“It’s all right,” Simon said, misunderstanding my interest in the forest. “We’re far enough away now.” He stopped the horse at the side of the road and helped me out of the saddle, where I collapsed beside a large rock to continue catching my breath.
“Why did they attack you?” he asked.
“They attack everyone loyal to Lord Endrick,” I replied, wondering how he could miss the most obvious detail. “They pulled me under.”
“Yes, at first. But then something pushed you out, or I’d never have reached you. What was that?”
One of the spirits in that forest wanted me to live, which was something I couldn’t begin to explain. Nor would I explain anything to him.
He said, “You’ve been there before, Kes. They let you enter before.”
If I’d had the strength for it, I would’ve laughed in his face. “Impossible! I am a Dallisor!”
He stared at me and something in his expression changed. “That’s right. You are a Dallisor,” he said, as if this was somehow new information.
“And you’re that boy who was watching me in the market earlier today,” I said, finally recognizing him. “I don’t know why you’re so focused on me, but let me be clear. I desire neither your attention nor your friendship.”
He clicked his tongue, so I knew I’d successfully irritated him. “If you’re ready, we’ll return to the others. Let’s hope your beloved Basil doesn’t almost get you killed again.”
“It was an accident.”
“This time,” he mumbled. Or at least, I thought that’s what he’d said. He pulled out his knife and marched toward me so fast that I stood, frightened of what he’d do next, until I realized his target was the extra fabric of my dress. He gathered the ends into his hands and cut away the excess with his knife, then tossed it back into the river. I shuddered to watch it drift away, slowing sinking beneath the surface. If not for Simon, that would’ve been me.
“It’s all right,” he said when he noticed my distress. “You’re safe now.”
“We both know I’m not.”
He stared at me without responding for what felt like a very long time, then lifted me onto his horse to return to the group.
Basil let out an audible sigh of relief when he saw me and eagerly rode forward. “My love, I’m so relieved.”
“You returned her?” Tenger was clearly surprised to see us.
Simon cocked his head. “Wasn’t that your order?”
Tenger leaned into his saddle. “Wasn’t that your order … ?” He waited.
“Sir.” Simon finished the sentence with a bite to his voice. “Wasn’t that your order, sir?”
I watched him walk over to Gabe, where they spoke in low voices. Simon was clearly angry, but his eyes continually flitted back to me, and despite what I had told him earlier, I found myself watching him. I hated him for stealing me away from all that was familiar, but something about him felt familiar too. As impossible as that was, I wanted to understand him better.
No, if I was going to survive this, then I needed to understand him, this boy who treated me like a prisoner, spoke to me like an enemy, but who looked at me with such hunger, as if I held a place in his heart.
I was finally ready to accept at least one fact about Kestra: My feelings for her would never be indifferent, nor even mild. Either she’d keep me on the edge of my temper, or so passionate that I’d go over a cliff just to see her again. It was awful to be apart from her, but torture to be close to her when I couldn’t get closer still. My heart stopped whenever I caught a glimpse of her smile and split apart every time she looked at me like I was the mud beneath her boot. She claimed to be my prisoner, but in fact, I was hers. She was a far greater threat to me than I ever could be to her.
After we returned to the others, I released her to Basil only because I needed to breathe again without having to inhale her scent, her essence, and the tragedy that something had fundamentally changed about her. The Kestra I had known was gone, possibly forever. What happened in All Spirits Forest had proved that. She was truly a Dallisor now.
After assuring us the oropods were no longer on our trail, Tenger led us southward, I suspected toward the Drybelt. The Coracks had a secret camp there known as Lonetree, which was a fairly accurate description of its appearance above ground. Below, however, was a vast system of underground caves that from the surface only appeared as a small crevice in the earth. It was our oldest camp, our largest, and the best prepared for defense, if that ever became necessary. So far, the Dominion had never found it.
I rode up beside Tenger. “Don’t you think we got away from those oropods rather easily? The Dominion never just gives up.”
“Agreed. They could have a trap laid out ahead for us.” Tenger sighed. “You have a good mind for leadership, Simon. What a pity to have lost you.”
“You have my oath again. I gave you my sword, and I returned Kestra, as ordered. Tell me the plan now.”
Tenger clicked his tongue. “You can’t believe it’ll be that simple.”
I arched a brow but tried not to let my irritation show. “Pulling her out of that river wasn’t simple.”