“But you said ‘we’ before. Is someone traveling with you?”
“It is my poor speaking of the language. I mean, I, not we.” Leithienil nodded, and Gin let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as she turned to go into the house. She started to pull the door shut behind her, but the other female put an armored boot over the threshold to keep it open.
Sath watched Gin through a break between the blankets that covered him. She moved into the bedroom with the other wood elf behind her toward the window. He wished that he could understand them, but Gin seemed pretty confident in whatever it was she was saying.
Sath, just listen and be quiet. You will be able to understand Leithienil and me if you use the bond. Stay still and quiet, I will get her out of here as fast as I can.
Sath relaxed a bit. He would eventually get the hang of this bond. As he watched Gin chat with Leithienil, the soldier kept a stony demeanor but did crack a smile now and then. He held his breath as Gin moved back toward him, gesturing around the room and then held the door open so the other female could exit ahead of her. “Stay put and don’t make a sound,” she said in Qatunari through the bond, without looking over her shoulder at him. Sath smiled. Most of the time, her Qatunari could be appalling, but on occasions when it really mattered, it was a beautiful sound in his ears. More beautiful, in fact, than any Qatu female, he thought. He made a mental note to tell her that.
“I am happy to see you safely to your destination, Mistress,” Leithienil said, smiling genuinely for the first time since she and Gin met. Gin smiled back and took the female’s hands in her own but shook her head.
“It is not necessary,” Gin said, calling up every bit of strength she had to not fall apart. She had to keep the façade up if she was to keep Sath safe and undiscovered in the bedroom. “I will be gone within the hour and will be sure to move quickly.”
“If it is the Mother Dragon you hunt, you should not take another step in that direction. I was sent by the Council and the Nature Walker to bring Than and Mis back to the Great Forest. They have been gone many years on the quest to find the rest of the brood of the Mother Dragon, and this was the last place they mentioned being. I fear that they met their end at the hands of dragonkind—and so soon after the War as well.”
Gin stared at the other wood elf, not caring that her mouth had dropped open in surprise. “So soon after the war?”
“You have been gone from the Forest for a long time, haven’t you? The war on our people, started by the Mother Dragon and her minions.”
“The one. . .for whom our city gets its name?”
“Aye, for the war heroes; the Ikedrian, Ayna, and her dragonkind cousin, Maede. We wish to honor their memory by not becoming casualties of the war that they gave their lives to end.”
Gin backed up until she bumped into the chair and grabbed the back of it for support. She had heard tales, just as Sath had from his nanny, that the dark side of the world was enchanted by the Mother Dragon’s magic—that even time itself moved differently here. “I have kept you too long from your duty, my new friend. Would it be all right for me to stay in this house a bit longer, just to plan out my route home since you have warned me from my initial quest?”
“I don’t think that Than and Mis would mind another daughter of the forest staying here.” Leithienil put her helmet back on her head, and after she had tightened the strap, she looked back at Gin. “I will pass back this way in a week, Mistress Ginolwenye, and if you are still here—I will check in to make sure you are all right. You have my word.” She saluted, but all Gin could do was nod, her lips set in a thin line. A scream was working its way up through her throat, begging for escape, but she managed to put it away for the time being and shut the door behind Leithienil without a sound. Gin waited until she saw the sentry ride away on her horse before turning back to the bedroom door, where Sath was already waiting.
“Sath, we need to leave now.” She looked back out the window by the door and was thinking about what Leithienil had said, so she did not realize that he was behind her until he touched her arm, making her jump and squeal. This was twice that her tracking ability had failed her—but she put those thoughts away for the time being. “Don’t DO that!” she said crossly. “Were you able to understand that through the bond?”
“Most of it. Sounded like you were becoming fast friends,” Sath said as he pulled his haversack up onto his back and palmed his staff. “If what you think is true, this may be a pocket of frozen time, Gin. Like a trap—the Mother Dragon may have set traps, don’t you see? Think about the Western Tower—she did the same thing to Kalinth and that witch on the top floor. How many set off to find her after the war, from all of the parts of Orana? Thousands! How many returned?”
“Almost none. You’re right. We need to go back the way we came.” Gin took her haversack from him and put it on her back after unstrapping her own staff. “That would explain my magic not working correctly, wouldn’t it? Like in the cells in Bellesea.” Sath nodded. “Let’s go. I don’t want to risk time speeding up and Leithienil coming back to find you here with
