Greeve socked him in the arm. “And so, these guys have been teasing me for ten years now, even though they’re the ones who made me do it in the first place.”
“I still think it’s amazing that you won.” Wren beamed at him.
I looked closely, but her words were purely friendly. I doubted she could see them as anything more than brothers after all the years they had spent together. They seemed like a family unit.
“So, did anyone actually find food earlier?” I asked.
“Yep.” Kai jumped to his feet. “It’s not much, but it should be okay for one meal. If we sleep tonight, we can hunt in the morning when we can actually see what we’re doing. For tonight, it’s just these three birds.”
They started to pluck them for the fire, and I dug around in my pack. My knuckles grazed the hidden book, and my body jerked in response. No one noticed. I pulled wrapped loaves from my pack. “I’ve got a bit of bread left from my friend’s mother.”
“I would trade you Fen’s whole bag for a single bite of actual bread,” Kai said.
“I’m sure he’d love that.” I smiled at Fen. When his fiery eyes met mine, I stopped and pretended to shift around in my pack again. Shit was getting awkward.
Before long, the birds sizzled and my mouth watered for fresh, hot meat. Kai leaned forward and rotated the bird, and I noticed a familiar phoenix symbol tattooed on the inside of his arm. At first, I thought I may have imagined it, but after several times, I knew for sure I had seen it. I studied the others, wondering if they too knew about the rebellion. I wouldn’t mention it until we were alone, but I needed to ask him about it.
After eating the most fulfilling meal I’d had in a while, I yawned and could barely keep my eyes open. Especially now that I was comfortable and felt somewhat safe with the southerners close by. It was unexpected but welcomed.
“I’ll take the first watch. Try to get some sleep.” Fen stood, picking up his sword and sheath from the ground beside him.
“Yes, Father,” Kai said.
“Kai takes the second watch,” Fen ordered.
“I take it back.”
“Too late,” Wren added with a yawn.
I rolled my blanket out and put my pack under my head. Fen moved closer to the tree line, and the rest of us lay down to sleep. This was the first night I’d slept without Fen right by my side. I felt that absence like a fresh wound, or maybe just a scar. It didn’t hurt, but it didn’t go away either. Still, within minutes I was standing in the middle of that gods-damn field in my recurring nightmare. I tried to force myself to wake up, but I could not.
I ran, tearing up my legs, but I was shoved from the towering cliff and drowned until my shredded body was lost in scorching flames and turned to ash. I screamed and thrashed until I heard him call to me.
“Ara. Shh. Wake up,” Fen said, shaking me. “It’s just a dream.”
I opened my eyes to the entire group surrounding me. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, throat raw.
“Are you okay? What happened?” Kai asked. Genuine worry flashed across his handsome face.
“I’m fine. It was just a nightmare. I’m sorry I woke you.”
“I’m pretty sure you woke the whole forest,” Greeve said, eyeing the tree line as he pulled his weapon.
“Kai, take over watch,” Fen ordered.
Everyone else went back to lie down except for the prince.
“I’ll sit with you,” he offered.
“You need to sleep too, Fen.”
“Want to tell me about it?” He poked the fire with a stick until the end caught flame, and he played with it, letting the flames dance like tiny fire pixies.
I stared until I felt him watching me. “There’s nothing to tell. It’s not real. It’s just terrifying.”
He sat down beside me. “I’ll just sit here, and you can lean against me if you want.”
I couldn’t help it. He brought me comfort, and no matter how much I fought it, I fell asleep again. I woke the next morning still resting on him as he slept sitting up. I peeled open my eyes and saw Kai sitting near the fire.
