Rise (The Order of the Krigers #1)(13)

“You’re in a dream,” he explained. “When you wake up, where will you be? Are you in the capital somewhere?” He shook his head, frustrated. “I can’t feel your presence. You must have managed to get outside the capital’s walls.”

My hands flared with intense pain, as if they were on fire. Morlet reached toward me. When his gloved hand neared my face, a feeling rose inside of me that begged me not to tell the king about the cave or the assassin.

I jerked back. “Don’t touch me!”

He laughed, a deep, throaty sound, making my skin crawl. “I’ll get what I want from you,” he snarled.

My eyes flew open, and I gasped. My entire body shook, even though the dying fire burned right next to me. Anders tossed a log into the fire, his eyes dissecting my every move. The flames swayed around the wood, making it crackle.

“You don’t look good,” he observed, his voice rumbling off the walls of the cave.

Too bad there wasn’t a small rock to hurl at him. Of course my forehead must look bad, but that didn’t mean he had to point it out to me.

“Is it morning?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.

“Yes,” he replied, shifting uncomfortably. “I, uh, just went out to gather some food for breakfast. When I returned, you were tossing and mumbling something unintelligible. Were you dreaming?”

Trembling from the memory still fresh in my mind, I said, “It was more like a nightmare.” The thought of Morlet’s magic slithering around me made me recoil.

“Tell me about it,” Anders said, his words laced with a sense of urgency.

I scooted closer to the fire, and the growing flames warmed me. “I dreamed about Morlet. He wanted to know where I was.”

The assassin stilled. “You dreamed of the king?”

“As I said before, it wasn’t pleasant.” Wrapping my arms around my legs, I rested my head on my knees, gazing into the fire. Images of Morlet danced in the flames—the cloaked figure rising in the inferno, feeding off it, growing in strength. The image blurred and disappeared.

“Is there anything specific you recall?”

Closing my eyes, I remembered the figure standing on the platform and the fog swirling around me. “He told me I was dreaming, and he wanted to know where I would be when I woke up.”

Anders huffed. “I’m sure that’s all it was. Just a dream.” Turning, he grabbed a skinned squirrel lying behind him. He shoved a green stick through its body from its tail to its head and placed it over the fire to cook. “I’ve never heard of Morlet communicating with a Kriger through a dream.”

“I didn’t say he was communicating with me,” I snapped. Why did he automatically want to discredit me? “It was simply a nightmare.”

“This is going to be a long journey if you take everything so personally,” he mumbled, turning the squirrel over. “Fortunately, I haven’t had to deal with any other female Krigers, or I would have killed myself by now.”

If the assassin didn’t learn to keep his mouth shut, I’d end up murdering him while he slept. Looking directly at me, he raised his eyebrows as if sensing my thoughts. I focused on the fire, trying to ignore him.

We ate the squirrel in silence. When we finished, Anders kicked dirt on the fire, putting it out. The only light came from the cave’s small opening, and I headed toward it, eager to be outside in the fresh air.

I walked out of the cave and froze, stunned by the sight before me. There were hundreds and hundreds of trees so tall, the tops weren’t visible. I went over to the nearest one and ran my hand along the reddish-brown bark.

“You act as if you’ve never seen a tree before,” Anders said as he ducked out of the cave.

“I’ve never been outside of the capital,” I replied, surprised by the softness of the trunk. “Last night it had been too dark to appreciate the sheer size and coloring of the trees.”

The lines in Anders’s forehead creased. We stood in silence a minute before he said, “We’re heading this way.” He nodded to the left. “Follow my path and don’t deviate from it.” He started walking, not waiting for me to respond.

I hurried after him, tucking my hands inside my sleeves, trying to stay warm. “Are we two miles from the capital?” I asked, hoping Morlet couldn’t sense me.

“We’re a good four miles out.” Anders moved between the trees as if he knew exactly where he was going even though there weren’t any visible paths.

We continued in silence for quite some time, which afforded me the opportunity to review the events from yesterday. My situation seemed surreal. I was one of twelve Krigers destined to save the kingdom of Nelebek. Right now, I would settle for just saving my father. However, even if he managed to overcome his illness, he’d still be a soldat working in the mines, and we’d still be living under the king’s oppression. If there was a chance to change that—no matter how small or dangerous that chance—I had to take it.

“Do you think you can attempt to be quiet?” Anders said, interrupting my thoughts.

“I haven’t spoken at all.”

“No,” he retorted, turning around to face me. “You walk as if you’re trying to announce our presence.”

“Do you think the King’s Army is nearby looking for me?”