Cassendir crouched beside them, performing his own examinations on the princess. He nodded. “Fatigue. I’m not surprised, considering what she did at the castle.”
“The eyes.” Kae frowned, uneasy. “It happened again.”
“It’s definitely magic, but not one I’ve seen before.” Cassendir shook his head. “I don’t understand it. Loren is no mage, and I don’t understand what circumstances will trigger it.”
Ma’trii nudged Kae’s sighed, offering a light waterskin to her. They were quickly running out of water, but the wolf thought it would be good to give the princess some.
Kae fondly patted Ma’trii’s head and tried to rouse Loren so she could take a sip of water.
Cassendir busied himself with making camp, still ill at ease after the fight. Now that Kae reminded him about Loren’s unnaturally golden eyes, he was worried. This magic, almost like a possession, was happening more often. Why didn’t she speak this time? As he was laying out the bedrolls, a glint in the distance caught his eye. He stared hard at it for a minute, before startling Kae with a whooping cheer.
“What? What is it?” Kae said, getting to her feet and drawing her bow. She looked around wildly, on edge and on the look out for any more of the Yureun queen’s beasts.
Cassendir grabbed the huntress by the shoulders, and spun her to where she should look. He raised a hand to point and couldn’t contain his excitement. “An outpost! There, a fort. It flies the flags of Aldoran and Rhodia.”
“What? Outpost?”
“We’re less than a day’s journey away from the north, Kae! We’ve made it through the Plaguelands!”
Behind them, lying on a bedroll, Loren’s expression eased. She smiled slightly, watching her friends jump and cheer and spin each other around like children at one of the festivals in Markholme. She sighed and turned over on the roll. Her friends would not die because of her. They would find Kaiten and bring him home. They would find a cure for her mother. Kae would not leave her.
Loren sighed contentedly, smiling as she slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep. It was a good day.
Chapter Fourteen
They woke early the next morning. The stale, still air of the Plaguelands had not changed even after the encounter with the queen. Only the experience of having spent several days walking in the dead air made the trip easier. Bags were packed in silence, their packs now several pounds lighter from their food reserves being almost completely depleted. Only the sight of the outpost gave them any hope.
“Are we ready?” Loren asked wearily. She pulled her pack on with some difficulty, her body still sore from the encounter with the queen. She rubbed at her temples.
Kae nodded. Her throat was parched, and the joy of getting out of the queen’s castle alive and seeing the outpost in the distance had worn off. She puckered her lips to whistle, but her mouth was too dry for sound to come out. She gave up and waved Ma’trii over. Cassendir likewise looked dead on his feet.
“Don’t worry, we’re almost there.” The princess said with a smile, trying to assuage her friend’s fears. “The outpost should have stores of food and water. We’ll be okay.” Her words puttered out into a mutter as she turned away from her friends and began to walk. “We’ll be okay.”
“I trust you, princess.” Kae said, following. It was a simple statement, but Loren paused a step and couldn’t help but smile. The resulting groan from Cassendir made her push her thoughts away and keep walking. They were all tired, thirsty, and miserable.
They walked on through the still air of the Plaguelands, and the outpost grew ever closer. Once they were close enough, Kae squinted and pointed at the stone structure. The battlements of the outpost had fallen in on itself, the stone having come loose years ago. The flags that flew from poles were the colors of Aldoran and Rhodia, but they were faded and pocked with ragged holes.
“Princess…” Kae said. Her voice strained as her heart broke. “The outpost looks long abandoned.”
“What?” Loren focused, but was unable to pick out the finer details of what she saw. Kae’s hunting-trained eyes saw far more. “No…No, that can’t be. Kaiten has to be there. There has to be someone there! We came all this way.”
“Face it, Loren. We came all this way for nothing, and then we will die.” Cassendir said dryly. The mage was dragging his feet as he walked. “At least let’s die somewhere with a breeze.”
“No, we’re not going to die! We’re going to that outpost and we’re going to find Kaiten!” Loren said with a conviction that bordered on desperation. “He has to be there!”
“What if he’s not, princess?” Kae asked. Ma’trii nudged her leg, and she waved him on. The wolf trotted ahead of them. “What if the Beastman prince isn’t where you think he is, and we went all this way, we fought a long dead ghost of a queen, for nothing?”
“Kae…” Loren started. She glanced sadly at the huntress. She thought Kae at least believed her.
“Loren, think about it.” The huntress continued. “Life isn’t as predictable as you think it is. What if — just what if — Kaiten is not here? What will we do then? What are your plans if we can’t find him?”
Lorenw as silent. They kept walking and Loren stared at her boots, moving one after the other as she thought. After a few minutes, she spoke haltingly. “If Kaiten isn’t here, and if we can’t restore his place on the Beastmen throne, then…” she looked back at Kae and Cassendir. She hoped she looked more confident than she felt. “Then we continue on around the edge of the Kilrough Mountains and onto
