9
It quickly became obvious during their journey that Atissa had never set foot outside Kaighal, and with each passing hour, Ryell regretted not insisting they prepared better, stopping to pick up something more than a handful of travel rations. Not knowing where they were headed, he’d instead trusted her to make that decision and was paying for it now. Atissa could hardly walk on the unpaved merchant roads, and weariness quickly took her, so they’d made more rest stops than Ryell liked. That, in turn, led to two nights spend on the ground, by the fire, with little comfort or safety.
Even the sight of the woods they entered by the end of the first day didn’t ease his mind. If anything, the forest reminded him of the home he’d lost, bringing back all the memories of the war with demons. E
