“I wish to get moving for the day, Sir Pruinn.”
He sits up from where he was resting against the animal, seeking its heat, head tilting up as if he needs to do that in order to confirm it’s still dark out. “It’s not yet dawn.”
“It’s not far off,” I reply before I turn and grab my coat, pulling it on. The waterskin Pruinn gave me falls out from its folds, hitting the wooden planks of the cart with a thump. “The water has frozen.”
I hear him sigh, but then he’s up and on his feet, stretching slightly before he comes over to take it. As he does, he brushes against my fingers, and his dark and severely arched eyebrows lift. “My queen, you should really reconsider sleeping on the cart. The horses offer warmth—”
“And they’d offer their stench too,” I say, cutting him off.
“Yes, but…”
“I’m fine on the cart, Sir Pruinn,” I say primly. “What I’m not fine with is wasting time.”
Without waiting for a reply, I step off the cart and trudge through the snow to do my morning ministrations. It’s completely uncivilized being exposed and forced to squat like an animal, with the snowfall as a washbasin.
When I’m finished, I come back to where Pruinn has already hitched and fed the horses. Fortunately for us, the bottom of the cart was loaded with bales of hay and a couple bushels of food. Even with rationing, our supply has already dwindled to half.
We haven’t discussed what will happen if the horses run out of hay and can no longer carry us. Or what will occur once our own reserves run dry. I’m not sure I want to know.
I walk over as he’s finishing up with the animals, the sky dim. A drab veil is cast over it, as if even the clouds feel subdued this morning. “How many more nights am I expected to be out in the elements of Sixth Kingdom like this?”
He rifles through his shoulder bag, pulling out a familiar pouch. After digging into it, he hands me an oat bar. That, plus jerky and dried fruit, makes up the entirety of what we’ve been living off of, along with melted snowfall for water. “Since we’re getting such an early start, we should be out of it by tomorrow.”
My hand drops, oat bar and thirst forgotten. “We’ll be out of the elements tomorrow?” I say, hope burgeoning in my tone. There are no cities or villages out this way, of that I’m sure, but perhaps a traveling merchant such as himself knows of a lone homestead? Somewhere that we can sleep inside and be fed something more than travel packs?
But Sir Pruinn shakes his head, pulling the hood of his coat over his shorn blond hair, just as it begins to lightly snow. “Not the elements. We’ll be out of Sixth Kingdom.”
This stops me short. “Already?”
“Remember the map?” he says with a smile, his gray eyes almost twinkling. My hackles rise, because he’s talking about the map that apparently shows me how to reach my heart’s greatest desire. “It showed me a shortcut.”
My back stiffens. “Of course it did.”
“I thought that would make you happy, my queen.”
Would it make you happy, Princess?
I grind my teeth loud enough to drown out the memory of Tyndall’s words in my head, and then spin back toward the cart, settling myself into it for another long day of endless traveling. Toward what? I’ve no idea. Perhaps it’s all a lie, and Sir Loth Pruinn, the strange albeit magnetic traveling merchant, is nothing but a fraud. Perhaps he’s leading me to the ruined Seventh Kingdom, where he’ll toss me off the edge of the world.
I would be happy.
Fool.
Naive, ignorant fool.
CHAPTER 23
AUREN
It’s been a whole week. Seven days of training. I sleep until dusk, by which point Slade has already disappeared to wherever he goes, and then I get dressed and come here to train with Judd until I want to pass out. Then I wash myself as best I can without getting my bandages wet, and join everyone for dinner.
I don’t cook it. I think we’ve all agreed that’s for the best.
After dinner, I usually join in with the others playing cards while Hojat reads or mixes up some new tincture to try on Digby or myself. The storm still hasn’t stopped. I can hear it blowing through the entrance of the cave at all hours, raging against the shelter of the Grotto.
And me, I stay up long after everyone else goes to bed, not falling asleep until dawn. I don’t trust myself to be up with the sun. But…I haven’t gilded anything. Not a single time. Not even while I’ve laid asleep in the bed. My borrowed clothes are the same brown and black color as before, the blankets and furs on the bed untouched by my power.