Chapter 23
THE LIGHT had turned orange, and the pine forest cast long shadows over the road. The haze amongst the trees shrouded the straight trunks in a veil of purple.
Milleus drew a hand over his eyes, while steering the van with the other. Up ahead, the van they’d been following since the last village crested the hill and became a silhouette sharp against the yellow sky. The van that had followed them had already stopped for the night, and they’d passed a few camps along the way, where people were making fires and children huddled in blankets against the biting southern wind.
“I’m tired,” Milleus said to no one in particular. He cast a glance over his shoulder, where Nila lay across the back seat, half asleep, a slice of bread still on her lap. She had been hungry; he had given her
