Page 111 of Cycle Keeper’s Shadow

“He’s judging me.” Orzen squinted at Watcher, expression suspicious. She pressed her lips together to hold back the bubble of laughter rising in her throat and quickly untied the scrap of parchment from Watcher’s leg.

In a swooping, graceful hand she didn’t recognize, it said:

The forest listens, but I keep watch too. The pools draw near. Be wary. The forest shifts faster than we know.

Velhya knew they were closer. They were going the right way. Wren suddenly didn’t feel so alone in the vast forest. Perhaps this wasn’t such a foolish gamble after all. Wren breathed a little slower. Somewhere ahead, someone was expecting them.

“Let Velhya know we’re on our way,” she told Watcher.

The raven gave a single pointed cry and took off again, wings vanishing into the mist above the trees. Wren caught Orzen’s eye, and he ducked aside, busying himself kicking corpses again as if he’d never stopped.

“It’s okay, Sir Orzen.” Tommick giggled beside him. “Even knights are afraid sometimes, right?”

Orzen muttered a curse under his breath and looked away

“Yeah, kid. I guess they do.”

Maybe Watcher had been a sign of good fortune.

Chapter 29

Splinters Beneath

The heat rose with the sun, thick enough to make it feel like Suncrest had come again. The corpses were gone, tossed into the brush. Orzen sat with his pack across his lap, assessing the damage. The cord had snapped, spilling what little food he’d carried.

Hopefully, Wren and the others would return with something more, or the next few days would be rough. The pack itself wasn’t worth much—patched leather, scarred and ugly—but with a new strip of rawhide, it’d hold.

Across the clearing, Garin snored against a rock, his mouth hanging slack. The little mushroom creature—Crumb, apparently—was tucked under the thick shelf of his beard, a pale lump dozing in safety. The absurd sight was oddly endearing after the chaos of the night before.

Despite the heat, Silas sat cross-legged in the center, sunlight full on his back, not a bead of sweat on him. His hands moved in slow precision, blade turning as he shaved the fletching on a bolt. When he caught Orzen watching, Silas lifted his head—as if he’d been waiting. A thin smile curved across his face. He raised the knife in a mock salute.

Tommick balanced on a charred log, arms stretched wide like a tumbler from a traveling troupe. Orzen couldn’t remember the last time he’d been around children for long. Even then, they hadn’t been like this. The kids he’d known were sharp-edged, all teeth and grit, fighting to survive any way they could.

Tommick was quiet. He was happy and good. Orzen wasn’t sure what to do with that. So he kept his eyes down and searched for a new piece of leather he could thread through the clasp.

His hand brushed the whisperstone, and he yanked it back like it might burn him. Wren’s words flickered through him again:

Thank you for keeping us safe.

Heat rose up his neck, and he ground his teeth. Silly to cherish something so simple. She’d barely spoken to him since the chokevine. He wasn’t even sure she meant to send a message at all. He’d felt her doubt, her fear trickling through the stone…

Spirits, if he could feel her emotions, she must have felt his, too. His relief that she’d reached out. His worry for her. The raw, unguarded care he never intended for her to see.

Damn Pell and his stupid inventions.

Grinding his teeth, Orzen dropped his eyes to the bag. The cord snagged halfway through the leather tunnel. He yanked it, but the knot held fast. Frustration swelled in his chest, and he blew out a hard breath. Everything seemed to be fighting him lately. He shut his eyes, inhaled once, tried again—

“Whatcha doing?”

Orzen’s eyes opened. Tommick stood at his knees, head cocked, peering down with wide-eyed curiosity.

“Looks stuck.” The boy poked the cord. “That’s not working.”

Orzen raised a brow. “You don’t say.”

“You’re mad.” Tommick grinned. “Can I help?”

Before Orzen could answer, small fingers were already working the knot. Tongue poking out in concentration, Tommick nudged the cord through until it slid free.