“And what’s this letter?” I tilted the book toward Maya, who sat comfortably on Henry’s hip.

  We’d been walking for hours, and unlike before, we hadn’t stopped much for breaks. Mostly because Maya had been fully absorbed in the lesson we’d started after leaving camp.

  Her eyes burned with determination, eager to learn, and she stared at the letter as if willing the answer to come to her. Her brow furrowed, and she glanced at Henry.

  He smiled reassuringly. “It’s okay if you don’t remember. You’re just starting.”

  She pouted but turned back to me. “I don’t remember.”

  Before disappointment could fully settle, I ruffled her hair with a grin. “That’s fine. Like your Adan said, no one expects you to get it all at once.”

  She relaxed slightly, and I went over the letters again. “It’s an H. Do you remember which letter comes next?”

  Maya’s face lit up, and she shot her hand into the air. “I!”

  Triumph shone in her smile, and I nodded. “Correct.”

  She wiggled against Henry, pleased with herself, and he kissed her head, his fondness for her clear. “Good job, Sweetling.”

  As the two melted into their own little world, I glanced at the sky and closed the book. “Let’s stop here for now. We should be breaking for lunch soon anyway.”

  Maya deflated, disappointment written all over her face. “We’re already done?”

  Those big, pleading eyes bore into me, but I only chuckled and ruffled her hair again. “For now. If we rush through everything, you’ll forget more than you remember. The book will still be here tomorrow.”

  She hesitated, but then nodded and settled against Henry. Her gaze flicked around our surroundings now that she wasn’t lost in her lesson. “Where are we?”

  I followed her gaze, taking in the towering trees on either side of the path, and shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  I’d skimmed through the herbology book while searching for the tomes, but I hadn’t touched geography yet. Hopefully, I’d have time to sit down and read at some point.

  Eleanor, leading the group, turned back to answer. “We’re about a fourth of the way to the mountain pass that splits Nexus in half. It’ll take us nearly a week to reach it, then a few more days to get to Latica, where you and Thomas will separate from us.” She paused in thought. “If everything goes well, we have about ten days of travel ahead.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Maya curled closer to Henry. “I still don’t want you to go,” she muttered, her arms tightening around him.

  He sighed, patting her back. “I know.”

  He didn’t say anything else, and a solemn silence settled over us as we marched onward.

  A light breeze swept through the trees, prompting Volpe to burrow deeper into my hood to escape the chill. I tipped my face into the wind, grateful for the mild weather. Time had mentioned a desert and a tundra at some point, but supposedly, we weren’t heading toward either. Considering I wasn’t dressed for extreme conditions, I could only be thankful for that.

  I took a deep breath—then stopped abruptly.

  Something sharp stung my nose.

  The others kept walking, but I stood frozen as an uneasy sensation crawled up my spine. The scent burned its way through my sinuses, sharp and metallic.

  Smoke and blood.

  Dread pooled in my stomach.

  Time, noticing my pause, turned with a raised brow. “Nikolas, is something wrong?”

  His tone was carefully neutral, but his gaze sharpened. Whatever he saw in my face put him on edge.

  Gripping my staff, I pushed aside the unease. “There’s smoke and blood on the wind. Dominicus, can you smell it?”

  The air around us tensed like a bowstring.

  Dominicus took a deep breath before shaking his head. “No. But bears have a stronger sense of smell than bats—you’re probably picking up something far ahead of us.” His gaze flicked to Maya and Henry, hesitation tightening his features. “Should we go around? If I had to guess, we’re about to walk into a raid on a town or settlement. I don’t relish the thought of fighting raiders while defending a child.”

  Henry grimaced, glancing in the direction the wind came from. “I don’t want to put Maya at risk, but the thought of just… leaving it to happen doesn’t sit right with me.”

  Not just with him.

  We were trapped between a rock and a hard place.

  As the daughter of the resistance leader, Maya was a valuable hostage. Even without the usual danger of bringing a kid near combat, this situation could go south in seconds.

  But could we really walk away knowing people were being slaughtered?

  Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating.

  Then Time cleared his throat. “I could make camp with Maya in the trees while you go ahead to deal with the raid.”

  Henry hesitated, reluctant. “If you’re attacked, you two are basically defenseless.”

  He had a point.

  “I’d offer to stay,” I muttered, eyeing the direction of the scent, “but if people need healing, I’ll be needed.”

  I could only use Verdant Renewal ten times. I’d have to be careful and save my mana for those who needed it most.

  Eleanor squared her shoulders. “I’ll stay as a guard with Thomas and Maya. You should hurry—raids are brutal and fast. Every minute wasted is another life lost.”

  She didn’t have to tell me twice.