The Journey North Continues
1665 Words
Ashen.
We could not stay close to where the portal dropped us, although we had walked a considerable amount of distance from where it dropped us.
Veyra said the tear would leave residue. Hunters with witch-sight could follow it if we gave them enough time. Solan said the moonlight could cover some of our tracks, but not all. Nara said nothing and walked with her knife held too tightly.
So we kept moving.
The night thinned into gray morning.
Gray morning turned into pale afternoon.
The forest did not end.
It only changed faces.
Dense pine became bare-limbed birch. Snow turned to muddy patches. Frozen streams cut across our path, and twice I had to test the ice before letting the others cross.
Moon never complained.
That made me watch her more.
She was trained. I knew that. She had royal discipline, wolf endurance, and pride sharp enough to keep her standing long after comfort ended.
But she was still a princess who had been kidnapped, hunted, injured, thrown through forests, and forced to sleep nowhere safe.
By late afternoon, her steps had grown slower.
Heavy.
Her cloak dragged once on a thorn branch, and she stared at it for half a second as if deciding whether fabric was worth fighting.
I reached around her and freed it before she had to pull.
She blinked at me.
“Thank you.”
I nodded and kept walking.
A few minutes later, her boot caught on a root.
I caught her waist.
She looked embarrassed. “I’m fine.”
“You are about to pass out.”
“I am not.”
“You blinked at a tree for insulting you.”
“It was an ugly tree.”
Solan glanced back. “She has a point. That tree lacks courtly presence.”
Moon shot him a look.
I crouched slightly in front of her.
She froze.
“What are you doing?”
“You can ride on my back.”
Her cheeks turned red so quickly
Cute. Adorable.
I almost forgot we were being hunted.
“I absolutely cannot.”
“You look exhausted.”
“I am a princess.”
“Yes. I have been made aware.”
“I can walk.”
“You can. But you do not have to.”
Her blush deepened.
Storm stirred through the bond, warm and flustered.
I was beginning to recognize that feeling.
Moon lifted her chin. “I am not climbing on your back like a child.”
“I did not say like a child.”
Solan muttered, “I was about to.”
Nara cut in before Moon could murder him.
“She accepts.”
Moon turned. “Nara.”
Nara looked at me. “She accepts the ride.”
“I do not.”
“You almost walked into a bush,” Nara said.
“It moved.”
“It did not.”
Veyra nodded solemnly. “I witnessed the bush. It was stationary and deeply innocent.”
Moon looked betrayed by everyone.
I stayed crouched, waiting.
Not teasing.
Not pushing.
Just offering.
Moon looked down at me, then away, cheeks still red.
“This is unnecessary,” she said.
“Probably.”
“And embarrassing.”
“Only if Solan speaks.”
Solan placed a hand over his chest. “I am wounded.”
“You are bruised.”
“Emotionally, I am wounded.”
Moon sighed.
Then, very carefully, she rested her hands on my shoulders.
The bond warmed before she even settled against my back.
Moon was stiff for the first few steps, like she was trying to hover instead of actually let me carry her.
“You can relax,” I said.
“I am relaxed.”
“You are gripping my shoulders like I am a cliff.”
“You are very tall.”
“That is not my fault.”
Nara walked beside us, smirking for the first time all day.
“She looks like a tomato.”
Moon gasped. “I do not.”
Veyra leaned closer. “A royal tomato.”
Solan added, “A moon tomato.”
Moon buried her face briefly against my shoulder.
The warmth of it nearly made me miss a step.
Not because she was heavy.
She was not.
Because she trusted me enough to hide there.
I adjusted my grip beneath her thighs and kept walking.
After a while, her body softened against my back. Her breathing slowed. Her scent wrapped around me, tired and sweet, moonflower under cold air.
I could felt her wolf settle without the presence of mine.
Maybe Moon could too.
Maybe this was what she had meant.
A touch calming fear.
A scent quieting emotions.
A heartbeat calling the other home.
For once, I did not want to step away from it.
We stopped before dusk because it was getting to dark to see the path, and Solan declared if he didn’t get a break and something to eat he would not be able to make it north then mumble something about the queen.
The clearing we found was narrow, half-hidden behind fallen pine and a slope of stone. Not perfect. Defensible enough.
I set Moon down carefully.
She immediately tried to look like she had not enjoyed being carried.
Nara ruined it by saying, “You drooled on his shoulder.”
Moon’s mouth fell open. “I did not.”
I glanced at my shoulder.
There was nothing there.
Nara grinned. “Made you look.”
For a moment, Moon looked like she might chase her.
That was good.
Anger meant energy.
I left them arguing and started gathering what we needed.
Branches first.
Then pine boughs.
Then strips of canvas from one of the bags, tied between two low trunks and weighted with stones. The ground beneath had to be cleared, then layered with leaves and needles to keep the cold from rising into bone. I cut small stakes from deadwood, tied corners down, checked wind direction, then built a second low covering beside the first.
When I looked up, Moon was watching me.
Not subtly.
“What?” I asked.
She blinked. “Nothing.”
Veyra, sitting on a rock while pretending not to rest, said, “She is admiring the emergency husband skills.”
Moon choked.
Solan looked up from sharpening a short blade. “Emergency husband skills?”
Veyra waved a hand. “Shelter. Fire. Food. Mild emotional repression. Very traditional.”
I focused very hard on tying the last knot.
Nara laughed.
Moon looked at the shelter again, softer now.
“You did that quickly.”
“I have slept outside before.”
Her expression changed.
I regretted saying it too casually.
But she only nodded and stepped closer to help lay pine boughs inside.
No pity.
No question.
Just help.
That made me like her more.
As if that was wise.
When the shelter was done, Solan stood with a theatrical sigh.
“I assume food will not throw itself into our camp.”
Veyra looked at him. “Not unless you insult it first.”
Solan looked at me. “Hunting?”
I nodded.
Moon immediately frowned.
“I will not be long.”
“You should rest.”
“I will rest when everyone has eaten.”
“That is not a good answer.”
“It is the answer I have.”
She did not like that.
I could feel it.
But she did not argue in front of everyone.
Instead, she stepped closer and placed her hand on my chest
Warm.
This time, I let myself stand still.
When she finished, she looked up at me.
“Come back.”
The words hit deeper than they should have.
I nodded.
“I will.”
Solan was not bad at hunting.
That was the first surprise.
He moved quietly for someone who looked offended by mud. He read broken branches well enough. He knew how to hold a blade without making unnecessary noise.
He was simply not better than me.
That seemed to annoy him.
By the time we returned, I carried two rabbits and a fat snow grouse. Solan carried one rabbit and a wounded sense of dignity.
Veyra saw us first.
Her smile spread slowly.
Solan pointed at her before she spoke. “No.”
“I have said nothing.”
“You were about to.”
“I was merely noticing that Ashen brought dinner and you brought a snack.”
Solan lifted his rabbit. “This is a respectable rabbit.”
The rabbit, dead and limp, did not defend itself.
Nara looked at it. “It’s kind of small.”
“It was compact,” Solan said. “Efficient. Noble.”
Moon pressed her lips together.
I looked away before she saw me smile.
Solan caught it anyway.
“You’re enjoying this .”
“No.”
“You are.”
“I was thinking about seasoning.”
“I am being bullied by fugitives.”
Veyra took the small rabbit from him. “A tragic fall for royal mouse-kind.”
Solan leaned closer to her. “Call me mouse again, and I will make your next portal open into a pond.”
Her eyes brightened. “You can do that?”
“No.”
“Disappointing.”
Their arguing continued while I cleaned the catch and started the fire. It was different from Veyra’s usual teasing. Solan answered her too easily. Veyra watched him too closely when she thought no one saw.
When she handed him the recovery potion again, she pretended to shove it at his chest.
His fingers brushed hers when he took it.
Both of them looked away too quickly.
Interesting.
Nara caught my eye.
She had noticed too.
For one heartbeat, despite blood, bounty, and exhaustion, we were only siblings sharing a silent discovery.
Then she ruined it by whispering, “Veyra and royal mouse sitting in a tree.”
I nearly dropped the knife.
- Writer
