The Blood Forest (Tree of Ages #3)(15)
He chuckled, thinking of the Faie spell that had so fully ensnared Ealasaid. It hadn’t affected him, but he’d been glad to play along. He’d been planning on letting her know in the morning, viewing it as a grand prank, but the girl had been so utterly embarrassed, he didn’t have the heart to tell her. He hadn’t expected her to react so negatively.
He walked on in silence, straining to hear Finn and Iseult’s hushed conversation behind him, yet they were a bit too far off. It had been that way all day, and he couldn’t help but feel they kept their voices low on purpose, just to keep him from hearing.
A few moments later, Rae and Tavish returned.
“Just a lone woman with her horse,” Tavish explained. “I doubt she’ll give us any trouble. Perhaps she’d even care to share her fire. I’d rather not venture back into the woods tonight.” He eyed the trees to their right warily.
Maarav shook his head, ashamed that his men had fallen so quickly to Faie tricks, though honestly, he suspected his curse had more to do with his immunity than anything else, as Iseult also seemed immune.
His mind made up, he continued walking, and his men followed. Soon the fire came more clearly into view.
Iseult and the others quickly closed the distance between their groups.
“Just a lone woman,” Maarav explained once everyone was within earshot. He flicked his gaze to Iseult. “Do we want to risk setting up camp in the woods again, or should we perhaps ask to share her fire?”
“We can decide once we’ve reached her,” Iseult replied, then turned to Finn. “You should cover your dragon.”
She nodded, then scooped the little dragon up into her arms, wrapping her in a cloak. The dragon purred happily, likely just as cold and tired as the rest of them.
Soon enough they reached the woman, lounging by her fire with a serene expression. Maarav thought it odd at first that the woman should be so relaxed, but then he recognized her. He quickly debated his next course of action in his head. Finn already knew that Maarav and Bedelia were acquainted, so it would not do to pretend he didn’t know her, but that would of course bring about many other questions, most from his overly suspicious brother.
He was saved from further action as Bedelia acknowledged their presence, and Finn squealed and began to dart toward her, then seemed to remember the dragon in her arms. She quickly passed the creature off to Kai, then finished her approach, lunging for Bedelia, who stood as she wrapped her in a fierce hug.
Bedelia, however, didn’t seem to know what to do with the sudden attention, and awkwardly patted Finn’s back until the woman released her.
“I’m so glad you’re alive!” Finn exclaimed while everyone else watched on. “Maarav told me he delivered the potion for your illness, but I’ve been so worried. I’m sorry for leaving you, it was not my choice.”
“Slow down,” Bedelia chuckled, glancing past Finn toward the rest of their party. “It seems you’ve acquired quite a few friends along your journey, or are these the ones you were looking for when we met?”
“Well you already know Maarav,” Finn replied excitedly, much to Maarav’s chagrin. If everyone hadn’t already caught the first mention of his name, they would surely catch it now. Hopefully they would not feel compelled to ask for further explanation past Bedelia and Finn staying at his inn.
“And this is Iseult,” she continued, gesturing to the tall, ominous figure at her side. She went on to introduce everyone else, including Tavish and Rae. “We’re still looking for my friend àed,” she added sadly.
Was it just Maarav’s imagination, or had Bedelia’s expression tensed at the mention of àed? He pursed his lips in thought. He’d have to ask Bedelia later, once he managed some privacy. There were many things he wanted to ask the woman, as he didn’t believe for a moment her appearance was mere happenstance.
Finn continued to chatter on, and soon enough, everyone was seated around the fire. Bedelia was formally introduced to Naoki, letting Maarav know how much Finn trusted her friend. He found himself almost glad Finn had the ever-suspicious Iseult around to keep her from trusting every person she came across. She was obviously a poor judge of character.
It didn’t take long for Ealasaid to join in the conversation, and even Anna, who seemed to slowly be forming some sort of bond with the other women, another surprise. He’d known of Anna and her reputation as a heartless smuggler for years, and she knew of him as, well, a man of many trades, though the two had rarely crossed paths. He was surprised she’d form an allegiance with women as seemingly nice as Finn and Ealasaid, but he supposed it was a wise move on her part. He knew he should be making allegiances of his own.
Their conversations went on late into the evening, until everyone was ready to fall asleep. Bedelia’s presence seemed to have lifted a measure of tension in the group, and Maarav was grateful. Iseult and Anna took first watch for the night, while everyone dozed off, including Maarav. It was odd, resting easy around such a large group. He knew he had little to fear from any of them, save perhaps Bedelia.
It would be unfortunate if he later needed to betray them, but he’d always done what he must. The present was no different.
Chapter Four
The next long stretch of travel went by easy enough as far as Kai was concerned. Camping near the road with a large fire seemed to keep the Faie at bay, and several times they came across traveling caravans willing to share a bit of warmth and merriment, at least for those willing to accept it. Iseult had mainly kept to himself, watching over Naoki to allow Finn the comfort of warm meals and a toasty fire when they shared camp with strangers. The last caravan had even shared a bit of brandy, bringing deeper sleep to those who’d partaken. Needing to sleep doubly well, Kai had sipped a bit more than necessary.