Once we crossed the barrier and neared the forest, Dyter helped me lower Tyrrik to the ground.
Kamoi pointed to the closest tree. “Rest your hand here.”
“Will it hurt?” I asked. I’d become well enough acquainted with pain to want to know if more was coming.
He deliberated. “You’ll know as soon as you touch it.”
Awesome. I edged to the tree and steadied myself. I could do this. If it hurt, I’d just break contact. I was in control. I’d be fine-a-roo. Swallowing my fear, I slapped a hand on the tree.
Nothing happened to begin with, but after a moment, a delicious cooling sensation swept up my arm to the crown of my head and down to where my booted feet were planted on the ground. I shivered, eyeing the Phaetyn’s bare feet. No wonder they didn’t wear shoes when the forest felt like this, like the trees were alive. A welcoming joy radiated through me, and I grinned at Dyter as I dropped my hand to my side.
Dyter gave me a one-sided grimace, the odd look that meant someone was short a few acorns.
I wrinkled my nose in response and tipped my head toward the tree. Obviously, he didn’t feel the emotion. The happiness of the forest tickled my skin, whispering secrets into my ear. Just from one touch. I wanted to sit down and hug the tree and let it share its wisdom with me.
Dyter cleared his throat, tilting his head at Tyrrik.
“Al’right, now for Tyrrik,” I said, still in a bit of a daze.
Dyter helped me maneuver the Drae, not that I wasn’t strong enough, but bodies were awkward to carry. Even with his missing arm, Dyter helped pull Tyrrik so his body was flopped over my shoulder.
Kamoi gestured to the tree in invitation, teeth gleaming in a smile that reminded me the Phaetyn and Drae were not friends.
Dyter followed as I lugged the Drae to the edge of the forest. With a deep breath but no other ceremony, I took him inside the tree line.
Nothing happened, and gasps rose behind us.
“It works?” I asked with a smile as I grasped our triumph. I wondered if the trees would help him feel better too. “Let’s try the tree.”
I turned and then let Tyrrik slide to the ground. As soon as I stepped away, he contorted violently, frothing at the mouth as he seized.
I fell to my knees and made to roll him out of the trees, but as soon as my hands touched Tyrrik, his agonized movements halted. What the hay?
“Your touch is enough to grant him entry,” Kamoi said in awe.
When I looked up at the Phaetyn, I could see in the furrow on his brow . . . he wasn’t happy about that revelation. Seeing as Drae were Phaetyn’s natural enemies, I couldn’t blame him.
I stared at my hand on Tyrrik’s chest. “How does that work?”
The prince stared down at my hand, too, eyes flickering. “I imagine it has something to do with your Phaetyn lineage.”
Had Kamoi suspected I could do this? Confusion tangled my mind and thoughts. Was there more he wasn’t telling me, or had my time in the prison made me suspect everyone of deceit?
Dyter crouched, the ropey scar on his cheek pulling as he squinted at Tyrrik. “He can enter the forest, Rynnie, but it’s not practical for you to have your hand on him the entire time. We might be here for several weeks.”
“Several weeks, at least,” Kamoi quickly agreed. His violet gaze settled on me and then drifted to my mouth.
I couldn’t make sense of the Phaetyn prince, so I turned to the only person I knew I could trust. “I can’t leave him out here, Dyter. He saved my life; I can’t leave him until I know he’s better.”
One of the Phaetyn coughed, and I looked up in time to catch Kamoi making a sharp gesture in her direction.
“What is it?” I asked, gaze narrowing as my frustration mounted.
The female Phaetyn bowed her head to Kamoi and made no answer.
I was done. The last two days had exhausted my quota of turd shoveling. I didn’t care how much we needed the Phaetyn later; right now Tyrrik needed me. And, though the Drae was a twat, like full on turd-twat, I wasn’t abandoning him. I was sick of repeating myself, sick of deciphering hidden meanings, and sick of trying to guess who I could trust.
I scooped under Tyrrik’s arms and pulled him out of the woods. Once he was safe, I stood and, with my hands on my hips, squared off with the Phaetyn. “Is there something I should know, Kamoi? Because even my Phaetyn side is sick of games.”
His violet eyes flared, and his jaw clenched before he broke off the contact. “If you can get the Drae to our city, Kanahele o keola, he’ll be okay.”
“Wh—?” I stumbled over the Phaetyn city name before dismissing it in favor of Phaetynville. But I needed to understand what this power was, and how it was affecting Tyrrik. I wasn’t getting him in there just to have him froth up again. “Why will he be okay in . . . your city? What’s so special there?”
Kamoi’s expression closed down, his lips pursed, and his nostrils flared.
Dyter touched my elbow, saying in a low voice that everyone could still hear, “I don’t believe Prince Kamoi wishes the workings of Zivost Forest to be known to an outsider.”
Dyter pointed at himself and tilted his head to Tyrrik. Dyter pushed to his feet, his single hand on his knee. He crossed over to the Phaetyn and said, “Prince Kamoi, I believe Lord Tyrrik will prove a great ally in the months to come.”
Dyter was being way more diplomatic than I would be, but his words reminded me of the other reason for our visit here. Alliances were important, immensely so, if my friends were going to be successful against Emperor Draedyn. I took a deep breath and waited for Kamoi to say something.
“If he causes any trouble, no matter how minor, he will be escorted out of the forest and left.” Kamoi frowned first at Dyter and then at me, though the prince didn’t meet my eyes. “We’ll leave him, no matter how strong he is.”
The silence that fell between us was rife with tension. My heart pounded, and my instinct was to give the Phaetyn another piece of my mind. But I watched Dyter nod and followed suit.
The prince entered the forest before us while Dyter and I trailed after with Tyrrik in tow.
The trunks of the trees in Zivost Forest were thick, brown, and spaced several paces apart, with smaller trees between them. There were a few species I recognized—ash, elm, and cedar—and others I’d never seen before. Some with white bark and others more grayish-green. Sunlight streamed through the luscious canopy in glittering beams, creating a spattering of spots over the rooted, leaf-littered ground.
Less than fifty meters into the vibrant trees was a small clearing, and four pristine white horses stood, pawing at the ground. Kamoi approached them and spoke in a hushed voice.
“Is he al’right?” Dyter asked me, pointing at Tyrrik.
I glanced at the Drae and grimaced. “I’m not sure. Lay him down; let’s give him more nectar before we head off.”
I woke up Tyrrik, relieved to see his eyes flutter open. I kept my hands on his chest as Dyter trickled more sweet fluid into the Drae’s mouth.