Steeling myself, I scanned the room again and spotted her. She sat across the fire, her back to me, fiddling with something in her hands.

  Relief swept over me like a wave, and I called out softly. “Clover?”

  She jumped, spinning around. In her hands, she clutched the deep rat hide.

  The hide was noticeably cleaner now, and as Clover caught my gaze, a light pink flush crept over her cheeks before she quickly looked away.

  “I said I’d cast Cleanse on it,” she said, her tone carefully neutral. “No better time than now. We’re not moving until you’ve had a chance to rest.”

  Something about her demeanor set off warning bells. I’d expected her to be furious when I woke up–not…whatever this was. She avoided my eyes, and the uncharacteristic behavior made my skin crawl.

  Ignoring the thrumming ache in my body, I forced myself to sit up. “Thank you–for that and the snake. My spirit filled me in. She also told me to use my head next time and cast Radiant Bastion before jumping in.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. “Clearly, I need to level my Wisdom and Perception stats.”

  Clover studied me for a long moment before huffing a half-hearted laugh. She moved to sit beside me, her shoulder brushing mine. “I can’t claim to be any better. I’m the one who ran into battle, right into that beast’s range, in a blind panic. You were just banged up a bit before…”

  Her voice faltered, guilt bleeding into her words. And suddenly, the pieces fell into place–she blamed herself for my injury.

  Well, that wouldn’t do.

  Determination tightened in my chest, and I reached over to take her hand. “We both could have done things better. I underestimated the basilisk from the start, which was reckless. We’re not spirits or gods, Clover. We’re mortals. We make mistakes.”

  My spirit’s voice drifted through my mind, distant and almost…regretful. Spirits are not faultless, Frederick. We make mistakes, just as you mortals do. Some have consequences that echo through generations.

  I didn’t have time to dig into the grief tinging her tone, so I pushed back with a thought. But we mortals have less time to learn from them. My spirit didn’t reply, leaving me to focus on Clover.

  She still wore a guilt-ridden expression, but at least she was looking at me now. Her mouth, however, remained set in a hard frown.

  “You almost died, Frederick,” she said, her voice low. “That isn’t an acceptable risk for a mistake.”

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  I nodded, acknowledging her point. “You’re right. But there’s no use beating ourselves up over it now. Let’s just focus on doing better from here, alright?”

  She sighed, reluctant but willing to let it go. “Fine, fine. Stubborn man.”

  Affection softened the exasperation in her tone, though something else lingered beneath it–something I couldn’t quite name. She stared at our joined hands, her eyes distant and thoughtful. The silence stretched as I watched her, waiting. When she still didn’t speak, I decided to prompt her.

  “Gold piece for your thoughts?”

  Her gaze snapped back to me, and a faint smile tugged at her lips. “Gold? That’s a generous offer. You must really want to know.”

  I shrugged, refusing to let her deflect. “They’re worth it. In all seriousness–are you alright?”

  She bit her lip, her eyes locking with mine as if searching for something. After a moment, she must have found it, because her grip on my hand tightened slightly. “I kissed you.”

  Her answer floored me. “Yes?” I said, confusion doubling down. “I enjoyed it a great deal. You seemed to as well…”

  Doubt crept in, but it faded as her lips quirked into a wry half-smile. “I did. More than I should admit.”

  Relief rushed through me, washing away the lingering uncertainty, though the confusion remained. “Then what’s wrong?”

  She grimaced, looking away. “I shouldn’t have done it. Not yet.”

  Twining our fingers, I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I know you wanted to wait until we reached Starkfell and delivered the herb to talk about…this.” I gestured between us. “But is it so bad that we’ve jumped ahead a bit?”

  Sleeping beside her, kissing her–it all felt right. I wasn’t the sort to care what others thought, and Clover had always struck me as someone who trusted her instincts too. So why now?

  Her shoulders tensed as she turned back to me, her expression guarded. “Frederick, there are things you don’t know about me. Things that people I trusted have tried to kill me for. Friends…even a lover.”

  Ice flooded my veins, and suddenly, her trust issues made horrifying sense. For so many trusted people to betray her? It was unthinkable. They had better pick a spirit to pray to that I never got a hold of them. Rage bubbled beneath the surface, but I forced it down. There’d be time for that later.

  For now, I shifted closer, pressing my side against hers and tucking her under my arm. She stiffened briefly, then melted into the embrace with a soft sigh that tugged at my heart. I twined our fingers again, grounding her–and myself.

  “Then they’re disloyal fools,” I growled. “If I ever find them, I’ll bring them to you in pieces. Especially the lover. Him, I’ll take great pleasure in dismantling.”

  Hopefully that wouldn’t violate my oath, but if it did…well, I’d burn that bridge when I got to it.

  Clover laughed, the sound more genuine this time, and rested her head against my shoulder. “That’s a sight I’d pay to see. But don’t distract me. I didn’t mean to kiss you–not yet.”

  I nodded, refocusing. “What’s so important about waiting until Starkfell?”

  Her fingers toyed with mine as she stared into the distance, her thoughts clearly spinning. I gave her the space she needed, waiting until she came to a decision.

  Finally, she turned to face me. “Because…that way, if you left, the people would already have the herb.”

  Oh. That–yeah, that made sense.