What had he done to me?

I trembled in the wind. Tears rolled down my cheeks, leaving my skin wet and cold.

The High General calmly unclipped the crescent-shaped buckle that held his black cloak at his shoulder.

“Let’s get you out of here.” Taking the cloak off, he wrapped it around me. It shielded me from the weather, laying heavily on my shoulders. The wind had quieted down somewhat, but the cold remained bitter.

He led me to his horse.

“Do you ride horseback? Will you stay in the saddle?” he asked.

I didn’t know anything about myself. In one single breath, he’d just erased everything from my past, even my name.

I glared at him. “I don’tremember.”

He winced, as if he’d already forgotten what he’d done.

“Right. Well…” He placed his hands on my waist. “Just hold on, then. I’ll ride with you.”

He lifted me up easily, as if I were a child, and placed me sideways on his horse. The animal snorted, stomping its hooves.

Its master calmed it with a single word, “Steady.”

I tried to hold on as he’d said, but my hands tangled in his cloak draped around me. I swayed backwards and nearly fell. But he promptly hopped into the saddle behind me, gripping me around the waist.

“Steady,” he said in the same tone of voice as he’d spoken to his horse.

Was this what I was supposed to be in this world? Something akin to an animal? Didn’t Trez mention something about me being a pet? My heart squeezed with fear at the thought.

My brain remained fuzzy, however. Thinking hurt. But the fog seemed to be thinning slowly. I tested it by opening my mouth to ask a question. It still didn’t work. The words wouldn’t come.

The High General seemed oblivious to my struggle. He steered his horse along the path toward the beautiful palace shimmering in the distance. His people spread their wings. Taking off into the air, they flew ahead of us. Only the black bird remained, circling high above us like a vulture waiting for me to drop dead.

“We’ll be in the palace soon,” the High General said. “You’ll get a warm bath and a meal.”

A bath and a meal sounded great. My mind was too jittery with anxiety to feel tired. But my body felt weak and sluggish, like it hadn’t rested in days.

Still, I wished he would just let me go home…

Where was my home?

I tried to remember, searching my brain for any clues that would trigger my memory, but found none.

Tilting his head, he watched my face. “Do you wish to say something?”

With his arm firmly holding me in place and his cloak keeping me warm, I relaxed a little, clearing my throat.

“I have questions,” I said, glad that my voice came out strong enough for him to hear.

“Ask.” He shrugged. “I may feel inclined to answer.”

“I can’t ask. I was told not to.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Did thebrackfeed you some glacier saffron?”

Trez.I remembered him and everything that happened from the moment he’d offered me a drink. Except that my memories of that were submerged in a dense fog. There was Trez, and me, and two tall glasses with a shimmering liquid on a bar counter. But all of that was happening as if in a bubble. I didn’t remember any of the surroundings. Where was that bar counter? Who else had been there?

“I don’t know,” I said softly.