I shrugged and wiped at the sweat that trailed down my cheeks. “Is there a stream nearby? That I could wash my face at least?”
“I can do better than that, though that would bring us much closer to the cave. We should see if Meryn and Jyn want to come with.”
With a nod of agreement, I shouldered my weapon. He fell into step beside me. The silence between us as we walked back was comfortable—surprising. Camion didn’t seem to expect anything from me. I appreciated the change of pace.
The sun had peaked and begun the slow descent from the sky when we found the cave again. Jyn and Meryn knelt on the ground outside, attempting to light a fire. Jyn glanced up when he heard me, smirking slightly at the sweat that hung from my brow, and nodded his head at Camion. He looked positively relaxed, the stark opposite of the protective overbearing Jyn I was used to. I’d expected the worst, for him to be worse. Not better. But there he was, cheerfully helping Meryn with a piece of flint and seeming more at ease in the trees than he had in all the years I’d known him.
“You two want to come swim?” Camion asked.
Jyn and Meryn exchanged a glance with a nod and abandoned their attempts. None of us knew when we’d be able to bathe again and we hadn’t before we left. Meryn gave the wards a quick once-over before we followed Camion into the trees.
I rubbed at the dirt on my cheeks. My hands came away slightly black with the streaked kohl I’d forgotten I had on. I flinched. Jyn elbowed me in the side, his grin spread wide. “How was your lesson?”
I didn’t dignify him with a response, simply glared. He frowned, the sparkle in his eyes vanishing in a blink. I ignored him, and tugged at the branches of a briar bush that had lodged themselves in my calf. When I freed myself and broke the tree line, I paused. Before me was possibly one of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen.
Chapter 25
My jaw fell open. A small clearing sat tucked between the trees, spread with a crystal pond that sparkled under the beams of light that leaked from above. To our right sat a staggered shelf of flat stones where a gentle waterfall fed into the pool. Tiny flowers sprouted all around the area, whites and yellows that teased the green around them with color.
“I found this”—Camion scratched at the stubble on his chin—“maybe the third time I stayed out here overnight. I can’t imagine the water will fall much higher than Tyli’s chest; the pond is pretty shallow.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’re short?” I glared. Camion’s lips twitched but he added, “There are fish in there. We can try to catch lunch.”
Meryn had already pulled her boots off and all of her jewelry. She tugged at her skirt as Camion finished speaking and raced into the water in her underclothes. Her red hair vanished beneath the surface.
“C-cold!” she sputtered as she popped back through the water. “So cold!”
She didn’t seem bothered though, when she vanished beneath the clear surface for a second time. Jyn stripped down to his pants before he dove in, and Camion was close behind—though he only removed his boots and socks. I was left on the bank, staring anxiously at the three of them. Meryn yelled, “Come on, the water feels great.”
I was nervous, fully clothed, and I couldn’t remember a time when I’d felt more exposed. The idea that I needed to remove most of my clothing? I cringed.
“I don’t know.” The words were choked. Jyn paused and I noticed he didn’t hide the concern on his face. I really needed to talk to him. I still held his arguments against him, but he didn’t hold my orders against me. I wanted to fix that.
“Princess, you’re beautiful. Besides, it’s only us. We may see far more of all of us before we get back to the palace.”
I squirmed. My eyes fell to Camion. He seemed, in this moment, the only one who might understand. I was grateful when he realized what I sought.
“Take off your boots and come on. This is probably your last chance to bathe for a while, and I agree with Jyn.”
There was logic to that. I could change into dry clothes once we were back at the cave and I didn’t need to fully strip down here. I dropped the bow I still carried and undid the lacing of my boots.
The grass tickled my feet and as I neared the water, the soft clay squished between my toes. I rolled them in the spongy mud at the edge of the water, enjoying the sensation. The others seemed to be pleased with the pond. I paused before I carefully dropped my breeches and threw them onto the bank. My long shirt fell to cover my underclothes. No one seemed to notice, or didn’t indicate if they did, and a whoosh of air escaped my lungs before I sloshed all the way in.
I didn’t regret the decision as I thought I would. The water felt amazing after a day of not bathing. I undid my braid and let my hair fall free, a cascade of ebony that splayed across the surface of the water. We had packed bars of soap so I took one to the waterfall and scrubbed myself clean, grateful when I saw the kohl streak over my hands before washing away. By the time I finished Jyn floated nearby on his back, possibly asleep, while Camion hunted fish in shallower water. Meryn had climbed out minutes ago and was nestled into the grass. Her fingers flicked through the pages of a book she’d stashed into the pocket of her skirts. I tossed the soap next to her, laughing when she jumped. I turned my attention to Camion. He barely moved—even his breaths were carefully measured. I crept through the water toward him.
“Teach me?” I asked softly.
He motioned me closer and whispered, “Can you see them? Right below the surface?”
I held myself still—my movement had scattered them, but the longer I remained the more inclined they were to come near. A couple even dared to investigate my legs curiously. They were tiny slivers of silver and black that shot through the water. I couldn’t imagine how I’d catch one of the quick little buggers. Camion had caught a few small ones already, that now lay scattered on the bank nearby.
“Put your hands in the water, slowly. Don’t move, let them come to you. Then move fast.”
He shot me a wicked half smile as he risked a glance in my direction. We stilled and watched the glints of silver flit through the water. The instant a fish swam between the small gap in his hands, he snatched the squirming body up. Camion waited for a break in its frantic thrashing to catch the lower lip and lifted so I could see—the fish was pretty and shimmered in shades of green with a line of black spots that trailed from gill to tail.
“These make for a good meal, but we’ll have to clean them soon.” He nudged my shoulder. “Your turn.”
I swallowed hard but leaned further into the water, parting my hands slightly as I’d seen him do. Three times I missed before Camion stepped in front of me, pressed his palms to the back of my hands, and cupped them between his. After his movement, and all of my awkward flailing, the fish were reluctant to swim near us. As the light began to fade from above the trees, Camion snapped my hands together and a slimy fish writhed for freedom between them. I threw the fish to shore immediately and dropped my hands back into the water.
“That was exactly as disgusting as I thought it would be.” I shuddered. “How do you do this all the time?”
“Usually, I have a pole, to start,” Camion snickered, climbing onto the bank. He offered me a hand and tugged me onto the grass beside him. Jyn was already picking up the fish and stringing them to carry back to the cave. I scrambled across the grass, pulled on my breeches, and slid the bow over my shoulder before I followed the men back toward the cave. Meryn had gone ahead to light the fire, claiming she wasn’t afraid of the forest in a loud, entirely unconvincing voice. Truthfully, I think she wanted to return to the safety of her wards.
A light breeze rustled through the branches of the trees and stirred the scents of the forest through the air. I shivered. Tiny goosebumps sprang up along my arms, and I rubbed them nonchalantly. Camion casually dropped pace to walk beside me, and I noticed that he’d positioned himself to take the brunt of the breeze. I started to thank him, but he winked and looked away.
<
br /> Meryn and I built a makeshift rack out of sticks while the men started to fillet and clean the fish. I laid the strips of meat across our rack as they were passed to me, careful to turn them as needed. The change in the air between us was tangible, the tension lengthening the pauses in conversation. I was uneasy and could tell I wasn’t the only one when even Jyn was slow to pack. I debated pulling him aside, talking to him, but I couldn’t risk a fight. I hated that we weren’t speaking normally.
“Onward, then,” Camion said, as he snuffed the fire. He took point, Meryn close behind with her hand tightly clenched around her dagger. Tiny lights danced beside her and illuminated the path around us. I noticed the fistful of berries she had in her free hand, the fuel for her magic. After a few minutes I dropped back to walk with Jyn.
“You slept well,” I said. I tugged at the end of my braid.
“I knew you were safe.” I raised an eyebrow as his eyes flicked to Camion. “I heard you two talking. You’re welcome.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course you couldn’t possibly be learning to trust me.”
Jyn snorted. The sound broke the silence of the forest and scared poor Meryn into actually drawing her dagger. Even she laughed, albeit nervously, before the uneasy quiet settled in again and I asked softly, “Fine, but you trust Camion then?”
“He wouldn’t let anything happen to you. Or Meryn.” He considered. “I’d gladly fight with him at my back.”
“So, you trust him.”
Jyn smirked, reaching out to flick my nose lightly. “Sure, I trust him. Unlike your loverboy. Who, by the way, I still do not.”
“He’s not my loverboy.”
There was a moment of silence before Jyn asked, “Are you still mad at me?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
“I wish you understood why I have to do this, Jyn,” I said at last.
“My thoughts don’t matter. I just follow orders.” His tone was bitter.
“Jyn—” I grabbed his arm.
There was a shift behind me, the slightest interruption in sounds, and I froze. I didn’t release Jyn and he paused his steps. Something was following us. The other two hesitated on the path in front of us, trying to make out why we’d stopped. I glanced at Jyn and he nodded.
“Whatever is following us has been there for a while,” he said under his breath. “Notice the sounds stopped when we did? I don’t know what’s there though.”
Meryn crept back toward us and tugged on Jyn’s arm, drawing his attention. “Kotsani,” she whispered.
His eyes widened. “How can you be sure?”
“I know they’re in the forest, and they’re stalking creatures. The sounds stop when we do because Kotsani take their time to debate the most opportune time to strike. They’re highly intelligent.” Meryn’s grip on her dagger tightened. “We’ll have to kill this quickly whenever it decides to attack. And at all costs, do not let a Kotsani bite you. Their teeth are coated in a fast-acting paralyzing venom—at best you might lose the function of a limb for a few hours, at worst total body paralysis for several days.”
I swallowed hard. Quietly, I tugged my sword free and watched the men do the same. Meryn started a soft murmur under her breath and fell into step beside me as we started to move forward again. Camion was to the front, Jyn behind, their bodies laced with tension as they moved. The steps behind us resumed—a cautious brush against the leaves, a shifting branch—and after a while, utter silence. Even the wind seemed to pause its gentle tease through the leaves.
And then a growl tore through the darkness.
Chapter 26
A branch snapped to my right, the tiniest sound that echoed around us. Jyn was there before I could blink, a shield between myself and the tree line. He tugged gently at my arm and pulled me more firmly behind him. Camion did the same for Meryn. But then the sound was behind us, and Meryn and I pressed our backs against the men.
“Meryn, how do these things move?” Camion asked, his voice strained.
“They kind of . . . jump? They blink and appear elsewhere. On the upside, Kotsanis have a limited energy pool that will be drained with each blink. On the downside, that pool is pretty vast.”
My grip tightened on the hilt of my blade. A low, guttural snarl broke to our left before a branch snapped to our right. Meryn’s lights trembled slightly, but she returned to whispering. Her blade glinted in her hand. When a dark form leapt out of the darkness, a wall of flame shot up between us. The creature shifted away and appeared in front of us. Meryn was ready and threw up another wall of flame. The Kotsani was faster and dove for her. Camion jumped in the way, and the Kotsani slammed into him, anxiously flicking its big fluffy tail. He shoved the animal off, roaring in pain when long claws extended from its paws and raked up his side.
Jyn was already there. He slammed his blade into the Kotsani’s side, twisting hard, but the creature was unfazed. Long claws swiped out at him. Jyn ducked. Meryn had moved off to one side and frantically scrambled to draw runes in the dirt. Each mark illuminated as she finished, giving Camion and Jyn a better view of the area. Her tiny lights had completely disappeared, all her energy channeled into sustaining the runes.
In the light, I could finally make out details on the creature instead of the faintly glowing form that flitted around us. The Kotsani looked almost canine, even down to the wolfish face, but the claws were distinctly feline. A pair of horns twisted back between its ears, dark in color but shimmering to match the green runes that traced through the dark fur coat. The Kotsani’s tail was fox-like and notably the only part that wasn’t marked.
The creature spun. A low growl tore from its throat between the angry click of teeth. The Kotsani vanished to reappear behind me, surveying me with emerald eyes. I twisted and braced for the blow but the animal leapt over me, this time aimed for Jyn. I slammed my blade upward at the rib-cage, unprepared for the weight shift when the tip slipped into soft belly. I was sprayed with warm liquid as I stumbled. Jyn shifted to meet the change. He swung wide. His blade slashed between the Kotsani’s rib cage. The animal snarled at him and crouched low, baring sharp white teeth in a grimace of rage. We tried to close in around the Kotsani, but it was too fast. Jyn met the beast again, slamming it against a tree with the full weight of his body. He pinned the thrashing form under him. I pulled my bow and nocked an arrow, my sight aimed on the jaws that snapped angrily at Jyn. Claws tore through the leather of his breeches and Jyn hissed in pain, teeth gritted. He raised his sword and slammed the blade into the Kotsani’s throat at the exact moment my arrow split through its temple. The animal choked, the sound becoming a wet gargle before the body fell into a quivering heap.
Jyn pushed the corpse off, and I dove for him, bow forgotten, my eyes locked on the blood that seeped through the slits in his leathers. I caught the linen Meryn threw me and unraveled the roll while she attempted to help Camion. He adamantly refused her, insistent that he could bandage himself. I had to worry about Jyn first.
I yanked my waterskin from my hip and poured, gently dabbing around the stream to clear the blood as much as I could with a strip of linen. So much blood . . . I pulled two of the dried yarrow poultices out of my pack and soaked them with water before I laid them across the wounds, desperate to stop the flow.
“I’m okay. Princess, I’m okay.”
I didn’t notice my hands were trembling until Jyn tried to steady them, or that I was profusely whispering apologies between motions. From what I could tell, the wounds were extremely shallow but the terror still pumped through my veins. I kept wrapping the linen until I ran out. One day. One day we’d been in the forest and already both Jyn and Camion were wounded. If we hadn’t had Jyn to counter the Kotsani’s speed? Meryn and I would have died on my fool idea. I shivered and tried to ignore the well of tears that sprang into my eyes.
“Princess, really, I’m fine.”
“Jyn, I’m so sorry. This was a terrible idea, and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“
I’m fine. Help Meryn. Camion’s wounds are far worse.” Finally, I looked up and met his eyes. Jyn shifted forward and pulled me against him, hugging me tightly. His heart thudded loudly inside his chest and his breaths were uneven but he said, “I promise you. I’m okay. We’re okay.”
“Okay,” I whispered, and pulled away. I tried to nonchalantly wipe away the tears that had escaped before I crawled to where Camion was still refusing Meryn’s help. He had haphazardly wrapped linens around his middle and insisted he was fine.
“Camion,” Meryn said sternly, hands on her hips. “I need to clean them. You never know what was on those claws.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I took care of myself. Let’s get moving. We’re going to need to set camp soon, the sun is almost up.”
“Can I help?” I asked gently, kneeling beside him. His expression softened, but he shook his head.
“The cuts are shallow. We need to keep moving.”
Meryn huffed but glanced at the corpse. “I need to harvest a vial or two of that venom. I’ll only be a moment.”
“Let me help you,” I said more urgently. I couldn’t see past Camion’s shirt but I was fairly sure his wounds weren’t even entirely covered.
“I’m fine, but we do need to move on. This corpse will attract other things.”
I hesitated, but he wasn’t going to budge. Jyn was already shouldering the packs. He winced only slightly at the pain in his leg. I shouldered my bow and offered to take Jyn’s. He refused, so I grabbed Camion’s and threw the bag on my back beside my own. Camion glared, but I saw the struggle when he tried to stand. He reluctantly took my hand when I offered, his expression pleading. Don’t tell them, he begged silently, and my eyes narrowed. I glanced over my shoulder, but the other two were preoccupied with the body. Jyn was wrapping large chunks of meat in anything we could spare and Meryn had the jaw craned open at an awkward angle. I winced.
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