Page 66 of The Wild Moon
“What is the plan in the morning?” I asked.
“We’ll ford the river,” he said. “After that, it’s up to you.”
“You’re so certain what we want is on the other side,” I said, glancing at the river.
“Actually, I’m not at all certain you’ll find a damn thing,” Aaron said. “Your father worked the area to the west of here on his own several times. Said he found promising signs, but never said anything specific. We’ve worked everywhere else this side of the river together over the last year. If there’s going to be anything, my guess is it’s on the other side. But I don’t know. There could be nothing there as well.”
I nodded. What I’d read in his journal seemed to say the same thing without actually saying it. My father had gone into great detail about his finds on the south side of the river. The artifacts he’d found, all of which were now in Lars’ possession.
Except for one golden idol of Amunlea, I thought wryly.
However, again, by focusing on what hehadn’tsaid, I noticed he didn’t utter a single word about the other side of the river. Not even a speculation.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Something was wrong.
I woke up with a start, looking around frantically, trying to still my thundering heart.
The tent was empty, but from outside, I could hear voices. Light was in the air. Morning had come. I listened for a moment longer, picking out the individual voices of the team members, including Aaron. Nothing seemed amiss. Everyone was calm and going about their morning routines.
Sliding out of the sleeping bag–Aaronhadprovided me my own one of those at least–I quickly dressed, pulling on black hiking pants and a dark blue top that was lightweight but thick enough to stop bugs. It was form-fitting, and I got a few glances from the team members when I emerged, but that was all. They were professionals.
“What is it?” Aaron asked from his crouch by the fire, the first to pick up on my changed mood.
“I’m not sure,” I said, taking deep breaths, trying to calm myself. I needed the thundering in my ears to stop so that I could focus.
Aaron rose to his feet in an easy, fluid movement and walked over to me. His presence was once again like an icy blanket, helping numb my Soulbond, dulling the incessant pull.
I looked at him as the thundering in my ears dulled ever so slightly. Could he know the effect he had on me?
“What is it?” he asked, looking out at the sea of trees surrounding our little campsite. “Did you hear something?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t think so. Just…woke up sharply. Something felt off.”
Aaron stayed nearby for a few moments longer, but when nothing happened, he gestured back at the fire, pulling me over. “Breakfast is ready,” he said, indicating a pot of coffee and some sausage and biscuits that Pieter had put together.
I let him pull me over, ignoring the thrill from his fingers around my arm. Whatever I had sensed when I woke, it was gone. For now.
Snapping up a plateful of food in seconds, I followed it with a cup of bitter black coffee. I hated it that way, but it was better than nothing. Grateful, I thanked Pieter with a nod. While I ate, I continued to look around, trying to figure out what had woken me.
Shortly after breakfast, we forded the river, having walked half an hour to find a suitable spot to cross. We only had to wade through water up to our waists while pulling on a rope that Alexi had secured behind us to keep us in place. It was tricky, the current was strong like Aaron had said, but we made it across without issue. Alexi left the rope behind, tying the loose end to a trunk to provide easy crossing on our return.
I waited for us to proceed, but we just stood around.
“What?” I asked, noticing that most of the team was either staring at me or flicking glances in my direction.
I looked down. My nips were popping out of my shirt thanks to the cold water, but that couldn’t be helped, and I really didn’t think these men were so immature that they couldn’t handle that.
“Why are you all looking at me?”
“They’re waiting for you to tell them which way to go,” Aaron said. “There are no established places to go on this side of the river. It’s all uncharted.”
“Oh. Right.”
I pondered that question. We were now on the north side of the river, all of which was unexplored territory. We could go any direction. All I had to do was point.
