Silence followed the end of the tale, Vareck almost daring not to breathe. He had never told this story to anyone. There had been no need. The emptiness stretched between them, not knowing if she thought him a monster, or if his failure to protect his sister and mother had changed her judgement of him.
“So, you’re the Harpy he least suspected?” Her voice was a soft whisper in the dead of night.
“Yes.”
The air was stagnant, the cave once again quiet as neither of them spoke, a few minutes passing them by before Mara spoke up again. “I suppose there’s worse things to have in a mate.” Vareck almost choked at her admission, turning to face her as she curled up deeper to his side.
“Vareck?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry about Maeve and your mother.”
He waited for her to say something more, but not another word left her lips. Instead, her breathing slowed and he took solace in watching her fall fast asleep.
Mara
The few hours of rest gained by stopping at the cave wasn’t enough to heal her bones. Honestly, it was barely enough to get Mara back on her feet. But the fear of being hunted by the Okalri pushed their group further. The landscape shifted climates once again, Mara almost finding the dense jungle around them impossible. How was it that they had landed into a vast desert, climbed some rocky mountains, and now they were in a humid and stifling environment? Nothing of this realm held any sort of sense or sanity.
“Ugh, it’s been hours,” Sebastian groaned. “Can’t we rest?” Mara wanted to smack the Wicked Prince across the face. How was it that this manchild was next in line for the throne? His annoying and whiny nature reminded her of a five-year-old, screaming in the back of a minivan asking if they were there yet. The only wicked essence about him was how much he was a spoiled brat. Sebastian had opened his mouth to complain every few minutes since they had started their journey this morning.
“Ain’t no rest for the wicked,” Sadie called out to the man who brought up the side of the line and she snickered to herself. Mara knew the poor girl was itching for an outlet. Her sister was used to fighting, listening to music, working out—anything but this.
“Sadie, I have a question. Is Bast the shortened form of Sebastian or bastard?” she asked, humor pushing through the exhaustion. Sadie snorted, leaning her body against the nearest tree as she paused to rest.
“Excuse you,” Sebastian huffed, indignant as he puffed out his chest and strutted forward. “I will have you know that I am the—” A shrill cry completed his sentence as air whooshed past Mara’s hair, long strands blowing forward. She turned, gasping at the prince who was hanging upside down by his ankle.
“Have me know you that you can scream like a girl from some B-movie horror flick?” Sadie belted out in a laugh, doubling over as tears welled at the corner of her eyes.
“Maybe a little touch of humility would be a better look on you, nephew.” Even Vareck seemed amused, his arms crossed as he gazed upward.
“Alright, alright. You have had your laugh. We’ll see how loud you scream when you step into a trap. Just get me down,” he mumbled. The prince could demand all that he wanted, but the three were going to savor this moment a little longer.
“Man, I wish I had my camera.” As amusing as it was, it was a little concerning to think of what could be hunting in these woods. Were these still traps formed by the Okalri? It worried her that maybe they traveled out here for things to sacrifice. It worried her more that it was something else. “Alright, let’s cut him down.”
“It would be my pleasure.” Sadie pulled the silver rod from the side of her belt, twirling it around her fingertips as the head of the axe formed. She let the weapon fall into her hands, eyes lining up where the rope passed by the tree. She chucked the axe forward. Mara laughed, watching it spin as it cut clean through the twine and embedded into the tree.
Sebastian grunted as he fell, barely catching himself as his body thumped to the ground. Sadie grinned as she clacked her bracers together, the axe returning to her hand. Her sister reached out to help the prince up, the man’s face a bright crimson. It was hard to tell if the reaction was from all the blood rushing to his head or pure embarrassment.
“Let’s try and avoid the traps, shall we?” Sadie teased, brushing some of the dirt off his shoulder before shooting him a wink. Mara had to admit that her sister was smooth. At the very least, Sadie was more graceful than the prince. It seemed outside of the castle walls he was completely out of his element. All his confidence and swagger was gone. Thinking about her and Vareck’s conversation the night before, she realized that he likely kept it together so well because he was used to the challenge. If he was sent away in his youth, he knew more than just castle and royal life. Sebastian probably never left the castle grounds.
Mara reminded herself to watch her step as they continued through the woods. Her senses were on high alert as she scanned the surrounding jungle. Sure, she was a huntress of sorts, but not this kind. Tracking for people and items? That was easy if she knew what to look for. Traps were completely out of her realm of knowledge. Sadie held up her arm, stopping the group behind her. Mara leaned to the side, trying to peek over her shoulder.
“Another trap. I wonder if we’re near some sort of territorial perimeter.” She kicked a small rock toward another hidden rope. “Let’s not leave a trail of triggered traps behind us.”
“Perimeter?” Sebastian echoed. “You think there could be other clans like the Okalri?”
“Out here? Who knows. The thought has crossed my mind . . .” Vareck trailed off, glancing up at the steadily darkening canopy.
“I thought about it too, but does it make sense? Corvo would only have one group of followers. There’s no reason to split apart your own people.” At least Mara hoped so. She didn’t exactly have a mindset of a demon-god, and it sure felt a lot safer to believe this were the case.
“A ruler doesn’t choose to split apart his own people. Not a good ruler, anyway,” the king said as he stepped over a fallen log, offering his hand out to Mara. “But there is also the chance that it’s not other clans or beings that they are concerned about. Who knows what else lurks in this realm? We don’t know if the Okalri have enemies in the form of other factions, or some other large-scale predator. We need to keep our senses.”
Mara took his hand, carefully stepping up and over with Vareck’s help. Sleeping on the stone hadn’t helped her injury and she didn’t want to aggravate it further. She paused at her vantage point, spying a pit of spikes ahead to the far left. She swallowed dryly, giving a small nod to Vareck’s words as she stepped down. “Right. We may want to avoid that trap over there too.”
As far as their horrible luck, things seemed to be going about as good as could be expected. It hadn’t really gotten worse, so that had to count for something. Other creatures in the jungle or rival clans hadn’t shown more than a few old footprints. She guessed a handful of hours had passed as the group pushed forward on their travels. Mara finally bending down on one knee at the respite of a small flattened area. The twin suns heated the treetops as the air became thick and humid, but their rays barely broke the jungle canopy. She had no way of telling what time it was, or if she could even guess what time it was with the suns.