Page 30 of Shadows in Bloom

There was no hiding the blush that spread across my cheeks, nor the fit of coughs as I choked on my bread.

Alandris cleared his throat, his lips pressed into a thin line. “I am being serious, Zorinna. The last thing we need is to be tailed by those two. He clearly wanted to separate her from our group. I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes another attempt while we are on the road.”

“So am I.” Zorinna shrugged. “Men are simple creatures. They drink and they fuck. If they fail, they move on to the next thing with legs. You’ve spent too much time at the Mages Consortium, locked up with your books and scrolls. Perhaps you’ve forgotten.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you trying to imply something? Because I am seriously not in the mood.”

A devilish grin appeared on Zorinna’s face. “No, of course not.”

“How did you ever become a lady of the court?”

“Oh, please. Don’t make me watch my mouth amongst friends.”

I wasn’t sure I was following their banter, nor was I sure I wanted to. Thankfully, Kallistra and Kaz arrived moments later, with our gear in tow. It was time to depart.

The first portion of our journey would be in the back of a merchant’s wagon, whom we’d paid to take us as far as his next stop. After that, we would be making the rest of the trek on foot. Alandris had explained that, based on the information he’d received, it would take us about one month to arrive at the location of the cave. This was, of course, assuming we kept a moderate pace and made no stops, which was our plan.

I knew well from my travels thus far with Kallistra, things rarely went according to plan. Sometimes it was a sprained ankle, other times it was a bad berry that had you vomiting on the side of the road. I also had no idea how quick of a pace our companions could keep. It was one thing to be good with a sword or magic, but walking for hours and hours on end was an entirely different challenge. One that I had become skilled at. I’d prepared myself with enough supplies to be on the road for at least two months, just in case.

I would miss Fernfallow. The Minstrel’s Menagerie. There had been so many firsts for me here. The first time I’d stood up for myself. The first time I’d chosen something for myself. Myfirst comrades. It was as though during the initial three years of my pilgrimage with Kallistra I had just been going through the motions, following her lead. Now, things were different. These people I’d met had changed me, and I had no intention of going back. I wasn’t the obedient doll I had been raised as. I was coming into my own, and Kallistra would have to accept that. I would not play the role of the perfect Saintess, and I would not hide anymore.

As I observed the town of Fernfallow gradually vanish from sight, my head nodding with each jolt of the wagon, I experienced something I hadn’t experienced while traveling for a long time. Excitement.

Chapter 14

It may have been optimistic of me to presume our journey would be all excitement. We still endured the undeniable discomfort of sleeping on the bumpy ground, never knowing where our meal would come from, feeling the aching pains in our feet from walking endless miles, and keeping late night watches to ensure no one stabbed us for our coin. While slightly more enjoyable with company, those things hadn’t changed.

The merchant had only been able to take us a half day out, and since then, we’d been entirely on foot. We were a couple of days into our travels now, and we’d all started to fall into our roles naturally. Kallistra and Zorinna, with their extensive knives and bow skills, respectively, were delegated as our game hunters. If they failed to secure a kill, Kaz was our next hope, with his… albeit subpar fishing skills. If all else failed, Alandris and I were multitasking—foraging while we practicedmagic. And if even that went poorly, we had some rations we could spare.

The forests south of Fernfallow were fortunately full of edible plants, fungi, and berries I was familiar with. I popped a tiny, red rose hip into my mouth as I gathered a handful of the fruits from a nearby bush. The sweet and tart flavor swam against my taste buds. They wouldn’t be enough to sustain us, but they were easy to pick and better tasting than most things we’d found thus far. Edible, sadly, didn’t always mean delicious…

“What do you think?” Alandris called me over, pointing to a cluster of small brown mushrooms with white stems.

Alandris was going to get us killed, and not in a peaceful ‘fall into an endless slumber’ kind of way, but in a ‘vomit up your entire insides and bleed from your eyes’ kind of way.

“I think if you’re attempting to murder us all undetected, then you have found the perfect mushroom with which to do so.” I knelt down next to him, twirling one of the shrooms in my fingers. “I’ll give you a pass because these little guys are not common in your region, but do not eat one. Ever.”

He winced. “I am possibly the worst person to forage with. I’ve gained somewhat of a reputation at the Consortium for exploding potions and accidental toxic fumes. I find the whole subject a bit boring. I never could focus during those teachings.”

“You can’t be good at everything.” I giggled, imagining his haphazard creations terrorizing his fellow Mages.

“Perhaps not, but I’d appreciate your teaching me.” He smiled awkwardly as he emptied the pouch he had already filled with the poisonous mushrooms. “It will help me as an Arch Magus. If they test my knowledge on such things again, I won’t have such a glaring weak spot.”

“Oh no, Alandris…” I frowned, watching the mushrooms fall to the forest floor. “You should just burn that pouch.”

“It’s that deadly?” He gaped.

“It is. Let’s wash our hands in the river.”

Alandris set the pouch aflame, snuffing out the embers before they could spread through the grass. “So, you’ll teach me, then?”

I nodded. “I suppose I owe you. And besides, if you are to be my foraging partner for the remainder of our travels, I’d like to increase our odds of survival.”

It was a refreshing change to be better than Alandris at something magic related, even if the subject was something separate from the magic itself. Not that he ever made me feel foolish or incompetent when we were training, but it was difficult to witness him summon his magic with such ease while I struggled with the most simple of incantations. Whenever I got that look of defeat on my face, he would remind me he’d been practicing for years and years. He was an immortal Elf, after all, but it was hard not to compare.

“Look here!” I shouted excitedly toward Alandris, who was about ten paces back, examining a tree.

As he came up behind me, I pointed to the blue mushrooms with tiny purple bubbles poking from the tops. “These are called milkshrooms. They have a flaky texture when cooked, and the taste is perfectly rich and creamy—they’ll be amazing if the others can find meat for tonight.”

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