“Are we going back to the three headed tree?”

  Roharu’s ears twitch while he puts our supplies away in the magical bag. He shakes his head and stands with the bag in his palm.

  “Why not? You seemed upset that it could talk.” We should. Maybe there is more to that tree than just warning us about those bird-like beasts. We can take all the help we can get.

  “No back tracking.” He attaches the bag to his belt and holds out a hand. “We need to reach my old vilge quickly to assess the damage and try to rebuild what we can before the first snow falls. The young will not survive without adequate housing and you...” He quirks his lips up in a ghost of a smile. “Humans are weaker than the young.”

  If he had said this before when we first met, I would have taken offense, but now I know there’s no malice behind his words. It is what it is. A simple fact that while the humans in this world outnumber the demons, the orcs, elves, and other races, they—we—are still physically weaker.

  “We will need to store our food, so it doesn’t spoil.”

  Damn. I wanted to go back to that tree, but Roharu is right. Traveling in the winter sounds awful. I shiver. Just thinking about winter reminds me of that dream. It felt so real. I’m still not convinced that it wasn’t real. The cold. The pain. The fear. It was too visceral to be fake.

  “There is salt if we are in a pinch.” He takes my hand and leads us outside of the cave. “And if we are lucky, someone will have an affinity for ice, and they can simply create the wards for it or simply freeze the food until it is time.”

  Freeze the food with magic?

  “If not, then Zika can make the journey back to the capital and gather more supplies.”

  “Treating me like a pack mule,” Zika comments. He’s shirtless, but at least he is wearing pants today. His feet are bare of any covering. “I’ll see what I can find for a reasonable price, unless we perish before reaching this vilge of yours.”

  “We will not perish.” Roharu rolls his eyes. “You and Katsuro are ones for the dramatics. As long as everyone follows my lead, we should be fine,” he directs the st part at Edith, who looks silently embarrassed. Her cheeks redden. “We leave now.”

  The sun peeks past the trees. He must have felt bad for the journey if we are leaving out as the sun is rising and not before.

  “But if Zika cannot find something or it’s too dangerous to return to the capital for him, couldn’t I bless the food or something like I did with the soil?”

  Roharu’s right eye twitches.

  “What? It’s a reasonable thing to ask. It’s not like I want to bless every single piece of food, but if it came to it, is that possible?”

  “I think anything is possible for you,” he says. “But that does not mean you have to put yourself at risk to do so. There are safer options that do not require you to push yourself. Besides, you do not know what moderation means. It would not just be one fruit or a row of carcasses to bless. You would end up blessing the region and then I will be stuck wondering if my mate will open her eyes once more.”

  “You didn’t have to word it like that.” I pout and try to focus on the path in front of us, but the scenery blends and I can’t make sense of it.

  Trees, trees, and oh, more trees.

  It all looks the same to me. There isn’t anything that sticks out. No ndmarks. Not even a change in color. Roharu must have explored these nds from top to bottom for him to know where to go.

  Apollo trots over to my side with Yazir on his back.

  I wince.

  “Turn down the volume, Apollo.”

  He lifts his head and shakes his mane.

  “Is he speaking to you?”

  “Yeah. He wants to settle somewhere close to a body of water so he can replenish his reserves.” I wince again. It feels like a thousand needles are stabbing me in the forehead every time Apollo talks to me. Though I’m not sure if you can really call it talking when there is no sound coming from his lips and it is not so much as words that I hear, but an overall feeling of what it is he wants. “He’s good to travel for another day or so without it, but he would like to spend a night in his element.”

  Roharu cocks his head to the side and then regards Apollo with renewed interest.

  “Why are you looking at him like that?”

  “Thinking.”

  I rub my forehead. “Seriously, Apollo. You gotta find a way to tone it down some. My head is being split in two.” I blow out a breath. “He can’t use ice magic if that’s what you were pondering. He said he is a kelpie, not a frost giant... there are giants here?”

  “There are many beasts and creatures here. A frost giant is common in the mountains to the north. We should not find any in this region, but much has changed, so I would not rule the chances of finding one out. Though it is unlikely, as they do not care for this climate.”

  “And if we were to run into one?”

  “I suppose we are lucky to have a dragon that breathes fire.”

  “I’m confused,” Zika yells. “When did I become your worker?”

  “When you decided to continue traveling with us,” Roharu quips.

  “Ya get used to it. The fox is always scheming something, but it usually works out for everyone’s good.”

  “He is dangerous when he has had time to prep,” Zika agrees. “Still, going against one giant is one thing, but they tend to work together, which makes fighting them more of a hassle.”

  “Can we not talk about fighting?” Edith asks.

  I gnce over my shoulder and offer a small smile, but Edith frowns in response. Okay, I have had it with her. I get being upset because of everything going on and it was probably traumatic as hell to be in some den with creatures that want to eat her, but she isn’t the only one going through something.

  Maybe we should have left her back at the temple.

  No, that isn’t right. I poke the inside of my cheek with my tongue. Thinking like that isn’t going to help anyone. If Edith chooses to leave with Zika or to strike off on her own, then I won’t stop her. She is an adult and her attitude is bringing the others down. She only talks to Zika and attempts to talk to Roharu.

  I’m not sure how long we walk, but my legs are screaming for a break. Roharu looks collected as ever. Not a single strand out of pce. Not even a light sheen of sweat.

  Must be nice.

  “Do I stink?”

  Roharu chortles. “What?”

  “I mean, I’m sweating so much and you aren’t. Plus, there’s no deodorant around here.”

  “Tell me about your world,” he says, changing the subject. “And this deodorant.”

  “It basically helps to control body odors because humans sweat, and demons clearly do not.”

  “It is not that we do not sweat, but this pace is not enough to tire me out. Do you need me to carry you?”

  “No, I can keep going. Though I am a little surprised we haven’t run into anything.”

  Roharu tips his head to the side. “They are hiding in the bushes, too afraid to make a move. I suspect it has more to do with you than our party size.”

  “Me?” I point a finger at myself. “What did I do?” Edith, and I attempted to make some wards st night.... well, I don’t think she was actually trying to show me what she little she learned from the temple because it was like talking to a brick wall, but the attempt was there. “I’ve just been walking next to you this whole time. For hours. Probably.”

  “Mhmm. Your power is growing. They must sense something is amiss and are being cautious. It was good that we visited the temple when we did. My shadows are not enough to hide what you possess.”

  “Good thing or a bad thing?”

  “Neither. Your power is a part of you, and having the means to protect yourself is always good, though others will always seek to have that power for themselves.”

  We stop at a fork in the path. Roharu squats and presses his fingers into the dirt. He stays like that for about a minute.

  “Left.”

  “What’s lurking in the other direction?”

  “Goblins.”

  Yazir trembles. She wraps her arms around herself and sniffs.

  “It’s okay,” I assure her, though I’m not too confident we could take on a bunch of goblins right now. At least I don’t know if I have it in me. Roharu looks unfazed. Katsuro, Zika, and Bazur look fine too. Okay, everyone but me, Chloe, and Edith looks fine.

  That stings a little. Being so physically inferior because we’re humans. Helps a little that Roharu does not make me feel any less than because I can’t go the same lengths he does.

  “How much longer?”

  “Couple more hours and then we should settle down for the night.” He holds out a hand. “Come here. I will carry you the rest of the way.” Roharu does not wait for me to take his hand. He reaches for me and pulls me into his arms before I can blink. “One day, once the beasts have been managed, we can put up signs along the path.”

  I settle against him, listening to the beat of his heart. It doesn’t beat as fast as mine. “How did these nds get overtaken? There must have been a time when you could walk through the forest freely.”

  “A pgue not unlike what occurred at Bazur’s vilge. It took out the crops first. The beasts that did not consume meat perished first, and then the other beasts turned to other sources for their nutrients. Tired and weak, those that lived on this nd died fighting or they fled to fertile soils.” His chest rumbles. “These nds are far from the capital and have never received any support from them.”

  Roharu pauses, but his chest continues to rumble. I want to tell him it sounds like a purr, but he’d take offense to that and go on a tangent about how he is a fox demon and not a cat like Katsuro.

  Either way, it feels nice. My eyelids grow heavy. My legs ache from walking so much. I wonder how long it will take for my body to be accustomed to traveling these long distances.

  “When I returned, the nds were not as I remembered. That was a little under a century ago,” he muses. “I was busy with work and gaining riches for myself. Taking back the nds or trying to find the root cause was not a priority.”

  “But it’s a priority now?”

  “You are the priority,” he corrects. “I chose this area because others steer clear of it and if the temple sought to sacrifice the saintess, then they must have known her power is not great enough to keep anyone alive in these nds. They will look for her elsewhere. Look for you elsewhere before turning their sights here. If we are lucky, it will be years before they decide to look in these nds, and you should be more powerful by then. Strong enough to keep those with evil in their hearts away.”

  His words should bring me comfort, but a ball of despair forms in my gut. I can’t stop it. I want to believe in what Roharu is saying. To trust in him.

  But.

  What if they pull others like me into this world? Others that end up in the wrong person’s hands? That bothers me. The people I cannot save.

  “Vixen.”

  “I know. It’s just... I’ll get over it.” I turn my head, pressing my face closer to his chest and close my eyes. Everything will work out.

  I hope.

  AutumnBanks

  Thanks for reading! Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.