point yet. When we were, I wouldn’t hesitate to pull him aside.

I told myself that… But it might have been a lie.