Edvard becomes subject to Yuila’s abilities.
If you’re just joining this story, you may want to start from the beginning. Read into the world of shadows and mirrors.
♫♪Suggested Music: from Peaceful Journey on AudioNetwork
They made camp sooner than Edvard had anticipated. Much as he didn't want to admit it, his side was becoming an issue. They picketed the horses and set up camp among the thickly wooded bend in the minor road from Sel Deuo. The muggy evening offered not so much as a breeze, and the animals were damp and lethargic in the heavy, late afternoon air.
Edvard turned the sweaty saddles on their sides to dry and spread their blankets over two limbs of a low hanging olive tree.
Yuila had climbed one of the gnarled, twisted gray branches of another tree that grew in splits close from the ground and now sat out of reach over the campsite. She watched the herd of Sumas in the distance, which were barely more than a speck at their range. She looked back to Edvard briefly, and then leaned against the tree trunk and pulled her scarf over her head.
He wondered what was on her mind. She'd been especially quiet all day and hadn't even hummed after they broke for lunch on the trail. Maybe the thought of going home and its consequences were catching up with her.
Neito greeted him with a snort when he approached the gelding for his evening rubdown. He ran the brush in the opposite direction of the hair on the horse's back where the saddle had rested.
"This will be a short one tonight," he told the horse. The gelding resumed eating the long grass that covered the olive cove. Edvard glanced to where Mina was stirring the black pot over the campfire. She waved away a shatten that landed on a fallen log nearby. He shook his head, brushing the horse.
"I like your hair," he muttered. "Can you believe I said something so lame, Neito?" When the horse made no comment, Edvard sighed. "That's got to be one of the most obvious things to say." He moved around to the horse's other side and continued brushing. "I do like her hair, but to say it is so stupid. She already knows it." Neito's only response was to move closer and munch on the grass near his boot. "You're right. Maybe I should ask Sova."
The mare was no more help to Edvard than the gelding, and the mule completely ignored him in interest of the brambles wrapped around one of the older olive trees. He shook his head at the mule, deciding the animal was part goat in appetite.
He had thought about his own consequences of going home to the valley. And bringing Mina with him added a new element to the return. Yes, his father would have dozens of questions, and his mothers even more. Elian would, too, but those would be questions of a different nature.
To answer Mina's question from earlier more fully, yes, there were girls in Sammis' camp. But not many this summer.
He knew why.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Claire’s Fiction Updates to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.