Tenger held out his hand for my sword, and I gave it to him. I still had my knife, but the sword had a far greater significance. I wondered if Tenger knew that.
“If you are following my orders, then this is your first test,” Tenger said. “Let Kestra go. She’ll ride with someone else, someone she won’t try to escape from.”
My spine stiffened. “You? Because if she—”
“Not me.” The sound of approaching horses caught my attention, and seconds later, Gabe and Trina rounded the bend in the road. Most unexpectedly, Basil was with them.
Behind me, Kestra let out a gasp of relief. I wanted to hurl my knife in Basil’s direction and hope the sharp end hit him first. Tenger would probably consider that a violation of my oath. I really didn’t care.
“Kestra will ride with her betrothed,” Tenger said.
Basil smiled and held out a winter cloak for her, which she gratefully accepted. Deflated and suddenly queasy, I let Kestra go. My heart felt as if that knife might’ve hit me instead.
Or maybe I simply wished it had.
I was a Corack again, with an oath to serve a captain I no longer trusted, who would never again trust me.
I’d given him my sword, a weapon I had once promised to protect with my life.
And the affection shining in Kestra’s eyes that used to be reserved for me was now for Basil. When she looked at me, it was with fear and loathing, and a hope never to have to speak to me again.
But I had no intention of giving up now. She and I would definitely be speaking again.
Basil took my hand and lifted me onto the horse with him. “Are you well? He didn’t hurt you, I hope.”
Rather than answer, I cast him a glare. “Are we their captives, or guests?”
He shrugged. “Honestly, Kestra, I’m not sure. Maybe we’re both.”
“And you planned this?”
“Please, just trust me.” That was all he could say. Which was hardly enough for my comfort.
The two Coracks with Basil were both as young as Simon, a girl dressed in riding crops with her hair in a single braid down her back, and a rather handsome boy who rode forward, addressing the man I now knew as Captain Tenger.
The boy said, “Ironhearts might have seen us leaving.”
Tenger started toward his horse. “Then let’s go.”
We followed him for an hour before he announced it was too dark to safely continue and led us to some caves on the northern coastline. Basil and I were ushered deepest inside, which I didn’t like at all, and the others filled in to guard the entrance. Bedrolls were passed back to us, though I wasn’t tired. But everyone else settled in for the night, so I did too.
“This cave is loaded with terrador plants,” the handsome Corack called out. “For anyone who’s feeling hungry, listen carefully. Eat one, and you’ll be uncomfortable all night. Eat two and you’ll wish you were dead. Eat three, and you will be.”
Near me was a patch of small leafy plants with tiny white flowers near the stems. Terrador. His advice was met with groans, but he only responded with, “Don’t say I never warned you.”
From behind me, Basil touched my arm and tried to explain what was happening, but I rolled away from him. Not only was I angry, but the Coracks were talking and I wanted to listen in on their conversation.
Their voices were low, so I couldn’t hear everything, but Simon and the two Coracks who had come with Basil were clearly in an argument.
“… told you not to interfere.” The girl said that.
“… this complicates everything.” That was the other Corack.
“You don’t care about Kestra.” Simon’s words came through with perfect clarity. “Only her mission.”
“And you’ve forgotten her mission.” The girl said something more after that, but it was drowned out by a horse’s snort.
Basil must have suspected I was still awake, because he leaned over and whispered, “The next few days may be confusing. But—”