Page 6 of To Scale the Emerald Mountain

We move as quickly as we can without drawing overt attention.

Luckily, all is quiet in the lush forest again. My feet ache—thorns, sticks, and brambles scattered across the mountain floor sticking into my feet like a beaten and bloody pincushion.

I really need shoes. And real clothes.

My flimsy shift hadn’t bothered me much when I was on my own, in the heat of summer it’s welcomingly breathable. Now that I’m not alone, I’m very aware of how revealing it is. Locane doesn’t seem to notice, or at least has the decency to not mention it. I walk with my arms hugged over my chest, trying to hide what I can.

He turns his head and says over his shoulder, “So, who are you running from?”

“What makes you think I’m running?”

Locane smiles unkindly. “Your lack of shoes and proper clothing for travel are very telling.”

I sigh. “That’s fair. I don’t know. All I know is I was in a dungeon cell, and I made a point to escape that cell and get as far away from that place as I could.”

He gives me a searching, unreadable look. “You haven’t a clue why you were in a dungeon?” I shake my head as he watches me skeptically. “How did you escape?”

“I don’t know. I just had this instinct to go. And everything I tried worked.” I shrug, deciding to leave out the voice telling me what to do. “What about you? What’s your story?”

“Not really much to tell,” Locane says vaguely.

I scowl. “I may not have given you much, but I gave you something. You don’t appear to be on the run.”

“No, not on the run.”

“What are you doing in the middle of a mountain forest?” I implore.

“I am on my way home.”

“And why did you decide to help me? With your abilities, you could have gotten yourself out of danger from those beasts,” I point out, curiosity over his answer gripping me.

Locane gives me a blank look and says, “I saw a barefoot, nearly naked girl running from kyniors who could and would have ripped her to shreds. I’m not a monster.”

“Well, the beasts have moved on. Why insist on not parting ways this morning after there was no longer a threat?”

“You are still barefoot and nearly naked. And you seem to be struggling with knowing anything about yourself. I get the feeling you’re not that good of a liar.”

He sure is making something that should be a good thing sound like an insult. With every exchange, my dislike for my new companion grows. I say nothing and give him a skeptical glance.

“Again, I am not a monster. I will see you through to procure proper travel attire and will gladly send you on your way.”

“You keep telling me you’re not a monster, but you have been awfully rude to me. You treat me as if we know each other, and I’vepersonally wronged you.”

He rolls his eyes, releasing an audible exhale. “We don’t know each other. Although I am not going to stand by and watch a girl die or struggle along, that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about the unwanted company that I did not ask for.”

“You keep calling me a girl. I’m not a girl, Locane.”

“Oh? Well then what are you?”

“Obviously, I am a woman!” I indignantly gesture to myself, head to toe.

“I would not say that’s obvious. You still look and act quite childlike.”

My mouth opens comically wide in outrage.

“Perhaps we walk in silence for a while, yes?” He offers me a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

And we do just that for several hours.