He grinned, teeth flashing white in the dim cave light. From his belt, Tyrrik unhooked a water skin and held it out to me. “Have some nectar before we get started.”
I accepted the drink but groaned. Still speaking with my mouth full, I whined, “We’ll be traveling in daylight?” Why?
“Because that’s when the emperor is least likely to be in the skies. He patrolled all night, remember?”
We’d seen his flames in the sky from this side of the caves too. Tyrrik had pointed it out when I’d stumbled toward the entrance last night. Right. That goes to show you just how tired I really am. I chewed a few more times and swallowed then pushed out my bottom lip again as I double checked the bag for more brak. Maybe there was more in the saddlebags. “What about our horses?”
The horses will meet us in Zivost. They left as soon as we got to the cave.
They did? I shook the bag upside down and threw it away when nothing came out. I sipped at the nectar, knowing I’d have to share with Tyrrik.
Don’t backwash.
His thought hit me, and I choked. If a little of the nectar happened to go back into the water skin, it served him right. Har-har. You’re such a jester.
I sighed, handing him back our only form of sustenance.
I know you’re tired and hungry. This isn’t how I would’ve planned your transformation time. But, soon, you will get both sleep and food. I promise.
I got to my feet. “Let’s get this show on the road then.”
If there wasn’t a steak the size of a horse waiting for me when we reached the forest, I was going to find one. Even if it meant my fangs made an appearance. I stomped forward.
As the dot of light at the exit grew larger, Tyrrik reached out to touch my elbow. I nodded at his cautionary look and lightened my steps. And my breathing. Mistress Moons, did I really breathe that loud?
“What can you hear, Ryn?” Tyrrik murmured in my ear.
Now that I was breathing like one person instead of one hundred? I focused on the sounds rising before us.
Squirrels barking? There’s a larger animal out there. And . . . a stream. We could refill the water skin if we needed. Tumbling rocks. A gust of wind blew into the cave. There are birds playing in the air. But no Drae. My amazement echoed in my mind as I conveyed it all to the silent Drae by my side.
“Your senses are good,” he purred. “Very good.”
My chest swelled. I have a golden trinket, too.
“It’s a beautiful trinket. You will take good care of it.”
“Thank you,” I said gravely. “I will.” The weirdness of the conversation didn’t elude me, but, somehow, it was important that Tyrrik knew I could take care of precious things.
“When you are able to shift back and forth, you will have your ruby. When you can partial shift . . .” He stepped out of the cave, and I flung an arm up to block some of the light as I hurried after him.
“What were you going to say?”
He glanced back from a boulder several feet away. “What?”
I dropped my arm as my eyes adjusted and jumped from massive boulder to massive boulder after him. “You were going to say something after the partial shifting bit. I thought you might be offering something else. Maybe more treasure.”
He grinned.
9
Tyrrik bent his legs and executed a massive jump from the boulder we stood on to the next. The rocky foothills had disappeared, and we were climbing through the stony pass of the Gemond mountains. Large crevasses were scattered through the range, and I eyed the sixty foot gap, my human mind getting in the way of what my body was now capable of.
Do you expect a priceless heirloom for everything?
You set a precedent is all I’m saying.
I glared at the gap and decided a run up would be best. I stepped back to the outer limits of the boulder I stood upon and took the crossing at a run, launching off the boulder with a muffled squeal. The air whipped my hair back as I flew across the gap. I was moving faster than I ever had, but I knew, inherently, I didn’t need to worry. My senses were so much stronger now that everything seemed to move in slow motion when I focused. When I landed next to Tyrrik, I knew the best spots to place my feet. My abdominals and thighs were tensed to counter the forward motion, and my bodyweight was poised on the balls of my feet.
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “How about when you are able to partial shift, I’ll give you a choice from my horde?”
He had a horde? Why did he have a horde?
He jumped forward again, and we continued leaping boulder to boulder down the hill.
My mind boggled at the possibilities of treasure. He had to have a decent collection. “Is it a Drae thing to collect?”
“No. Not all Drae do it. Male Drae collect items during their life, but not for themselves.”
I wasn’t really collecting shiny stuff for myself either, now that I thought about it—more because the objects deserved to be protected.
He landed on the rocky ground below, and I thudded next to him, not half as graceful, though I thought I was doing pretty well for being skill-less Ryn from Harvest Zone Seven. They didn’t cover boulder-bounding in turnip toddlers.
We walked on in silence for a bit. If walking could be applied to what we were doing. If I glanced to my side, I couldn’t ignore the fact that the sparse trees and patches of grass were literally blurring by. Yes . . . walking was certainly a loose term.
You said we’d fly.
I want to put some distance and a hill between us and the caves before we shift and go airborne.
But it’s faster.
Yes, but the emperor doesn’t know about that cave system, and I’d like to keep it that way. Also, we’re more vulnerable in the air and easier to spot. But it will mean one day of flying, instead of four days running, so I believe we must risk it.
The trees continued to blur by until Tyrrik slowed his steps, and we began picking over boulders again. He was leading me around the base of another hill.
“You know what you said about teaching me to shield my thoughts from other Drae?” I paused as he stiffened. “Could you teach me?”
Tyrrik remained still, his back to me, and when he spoke, his voice was icy. “If you wish it.”
My thoughts hadn’t been my own for a long time. Irdelron had seen through my lies, and he’d filled my mind with pain and horrors. Tyr had been able to hear me though it hadn’t bothered me before I knew he was Tyrrik. I didn’t want to rely on others to give me privacy. I needed to have power over who I let in and who I didn’t. And though I was used to Tyrrik speaking in my head now, I wasn’t sure I wanted him in there. At least, not all the time. And definitely not at his whim.
Tyrrik had already shown his jealousy of Kamoi, and we were headed to his kingdom. There were so many risks. This journey to the Zivost forest was apparently a risk, and I imagined a friendship with the Drae before me would be a risk too. Not to mention my evil Drae father. I needed to be prepared. Even if it hurt Tyrrik’s feelings, I needed this. I took a deep breath and said, “I do.”
His shoulders didn’t relax, and he stayed rooted to the rock he stood on.