“Yeah, I had similar advice to dole out,” I admit, focusing back on the twinkling sky.
I can feel Ryn’s eyes boring into the top of my head.
“I was thinking”—he clears his throat nervously—“that maybe we should work on some of your training while we’re making our way to the Quietus Mountains.”
“She doesn’t need to know how to fight. She needs to figure out how to break the Vow. That’s all she should be focusing on,” Zeph cuts in.
“Excuse you.” I glare at him. “I will do everything I can to figure that out, but I can’t do much until I talk to the Ouphe. What does it hurt to get better at swords and shit?”
I think back to the young gryphon Sarai and how badly she kicked my ass with a sword. I could definitely use some work.
“You remembered enough of the language to try to use it on me. Maybe you just need to eliminate all other distractions,” Zeph commands, shooting a pointed look at Treno.
I sit up and spin to give Zeph my best get the fuck over it look, but I kick a rock as I try to swivel, and fuck it hurts. My feet are already beat to shit from not having shoes this whole time, so I pull my poor little pained foot in my lap and fold myself over it as I wait for the pain to recede.
“What kind of soft world do you come from if the small amount of walking we’ve done leaves you so hobbled?” Zeph observes, clearly not caring about my soft feet and their issues.
He’s in a shit mood today, which really isn’t different from the shit mood he’s been in the entire time I’ve known him, but for whatever reason, I get the impression he’s looking for a fight this evening.
Now, if I could only get my foot to stop hurting long enough to give him one. “A better fucking world than this one, I’ll tell you that much,” I snarl at him, flinging a look of disgust at him and the pile of berries still tainting my blanket. “I’d kill for a fucking taco right now. And judge all you want, but a car sure would shorten this little adventure by a shit ton. You can stomp around this forest like you’re a big tough guy, but you can’t drive a manual, and in my world, that separates the men from the boys. So may the rocks bless your barefooted path,” I snap, suddenly homesick and dying for a massive bowl of chips and salsa.
Oooh or some mashed potatoes. I’d happily cut a man for a piece of chocolate cake, no questions asked. But no, I get grot fruit and popcorn meat. Okay, maybe the popcorn meat isn’t so bad, but I miss peanut butter and Oreos.
“I don’t know what any of that means,” Zeph snaps back over his shoulder.
“Exactly. You want to judge me for how I’m surviving in your world? Well, buddy, you wouldn’t last a day in mine.”
“Please. From the looks of things, your people can’t even walk!”
I yank a witty retort from my mind and load my tongue with it, ready to aim and fire, but a whimper-snarl from Treno has me unloading my mouth and looking over to him. Treno has his fingers buried in his hair, and he’s partially bent over like he’s about to pray or something. It seems I’m not the only one hitting my limit with all the bullshit.
Every muscle in his body looks tense, and I wait for him to explode, like I’m watching the wick of a firework burn down. When he doesn’t immediately turn to us and tell us all to shut the rut up, I’m surprised. Another pained noise comes from what sounds like gritted teeth, and his hands fist even tighter in his hair. My irritation is immediately replaced by concern, and I abandon my blanket and move to check on him.
“Treno?” I ask hesitantly.
I wish his name didn’t sound so small coming out of my mouth, but he’s definitely still pissed at me, and I worry if Treno tries to rip my head off for getting near him, then Zeph will get the fight he’s looking for. He seems to have a I can be a dick to her, but you can’t code of conduct when it comes to Treno and how he interacts with me.
“Are you okay?” I ask moving toward him, and Ryn and Zeph both stop bickering and turn to take in what’s going on.
Treno releases a choked gasp, and then his hands move from his hair to his throat.
“Fuck, I think he’s choking!” I scream, running to close the distance between us. Ryn and Zeph shoot to their feet as I scramble to Treno, grabbing his shoulder and wrenching him around.
Zeph and Ryn are shouting something behind me, but I can’t hear it over the terror I see in Treno’s mismatched eyes as they connect with mine. His mouth is open in what looks like a silent plea, and fear hammers through me as I take in his fingers clawing at his throat.
“He needs the Heimlich!” I yell over my shoulder, but when I try to pull Treno up so I can move behind him, a wall of pain unexpectedly slams into me, and I find I can’t move.
I’m so stunned by the rippling agony, and my senses are so completely overwhelmed by the flood, that I sort of just fold in on myself. My legs go weak beneath me as I instantly start suffocating. I grab for my throat and try to gasp for air, just like Treno is doing, but it’s like something is trying to pull the oxygen out of every cell in my body. I’m suffocating, but I also feel like I just might implode at the same time.
Treno rolls to his side, his face starting to go
