Page 101 of A Broken Promise

Curiously, I replied.

“Cursed Forest.” Keeping a tight look on her face, I noted every slight change. A part of me hoped to uncover the truth here. Villagers lived across from the forest; she would surely know something.

I wasn’t wrong. Her face changed at my words, now quickly sharper and poignant.

“Dead ye wanna be? What ye be going to the forest for?” Her brows raised in suspicion; her voice laced with concern.

A lie it is, I made my next call.

“I am looking for my friend.”

I knew she saw through my lie the moment I said it. Tuluma always told me I wasn’t a good liar unless my life depended on it, but the woman didn’t question it.

“A friend, ye say? Nobody comes back from the Cursed Forest alive, lassie. I’ve lived here long enough to tell you that I’ve seen enough of half-eaten dead bodies flowing down that river for a lifetime.”

I paused. Dead, I knew that... buteaten?

“What lives out there? Do you know what’s beyond the forest?” I asked, poking and probing. Just as I knew she sensed my lie, I could bet my life on the fact that she was hiding something.

I couldn’t blame her for it though. Both of us were.

She paused, pursing her lips together. Considering.

“Terrible things,necromantia.” She whispered that third word, her eyes warily glancing over me. “Any other villager will tell ya to gohome lassie. Kep ye life. Sorry abut your friend, but no need to lose another soul for ‘im.”

“’Any other villager’, but not you?” I asked, a corner of my mouth turning upward. She smirked back, though her eyes narrowed.

“Who am I to kep ya all away. You die, mor friends will come to look for ya. More customers for me. Stupidity might be bad for ya, but good for ma business.”

I chuckled at that, raising my cup and nodding at her. She nodded and departed back.

I wish I could say I was scared or worried about dying, but I wasn’t. What I feared the most wasn’t death, but failure.

I could deal with the monsters, I could deal with the terrible fate, but the unknown… The unlimited possibilities of failure truly terrified me. My mind spiraled down quickly, and I took another sip.

I wouldn’t fail,I repeated to myself, even as I looked outside and saw the never-ending white fields around me. Quickly, I was becoming much less of a fan of the never-ending snow.

Cap finished drinking his stew and huffed, putting his fur coat on. At last, he raised his brows at me as if questioning for the last time if I was sure; sure to let him go. Sure to leave it all and go into the unknown.

“Oh, don’t give me that look.” I smiled back kindly at him. “I’ll be fine. Just make sure you take that vacation we talked about since Florian is already paying for this trip.” I winked at him, and he chuckled back, waving an awkward goodbye at me as he walked out of the tavern.

I rested on my chair hesitating, my body feeling groggy as if all that warm food was lead, making my legs heavy and my eyes droopy. I chewed on the fresh piece of bread, watching two men across me playing rocks, one of them clearly cheating. I pulled my hood on as another group of a few people walked in, a couple of women and their children. The owner welcomed them with a kiss and pointed to a table near me. Silent words were exchanged between them as they eyed me in question, looking back at the owner as she shrugged.

The door opened once more. A tall figure walked in. He had asimple, dark green wool cloak on, black leather pants tucked into his tall black boots. My eyes stopped on the small hilt of the dagger slightly peeking just above his boot. It was expensive, decorated with gemstones.

Unusual and yet discreet. I pulled my hood on slightly more. He lowered his.

My heart stopped when I saw his face.

Him.

I would recognize him even in a crowd of millions.

Him.

I forced myself to take a casual breath. I was suddenly too alert. The hairs on my back rose, knowing that though dressed in civil clothing and without his armies, the Destroyer General stood in front of me.

As he lowered his hood, I saw the two familiar hilts of his swords, stationed on his back, blood rubies shining dull with condensation.

---