He blinks, then tears his eyes away to refocus on the road, which is quickly heading into shadows. Why does he do that? I curse him under my breath as the sky overhead mimics my grumble. What does he want from me?
“You’re lyin’, Eogan,” Colin says. “He can’t be real. He’d be a hundred years old.”
“One hundred and thirty, or so I’m told.”
Colin’s eyes widen.
“As I said, he’s a wizard.”
“He can’t die?”
“Of course he can. Why do you think he eliminated the Elementals?”
What? I jerk my gaze around. “What does that mean?”
“Let’s just say he has a particular aversion to their power.”
“Can he shape-shift into anything he wants?” Colin asks.
“Only the person he’s taking over. And even then it’s not so much shape-shifting as possessing. He climbs into their skin and absorbs their essence until there’s nothing left but him.”
A gag squeezes my throat and I try not to think about what that would be like.
“What about his Dark Army?” Colin presses. “Are they actual monsters?”
I detect the waver in his tone. I feel it in my own breath.
“As I said, mate, he’s a wizard.”
My legs must’ve clenched too tightly into Haven’s sides at this because she gives a light buck and snaps her teeth back at me. I loosen my grip and swallow. “But how can he have an army? Bron wouldn’t allow it.”
“As I said, their arrogance is blind. And Drust has no love for Bron in recent years, meaning they’ll ultimately do what benefits Drust.” Eogan looks over at Haven. “We’ll break and let the horses hunt, then keep going.”
“Keep going?” Colin says.
“We’re riding through the night.”
Pink-ribboned cloud streams melt into the landscape as the sun exhales and the shadows set in. Deep. Dank. Twisting into strange shapes around the nearby forest, which is far from any hovels or townsfolk. The only hints of civilization come from a plume of dust in the far distance ahead of us and the sound of bells and hooves carried to us on the breeze. It’s an entourage of horses and yellow carriages from what I can tell.
“Princess Rasha’s retinue,” Eogan says. “Probably done travelling Faelen and on her way back to the Castle.”
“Why was she touring Faelen?”
“Assessing. Extending courtesies. As a Cashlin ambassador, the princess is expected to show good faith not just toward the king and High Court, but to commoners as well.”
My hands tighten on the reins. I wonder if assessing means rooting out our weaknesses. “You said her Luminescent ability doesn’t mean she can see everything. So how does it work?”
“Luminescents see on a spectrum. The more decided a person’s intentions, the clearer they become. And the stronger that person’s motivation is, supposedly the easier they are to predict.”
“You think she’s ever met Draewulf?” Colin asks with a snicker. “Wonder what she’d see of ’is intentions.”
“Not likely. Cashlin’s avoided Drust just as much as they’ve avoided the war,” Eogan says, directing us to a copse of trees.
Something howls just as we dismount. I shrug off the chills it brings and set to work brushing Haven. When I’ve finished, Eogan whispers to each of the horses and sends them off while Colin starts on a fire and I pull out a meal of apples, cheese, and bread.
Colin and Eogan talk over the information Colin’s managed to pick up from Adora’s parties, mainly the concern over Bron’s airships. I try to imagine what the metallic ships must look like up close. What it would be like to fly in one, sailing on wind currents, uninhibited by the restraints of earth and expectation. I trace over the bird tattooed beneath my sleeve and study the moon lifting his head over the horizon.
Colin pulls a wineskin from his satchel and pours drinks for Eogan and him. I shake my head when he offers it to me.
“What, scared you’ll start throwin’ yerself at me?” He winks and kisses one of his biceps. “Understandable.”
I smile. “Yes. That’s it. Hold me back.”
“Well, maybe just for experiment’s sake, let’s say you try it. An’ if you can’t keep yer hands off me, I promise I’ll help you resist.”
“You don’t drink?” Eogan looks surprised. “It’s practically water.”
“I don’t like the taste. It doesn’t sit well.”
“Oh c’mon.” Colin pokes me. “Go ahead an’ tell ’im the truth. It makes her crazy ’bout me. Girl can’t keep her paws off. You shoulda seen ’er at the common house. I was like, ‘Nym, please! Come on!’ It was embarrassing, I tell ya.”
Eogan raises a brow at me, as if he’s assuming Colin’s joking, but he’ll wait for me to deny it.
“Practically begged me to marry ’er! Talk about movin’ fast. It was awkward.”
Eogan narrows his eyes and then they’re boring deeper as if suddenly analyzing my feelings for Colin, although I don’t see why he’d care. But he keeps prying with that emerald gaze until I want to tell him to direct it elsewhere so I can stay above water and remember how to breathe.