eye, but she was taking this as though it was as simple as removing a splinter.
Once it was gone, he washed and bandaged it just like he had the previous. All of her other injuries were superficial and had healed into scabs or even already scarred. He felt guilt for waiting three days with arrows in her, but he’d been afraid the Elvasi would pursue them.
“They’re both gone now,” he told her, rubbing her back. “I need to look at the maps and refill the waterskin. There’s a fresh spring near us, which is better than water downstream.”
He moved to get the chores done quickly, then stopped at midday. It was too dangerous to tend her injuries at night. Once they had fresh water, he grabbed one of their bags of jerky and put two pieces by her nose, hoping she would see it. He didn’t have anything yet for a big meal. He didn’t have a bow to hunt with. He didn’t have much of anything. He’d tried to take four horses because there would have been more supplies, but one had bolted, not that he could blame it. He lost her mare because he had thrown her on Kian’s stallion, which had been the closest. It had been a fast and fortunate decision. They had Kian’s maps. They also had his personal items.
He looked down at her, worried. She never said anything about his horse.
Maybe she doesn’t realize it is his horse. Maybe…
He went into the packs on the horse and found several of Kian’s things he carried in his personal pack. A letter with his name on it, marked from Senri, his wife and Mave’s mother. A letter from Willem and Gentrin, the other males in his family. He carried a small painting, barely the size of Emerian’s palm. It was Senri’s smiling facing, with a signature on the back—Luykas Andini.
Emerian took that and went back to Mave, who’d made no move to eat yet.
“Hey,” he whispered. “I found this in the bags. I think he would want you to have it.”
Mave blinked and pushed herself to sit up as he placed the painting in front of her. She moved away from it slowly and curled up in a ball by the wall of the cavern.
“I can’t have that,” she explained, her voice not even a whisper.
“But she’s your mother,” Emerian said, trying to understand.
Mave only ducked her head, hiding her face in her arms.
He knew he couldn’t force it. After losing his parents, he lashed out when others tried to make him talk. He’d been a child, but he imagined the pain was the same.
He put the painting away and grabbed the maps. He needed to find the fastest way to get back. Being alone in the mountains was a bad place to be. He’d only been able to put three days’ worth of distance between him and the Elvasi and had no idea if there would be roaming units, scouts, or any other danger. He used the maps to track the topography of the area. He knew where they had hit and saw landmarks, one he remembered passing on the second day. He could also remember the trip leaving the village. Mave and Kian had impressed on him how important it was to pay attention to his surroundings, and he had wanted to impress her. That seemed to be his entire life now. Impressing her because his future and his idea of his self-worth were tied to her.
I’m a warrior, and I need to manage this like any of them would. I can’t let them all down. I can’t let her down or Kian. I won’t allow it.
He mentally made a route he hoped they could take. It was longer in distance, but it didn’t go near Elvasi camps or treacherous terrain. With only two of them, anything could prove deadly. He put the maps away and looked at Mave, who was finally chewing on jerky as she watched him.
“We should head out and get more distance between us and the Elvasi,” he said, hoping she would agree. “We’ll find another place to camp after dark.”
“Good thinking,” she said softly, pushing herself to stand. He saw her wince. Everything probably hurt, but she made her way slowly to the horses and pulled herself up. “I’ll try to be more helpful in the future.”
“You need time to heal. My injuries weren’t bad. I can move around and fly. Just take it easy. Some advice every now