It’s near evening when Ramsey finally returns, looking deeply troubled. Probably regretting what happened between us.
I catch him watching me out of the corner of his eye, his expression hard, his muscles tense.
Perhaps my leaving, if only for a few days, will come as a relief to him.
“I’m going with Dogan and Nori to seek out the bugs that I need to make the dye.”
Without pause, he says, “No, you are not.”
My head snaps up from my weave so I can look at him.
“Yes, I am.”
“You have no need to go with them.”
“I know my weaves mean nothing to you, but I’m doing what’s requested of me by my chieftain and yours—so I’m going, and you have no right to tell me no.”
“You misheard me.”
“Did not!” I snap.
“I did not mean to say you could not go.”
“You’re saying I should go without Dogan and Nori?” I scoff.
“Yes.”
“I’d be a fool to traverse the forest alone.”
“You will not be alone.” He grabs a bag, placing a pair of trousers and a shirt inside. “You will be going with me.”
16
RAMSEY
Knowing that one day I will be reunited with the Great Princess Kasmina should have me elated.
Instead, I find I am filled with a dread so thick; it is as though a heavy shroud has been cast over me.
And there is no escape.
The sound of the wind whistling through the trees as we make our way through the forest sets me on edge in a way it never has before, even when I was guiding Amber through the rough terrain.
It feels as though I have lost a battle. That there is no hope of restoring my honor.
A small yelp up ahead alerts me to another tumble Asha narrowly avoids. She was not made for forest walking.
I should not like this quality in her.
Yet, I do.
The wind picks up, and Asha’s unrestrained hair dances, the golden strands catching in the light when the sun filters down through the canopy.
Her steps are small and careful when going across flat earth, rigid when traveling over rocks and gravel.
I sense that something is sour about her, and I wonder if she regrets the expedition.
Or maybe she mislikes being around me.
