Chapter 12
Eris
Eris opened her eyes, but the sun was so bright she closed them again. Her body was stiff from sleeping on the hard ground for the last several hours. The crackling sounds from the fire soothed her, until she remembered that Darren didn’t know Soraya either. She couldn’t be angry with him. If her parents couldn’t remember who Soraya was, then of course Darren would have forgotten her, too. Her heart felt like it was about to burst with sadness. Like it would shoot out of her chest and burst into a million tiny pieces before fizzling out. But being sad wouldn’t bring her sister back to her. The only thing that could save Soraya now was magic. Magic had to be behind it, which meant magic could fix it.
“Why is she like that?” Nolan’s voice came from somewhere to her right.
She kept her eyes closed.
“Because magic comes at a price,” Darren said. It was something they had heard Master Garren say a thousand times, but it felt very different to be on the receiving side of things. She had never used enough magic to exhaust herself before. Her head was pounding, and there was an unpleasant stiffness in her shoulders. Still, she felt proud when she remembered how she and Darren had defeated the Gamjie from the night before. Maybe her magic was growing.
“But how long will she be like that?” Nolan asked.
“Hard to say. I doubt she’s ever done a spell that complicated before.”
“How close are you two, anyways?”
“Why? Do you like her or something?” Darren asked.
Eris suppressed a giggle. Leave it to Darren to take up the role of older brother. Even though he was only five years older than her, he had always acted as if he were another parent. It drove her mad most of the time, but Soraya was always quick to remind her about the benefits of having an older brother. He always brought treats for them from the market, and helped them study for their tests. Eris couldn’t remember a time when Darren hadn’t been around. She had no interest in him as anything other than the older brother he had always been, and she knew Soraya felt the same.
“No, thank you. I’m simply wondering how attached you are to her, since you idiotically charged a Gamjie. With a stick, at that.” Though she couldn’t see Nolan, she could almost sense the shrug that came across with his tone. She still couldn’t understand why he had attached himself to them.
“Clearly you know nothing about magic.” Darren sighed. “I had to get close enough for my spell to work. I had no intentions of actually taking it on with my bare hands. That would be crazy.”
“If you had to get that close, you must not be very powerful. My bet is you would have been dinner had Eris not saved you.”
Eris cracked her eyes, and saw Darren drop the stick he was holding and stand up. He walked up to Nolan and looked him in the eye. “I’m strong enough to take you, so don’t get any funny ideas and leave Eris alone.”
Eris’ eyes went wide. Darren looked angry enough to punch Nolan, but Nolan stood there looking bored. She sat up and cleared her throat.
Darren instantly changed his focus to her. “How do you feel?” He gave one more annoyed look to Nolan before joining her. He squatted down and placed his palm on her forehead.
She pushed it away. “I’m ready to leave for Jara now.”
Darren extended his hand and she took it, standing up. He released her. “You were amazing against that Gamjie.”
“I didn’t fight it alone, remember?” She smiled.
“True.” Darren smiled back. “But still, how did you remember its weakness? Didn’t you always score poorly in magical beasts?”
“I think you’re remembering your own scores.” Eris laughed.
“Oh, right.” Darren laughed back.
“I hate to interrupt your little praise session, but Darren, how long do you plan on causing thorny vines to encircle us?” Nolan asked, clearly annoyed. “We could have made it to Jara by now.”
Eris hadn’t noticed, but a two–foot-thick wall of twisted vines had grown up around their campsite. Clearly Darren was more worried than he let on, though she couldn’t imagine why. It wasn’t as if anything bad had actually happened. The likelihood that any other predatory beasts were lurking in the woods was very small, especially during the day.
Darren mumbled under his breath as he turned and moved his hands in a different pattern. The vines quickly vanished into the earth, and Darren stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“We should put the fire out before we go,” Eris said.
Nolan nodded. He pulled a waterskin from his pack and poured it over the flames until the hissing turned into smoke. Darren pulled his hands from his pockets, then thought better of it and shoved them back in. Eris smiled. Darren always put his hands into his pockets when he felt awkward.
“Eris, how do you know Prince Knox?” Darren asked.
“I don’t.” Eris hoped she sounded confident. How did he know she was going to see Prince Knox?
“Why are you going to the capital?”
She had never seen Darren’s face so serious. His brows scrunched together until they almost touched. Lying to him made her feel grimy, but she also didn’t want him to drag her back to her parents. Telling him the truth wasn’t an option, because the truth was that this plan of hers was a bit crazy and extremely dangerous. Darren would try to force her back home, and she didn’t have any more time to waste. She had to make it to the castle by that night.
“I’m going to the capital for Master Garren. He needed something important from the castle, but he hurt his leg so I’m going for him.”
“Your parents agreed to this?” He tilted his head, almost as if he knew she was making it all up.
“My parents don’t know about it yet, but Master Garren promised to talk to them today and explain everything.” Hopefully the half-truth would help her sound more believable. Master Garren had promised to talk to her parents about her sudden trip, but he had also promised to not tell them exactly where she had gone.
“So why are we still traveling with him?” Darren nodded towards Nolan.
Eris shrugged, and they both looked at Nolan.
Nolan clicked his tongue. “This is the thanks I get? I was a huge emotional support during the attack last night, and now you’re trying to abandon me on the side of the road like a spoiled turnip?”
Eris laughed, but Darren looked exasperated by Nolan’s ridiculous reasoning.
“I also have business at the castle. Shall we?” He gestured for Darren to lead the way.
Darren grabbed Eris by the elbow, pulling her away from Nolan, and began walking quickly towards the main road.
Chapter 13
Eris
The market in the capital of Erila was bustling at midday. Eris didn’t want to gawk like the country girl she was, but she couldn’t help it. She had never seen so many people in one place. Every stall seemed to promise something unbelievable. She wasn’t new to the bartering of the marketplace in Uwen, her mother often went to buy this or that for the dresses she made, but she had never seen half of the items that were for sale before her now.
“Miss, have you ever seen pearls the color of the sky?” A woman missing her eyebrows suddenly appeared in Eris’ face, causing her to stop. The woman held up a string of pearls that were eerily blue. “They can change your fate.”