I was about to ask about the initiation but he interrupted me. “It’s a test that all of our prospects that are not firstborn go through. And no, I will not discuss it further.”
My mouth pressed into a firm line of impatience, and I elbowed him in the stomach, a sign of my displeasure. He didn’t even grunt or make any movement to signify he felt it.
His dark eyes stared into mine and I could see how desperately he wanted to pour out his heart, his feelings. But I knew that he would recover and close up again.
I was right.
Seconds later, his back stiffened and he broke eye contact. “Tomorrow, I have to blindfold you.”
“What? No!” I argued. “You said we were days away still. You don’t mean to—I can’t possibly—” My heart pounded loudly and I could feel myself start to panic. Without realizing it, I’d grabbed on to his tunic.
“Thalia.” His warm hands wrapped around mine as he gently pried them off, although he didn’t let go of my hands right away. “I have to protect what is precious to me. No one can know where they are.”
What is precious to him? They? Was he referring to his family? I silently groaned. Of course he was probably referring to Gwen. A sour feeling hit my stomach and I began to doubt everything. The kiss was an accident. It had to be.
I nodded in understanding and pulled away. Anger replaced the sour feeling. Anger that after all we had been through Kael couldn’t trust me. That he was going to blindfold me for days—was asking me to go without one of my most important senses. I hated the idea. It would leave me vulnerable. I had to remind myself that thought wasn’t true. I was Thalia Valderstal. I’d killed a small army of Septori just the other night. I—
Was the reason that the kind farmer and his wife were murdered in their home.
Guilt was a heavy burden to bear, and at that moment, I decided being blindfolded was nothing compared to living with innocent blood on my hands. I scooted farther from Kael so we were no longer touching, but I could still feel his body heat.
He watched me, saying nothing. He wouldn’t.
Just then, a large shadow fell across our feet. I didn’t move, but Kael pulled out a knife, at the ready.
I heard the shuffling of hooves, as Faraway positioned himself and kneeled down in front of the outcropping. If I stretched out my arm I could touch his white mane. I had been so occupied by my guilt that I hadn’t sensed his approach. He didn’t have to sleep on the ground—it would be much colder for him—but I was grateful for his sacrifice as we could immediately feel the cold night air cut off and replaced by warm equine body heat.
Kael put away his knife, and I gratefully turned my body so that I could lay my head on Faraway.
“He came back,” Kael said with a surprised chuckle.
“Of course. I never doubted it.” I said.
Kael reached out and patted Faraway’s backside. “Thank you.”
Faraway turned his large head and stared at Kael, blinking once. That was probably the only communication he would give to him.
~~~
Being blindfolded wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Kael had taken off the headband he wore to keep the sweat off his brow and unfurled it. He positioned the dark blue material around my eyes. The cloth was slightly rough and it smelled like a sweaty Kael.
He insisted I ride in front of him so he could make sure I didn’t try to take the blindfold off. It was terribly hot and uncomfortable, and my hands kept wiping away the sweat from under my eyes. And that was what I was grateful for, the freedom of my hands. I was being careful to not lift the blindfold but use the edge of my sleeve to wipe at the drips of sweat.
His hands came up and would press down over my eyes whenever I did this.
It was awfully hard not to smile and give away my secret the whole day. After two hours, I had found myself having problems breathing. I kept feeling like every step we were taking we were going to fall off a cliff or slip down an invisible embankment. Impossible, I know, but the imagination can wreak havoc on your senses. An hour later I had given in to the temptation and was now cheating. I stretched out to Faraway and connected with him mind-to-mind, sight-to-sight.
The feeling of falling stopped as soon as the horizon and the solid earth came into view. I sighed contentedly and relaxed. I could now see everything Faraway did.
About midday, Kael had turned and started heading southeast. It was slowly getting warmer and the ground became rockier. When we stopped, Kael would forage, hunt, and cook dinner. I disconnected from Faraway during these times, so I spilled frequently and my shirt was a mess. The second night we made camp out in the open, and Kael was nice enough to remove the blindfold so I could sleep.
As long as I didn’t spend too much time studying the surroundings.
I stretched out along the ground, surprised at how warm the earth was. Heat slowly radiated from the it, and I didn’t need Faraway’s body heat or anyone else’s. I was amazingly warm, which told me that we were indeed heading farther south. As warm as the ground was, I could only surmise that we were somewhere south of the mountains, near the hot springs.
The next day by noon, I was no longer warm, but hot. Sitting in front of Kael became almost unbearable. I was now sweating not only through the bandana but through my shirt and back. And I was starting to go crazy from having my eyes covered.
Loudly, I called a halt and scrambled down from in front of Kael. Kael was worried I was going to take off the blindfold, but I just grabbed at the shoulder seam of my dress and yanked until I heard a satisfying rip.
I heard Kael’s masculine laugh as I attacked the seams on my other shoulder, until the dress resembled what my own clan wore. We were used to harsh winters and cold climate from living in the mountains. Sleeveless jerkins, dresses, and tunics were common. Now in the opposite, the extreme heat, I couldn’t handle it. Stifling.
The slight breeze danced across my now bare skin and I felt slightly cooler. I plopped down on the ground and reached for the hem of my skirt. Hands touched mine, and I jumped as Kael placed a small blade in my hand. I used the knife to take a hand’s length off of the bottom. Enough I would feel a breeze when riding, but not enough to be indecent.
“You continue to surprise me.” Kael spoke softly and helped get me situated on my horse again.
“I continue to surprise myself,” I said. I’d probably regret this later. After all, I hadn’t gotten many dresses from Skyfell, but for now it felt good.
Later that day we rode toward a large red rock formation that looked like a fist being shaken angrily at the sky. I was careful to keep my head down as I studied the unique landmark. We continued to head toward the fist as our paths started to ascend. I could smell...something odd. Sulfur? We must be closer to the hot springs. Kael must know that I would be able to figure out where he was going based on the temperature and smells. So why did he still continue to blindfold me? What wasn’t he telling me?
“Talk to me.” I said.
“What do you want to know?”
“Anything, everything. How did you become captured by the Septori all those months ago?
Kael stilled, and I felt embarrassed by my insistence. I had let him hide behind walls to long. It was time to start breaking them down.
“Or not. But I thought after all we’ve been through, I at least deserved the story.”
