As I stood in the middle of the barren magical rocks, a breeze rustled the trees and headed straight for me. It spun around me like the crows flew around the turret at Cameron Castle.
I shivered as I recognized the breeze wasn’t fast moving air; that was just its facade. It was solid and made up of things too indiscernible to comprehend.
It brushed my skin with such familiarity as if it had been around me my entire life.
Goose bumps appeared on my skin as it whispered one word to me.
“Alyria . . .”
CHAPTER NINE
POINTLESS SCRUBBING
“Who are you?” Weston asked me for the second time. He watched me vigilantly after the breeze left. I didn’t know whether he had heard what it said. Although I hoped he hadn’t, I felt as though he wouldn’t have missed something like that. I couldn’t explain my situation to him. He was a conundrum. A complete mystery to me, and I couldn’t trust him.
“I don’t know whether you have forgotten, but my name is Calamity. Ca-lam-ity. You probably forgot it because you’ve never used—”
“Shut up,” he barked.
Anger heated my skin, and I walked away from him before I said something stupid. I didn’t make it two steps before he grabbed my arm and spun me around.
“Tell me what you are.” He said it in that authoritative way, which made me want to tell him my whole life story, and that made my blood boil.
“Tell me what you are!” I retorted, thinking about his nonexistent hum.
His closeness had me on edge. It was disconcerting to see how much larger he was than me, and how pathetic it made my demand. His tanned hand was wrapped around my ivory skin, his brand on display. Was the red ring red because of all the blood he had spilled? Disgust swept over me, and I tried to shrug his hand off my arm. My heart pounded, and I stopped fighting when his other hand wrapped around my throat. A nervous sweat covered my skin.
He pinned me with a hard gaze. “You have deluded yourself if you think you can demand anything of me. Have you forgotten my profession? Do you think I started because I love to humor spoiled little girls?”
I swallowed hard against his palm as I imagined him breaking my neck in one snap. At least it would be less painful than being eaten by the Red Forest creatures. He made a frustrated noise and pushed me away by my throat. “Get on your horse.”
I stared at him with wide eyes while I tried to decide whether I should run or not.
“Try it.” His smile was predatory, and it gave me the shivers. I dragged my feet over to Gallant. And told myself I was only doing it because I wouldn’t be able to get to Undaley alone.
Not because he scared me.
Not at all.
I would just have to try and keep my mouth from taking over again. Keyword: try.
It might help boost the possibility that I would survive this trip. The random thought of my grandmother meeting my escort had me laughing more out of fear and uncertainty than actual amusement. Weston looked at me as if I were a strange breed of woman that he’d never seen before.
It wouldn’t be surprising news to me.
I was hesitant to enter any city that would have a welcoming like this one did, but as we walked under the arch and I looked around, the thought left me with the breeze. How could this be only days away from Alger? It felt as though I were in an entirely different world.
The brown houses seemed to be carved into the dirt hills and stretched on for miles. The men only wore white pants and the women only short white skirts, while a white cloth covered their breasts. I understood why they wore what they did because the heat would have been unbearable in anything else. The women were smooth skinned and beautiful, all of them, just as beautiful as the city.
It was primitive, with no stone castle, but the way the sun shined on the flowing stream that ran through the city was breath-taking. Women carried baskets of laundry on their heads, and children chased each other, before tackling each other in the dirt. We walked down a dirt street in the city, and I imagined I was in an ant colony. A tiny person in a series of trenches. A bird flew by, and I cupped my hand to see it against the sun. If only I could see myself from its view.
“We’ll stay here tonight,” Weston said as we stopped at an inn. It was probably only midday, so I was surprised we were stopping, but I didn’t complain. After camping outside the night before, it would be nice to sleep under a roof tonight. Weston paid for two rooms and then left without a word, to do whatever he did.
I climbed the stairs to my room and ran my hand against the cool dirt walls. I sighed in pleasure when I saw the bed. I couldn’t decide between crawling in it or taking a bath first. After deliberation, I decided on a bath.
The innkeeper gave me directions to the women’s bathhouse, and I walked down the dirt streets until I made it to a building I imagined was the one. They all looked similar enough that I was afraid I’d be walking into someone’s house, but the sounds of soft water noises and women talking assured me I was at the right place.
Some women were in the baths, and some were lying on their backs while others poured something on their legs. They all turned to stare at me when I walked in, looking me over meticulously.