Page 49 of A Promise of Peridot
“Don’t worry,” said Fedrik. “I can protect you from at least three of those.”
“My hero,” Arwen replied with a sweet smile.
My gut twisted, and I moved for the tree line. I needed a cold body of water.
Or a stiff drink.
16
arwen
How can I be of service?” I asked Mari as she put the rest of the site together piece by piece with her magic. We needed to camp out in the jungle to avoid the cities filled with Amber soldiers who wanted our heads. I didn’t mind much, but Mari wasn’t thrilled about it.
“Nothing. Just make yourself comfortable. I’ve got it,” Mari said, folding each tent’s furs and hanging each lantern from the comfort of the tree she leaned against. Two iron pots unpacked themselves and a cluster of metal mugs stacked in midair.
My feet shifted beneath me, and I folded my hands into my blouse. “Are you sure?”
I hadn’t seen Kane in the last few hours. I wasn’t worried about him in war-torn Peridot by himself. I was just antsy. And hot. When would he be back? How long until we hiked for the cavern? How would this blade call to me? We had not even been here a day and already I was sick of my own anxious thoughts.
“What’s Griffin doing?” I motioned to his massive back, hunched over something by the fire.
“He’s actually quite the fisherman.” A slight color had risen to Mari’s cheeks. “He caught some fish wherever he and Kane went. He’s gutting them now. But no cod, of course.”
I tried not to smirk. “Of course. Because you hate cod.”
“Everyone hates cod. It’s bland,” she said, brow furrowed. “Obviously.”
I looked back at Griffin, slowly and methodically slicing the fish into filets. Fish he had caught at Mari’s instruction. I imagined him throwing every cod back in order to please her, and my heart tugged a bit. But he looked as pleasant as he ever did. The meticulous, solitary hobby suited him.
“If you’re looking for a job around camp,” Prince Fedrik said, slipping out from his slightly larger, more stylish tent, his blond hair fluttering in the dappled sunlight, “I was about to gather some firewood. Care to join?”
Mari gave me such a forcefully encouraging expression she might as well have waved a flag overhead that read,Go, you idiot!
“Sure.” I grabbed the axe and followed him into the depths of the rain forest.
After flying past miles and miles of night-drenched, unspoiled, fertile farmland and lush green hills on the back of Kane’s dragon form, I had expected serenity and peace, but this side of Peridot was not nearly as pleasant as Siren’s Cove. It was wild and tangled and verdant. A little overwhelming. I missed that clear blue bay and sparkling pink sand. I wondered if anyone had cleaned up the wreckage that now adorned it. If you could even clean blood from sand. Or if the peaceful waves of Siren’s Bay had taken on thegruesome task, washing away each body, each stain with the restless tide.
“Nervous for tonight?” Fedrik’s words jarred me from the bleak image.
“No,” I admitted, traipsing through roots and vines and little critters that scuttled at our feet. I chose to leave out the truth: that I hadn’t felt much of anything in weeks until my poor choices the other night.
As if reading my thoughts, Fedrik said, “With Crawford... That was...” He scratched at his bicep. “How often do you end up in situations such as those with your king?”
“Never,” I lied. Fedrik cut a look my way and I cringed before amending, “Occasionally.”
“How did a lovely woman such as yourself end up as the personal healer to a king like that?”
“Dreadful luck?”
When he grinned in response, all his glittering white teeth sparkled in the sunlight. “Your bad luck is my good fortune.”
A smile pricked at my face. It was so easy, talking to the prince. So easy to pretend I really was just a castle healer, my biggest problem the moods of the royalty I served.
“Why not retire from your post? I have some sports injuries; I’ll employ you as my own healer.”
Briefly disarmed, I faltered for a sufficient response. “I wouldn’t do that. Wouldn’t abandon him. Personal frustrations or otherwise.”
“Well,” he said after a pause, “it’s brave of you to stand by King Ravenwood. To travel alongside him,” Fedrik continued, stopping at a fallen tree and smoothly taking the axe from my hand. “Especially on a risky journey such as this one.”
