I stayed silent, unwilling to answer for fear that my voice would reveal what my clothes did not.
"The man asked you a question," Jared growled. "Answer him."
Silence. And then the loud, resounding slap as Jared's palm struck my cheek. My face stung and bled in places the thorns had already opened.
"Now," Jared said. "I'll give you one more chance to answer before I start removing limbs." The bandit was holding a sword. It bore the familiar crest of the Crown's Army. But this man was no soldier. No man who pledged to defend Jerar and its people would dishonor the Code of Honor.
I wondered how the weapon had fallen into the outlaw's hands. Had his band cornered a lonely soldier on some deserted trail and robbed him blind, much like they were planning to do to my brother and me? Or had Jared killed him to prevent the soldier from seeking justice afterward?
There was an odd stain on the hilt, much like the rusty color of blood. Bile rose in my throat, and I forced myself to swallow it back down. In the gruffest voice I could manage, I coughed, "The Academy."
Jared's eyes glittered dangerously.
"Did he just say—"
"The Academy?" Jared nudged my face with his boot. "You an apprentice, boy?" He was studying my face closely.
The large man, Erwan, laughed loudly. "Some mage! Where's your magic?"
My face burned and I looked away.
"So you are one of the first-years, then," Jared surmised. His expression turned from interest to disgust. "The boy's no use. Just another village kid on his way to that blasted school. Fools, always thinking they have a gift when they should be doing real work instead."
I kept quiet, hoping the men would dismiss me as worthless and continue on in pursuit of the mare.
"Boy, did you travel with purse?"
Not much. Our parents had barely been able to afford the coin it had cost to lease the horses for the five-day journey as it was. Though the Academy was to provide a year of free room and board to each of its students, it still hadn't been enough to offset the labor Alex and I had provided in the apothecary.
I cringed, thinking of how much we would be setting the family back when one of those horses was never returned.
"The purse w-was in the saddlebags."
"Erwan, go find his horse," Jared ordered. As the stodgy outlaw began to take off in the general direction of the mare, the swallow-faced criminal kicked my stomach. "Get up, boy. You are going to help make camp until the others return. If you remain on good behavior, my companions and I will let you go once we have passed the night. If you try to run or any sort of trickery, I will not hesitate to use the sword."
I gingerly pulled myself up, trying not to let the man see how much it hurt to stand.
I refused to give him the satisfaction.
****
Hours later Erwan returned with my mare and a handful of logs. Shivering, I quickly obeyed Jared's orders to fetch them and build up the fire. In my condition I hadn't been able to gather more than a handful at a time, and so the flames we'd had hadn't amounted to much. It may have been a summer night, but up in the mountains encased in pine, it was hard to tell.
As I slowly arranged the wood, I strained to catch the men's conversation.
"Halseth? He still hasn't…?"
"No. Either way, he and Carl should be back within the hour."
"Do you think they caught the other?"
"I don't see why not." Jared spat at the ground, and his gaze fell to me. "You, boy, who was that friend you were traveling with?"
No. "J-just some boy, only met him this morn'," I croaked, attempting the same baritone as before.
"You are lying." Jared narrowed his eyes. "Tell me the truth. Is he another worthless brat like you, or does he have power?" His eyes gleamed over that last word. Power. Magic.
"I d-don't believe so—"
Before I could finish the lie, the man grabbed my wrist and thrust my hand into the fire. I screamed out as the flames licked my skin.
Jared let go, dropping my wrist as quickly as he had snatched it.
Blinking back tears I cradled my hand, careful not to touch the skin. It had turned a nasty, glistening red. It burned, and even though it had only been under fire for seconds, it felt as if it hadn't left.
"Well, well…"
I glanced up at the men, hate burning in my veins, and Jared shot me a secretive smile.
Panic struck my throat as I realized exactly what it meant.
He knew.
"Why don't you go collect us some more wood, Erwan?" Jared's eyes never left my face. "I would go myself, but someone's got to watch the boy."
Erwan shot Jared a confused look. "I just brought a whole lot of it—"
Jared snapped, "Just fetch us more wood, you dolt."
As soon as the large man had retired from sight, the bandit turned to face me, hunger playing across his malevolent gaze. Shadows from the fire leaped and danced, making the narrow chin, the long blond tresses, every inch of the swallow-faced man all the more menacing.