“I haven’t forgotten our deal, Raz. Besides, I’m not heading home until Soren gets that damn feather.”
Soren’s body stills, his cup of water suspended over his lips. After a moment, he lowers his hand to the table. “You would … wait for me?”
“We’re all going home. That was the deal. And I think I know the best way to do it.”
“Do share,” I say, my stomach now full of warm food. I feel ready to sleep a week, but we should discuss our next plan.
“It’s safe to say that I would be useless climbing the mountain with Soren,” Iric starts. “My skill doesn’t lie in fighting, but in building.” He turns his next words to Soren. “You and Raz should climb the mountain together. Meanwhile, I’ll stay here and build that armor I promised Rasmira. It makes sense for us to do Rasmira’s task last when there’s so much we have to prepare for it. But you, Soren? You can battle a bird.”
“We don’t even know if the otti exists,” Soren says.
“All the more reason for you to take Raz up there to check it out.”
“Rasmira has no obligation to climb the mountain with me,” Soren says. “You two had a bargain. Swimming lessons for armor. I can’t offer her anything in return for her help.”
I’m about to silence Soren’s reasoning. I don’t need anything in return for helping him climb the mountain.
But then I slam my mouth shut. I would never have even thought of offering my help a few weeks ago. I have my own task to tackle. Why would I risk my place in the goddess’s paradise if Soren’s not giving me anything in return?
Because I like him.
My cheeks warm without my permission.
But just as quickly, panic sets in. Liking Torrin is what got me banished to the wild. I can’t like Soren.
But I do.
I hadn’t realized it before, but now it’s so obvious.
I like him. I want to help him, but I also have a promise to keep and fears to worry about and—
I put my focus into breathing and thinking. Breathing and thinking. That’s all I have to do.
I don’t want Soren to climb that mountain alone. I don’t want him to die. But I also need every move I make in the wild to draw me closer to killing the god.
And then I get an idea as I realize something.
It would never be enough to walk back into the village carrying Peruxolo’s head. He has the face of a man. No one would believe it was the god’s. If I’m to return home, I have to publicly kill Peruxolo. My father has to see the god’s powers and see me defeat him. Somehow.
But would Peruxolo come if I issued such a challenge? What if he laughs it off? What if he visits his wrath on the villages instead?
But then I realize—
He can’t. He wouldn’t.
Not if I tell him all the villages have been invited to watch the battle. He’d want to come and show off his powers. He’d want to put me in my place for all the people to see. Instilling fear and awe in mortals is what Peruxolo enjoys most. Surely he wouldn’t skip out on such an opportunity.
I only hope that I can find a way to come out on top.
“Soren,” I say, cutting off the boys’ argument, which I really hadn’t been listening to anyway. “When I’m ready to challenge Peruxolo, I’m going to do it publicly. I want all seven villages to witness the battle. But I can’t do that on my own. I’m forbidden to set foot in any village, but if you complete your task, you could deliver the invitations on my behalf. I will climb the mountain with you if you will travel to each of the seven villages and invite them to the battle.”
Silence.
“That’s not a terrible idea,” Iric says.
“You’d be traveling through the wild alone,” I say. “It could be dangerous—”
“I’ll do it,” Soren says. “It’s a deal. When do we leave?”
“First thing tomorrow?”
“Works for me.”
“Actually,” Iric says, “I’m going to need your help tomorrow before I can get started on Rasmira’s armor.”
“What are you going to make it out of?” I ask. “The god’s power deals with metal. Our iron armor can’t get through the barrier, but we haven’t had a chance to test other metals.”
Iric grins proudly. “I wasn’t planning on building you armor out of metal.”
“If you think you’re going to get away with making me wooden armor, you—”
Iric starts laughing. “I’m not going to build it out of wood, you impatient twit. I’m going to build it out of ziken hides.”
I’m taken aback. Ziken hides. That actually—“That’s brilliant!” I say. It’s durable. Strong. No metal involved. And—“Do you think it would heal itself after being struck?”
“Only one way to find out.”
“Iric, you are a genius.”
“I’m not sure whether to be touched, or offended that it’s taken you this long to realize that.”
“Touched,” Soren offers.
CHAPTER
17
The next morning, Soren and I pack for our trip up the mountain. It doesn’t take long. My few possessions are always in my pack. It’s mostly a matter of gathering food and blankets.
Then it’s catching ziken for my armor.
“Typical,” Iric says after the three of us have wandered for a quarter of an hour. “The beasts always show up when you don’t want them to, but the moment you actually need one they’re nowhere to be found!” He pauses after a few hundred yards to hack off the head of a snaketrap that’s grown into the path and casts it aside. He does this every time he comes across one.
“Hasn’t been able to stand the sight of the things after twisting his ankle in one,” Soren whispers to me. “Happened after the first month we were banished.”
I don’t blame Iric in the least. The plants are vile, and the smell of a slowly digesting and rotting snake is hardly something one could forget easily.
Eventually, a ziken does cross our path. It’s chasing some rodent through the undergrowth, but it stops as soon as it sees us. Soren, being the closest, decapitates it with two swings. One to knock it off balance and one to sever the head.
“Good,” Iric says. He looks between the dead ziken and me. Looks me up and down. “I’ll need two more to cover her in hides. Just in case.”
By the time we catch two more ziken and drag the carcasses to Iric’s forge, we’ve lost most of the day. Soren and I aren’t about to start the climb when the sun will set soon, so we postpone a day.
Soren doesn’t seem bothered by the delay. I would be beyond frustrated, and I’m impressed by his patience.
First thing tomorrow morning, we will start the climb.
* * *
AFTER A FULL NIGHT’S REST, Iric sees us off. “Don’t die. I will be very put out if I go through all this trouble to make you armor only to have you snuff out of existence before you get to try it on.”
I hide my grin. “Don’t worry about me. I’m good at staying alive.”
“Keep Soren alive for me, too.”
“Of course.”
Soren scoffs. “You’re talking as if I’m useless with an ax.”
“Nah,” Iric says. “I’m only worried you’ll be too distracted to keep an eye out for danger.”
Soren darts a glance in my direction and grins. “I’ll be fine.”
Iric looks between the two of us. He sighs. “Also, if you two want to, you know, be together, you now have my blessing.”
I blink several times before I can form words. “What are you talking about? We’re not holding ourselves back on your behalf.”
“Whatever you tell yourself, Raz. Do whatever you like on the mountain, just do not tell me about it when you return. Oh, and do hurry. Some of us have our own romantic attachments we’d like to get back to. Have a lovely time! I’m off to the forge.”
Iric spins on his heel and disappears down a trail. I’m left spluttering in his wake.
An awkward silence fills the space between Soren and me after that, so I start walking toward the road.
“You could have said something,” I say as Soren falls into step beside me.
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. At the very least you could have smacked him upside the head.”
“I was so sure you were going to.”
“I was too stunned to do anything. He’s gotten cheekier.”