When darkness had finally rolled in, Kade allowed Ashea to try removing her blindfold. She couldn’t look anywhere near the campfire, but as long as she kept her back turned to it, she could keep the blindfold off and finally function without aid. Trying to focus on objects around her was still mildly difficult, but it was improving. With luck, only two more days and she could be rid of the blindfold all together.

As she gazed about the campsite, she noticed Jarin was missing from the group. It was impossible for him to have escaped, but she had not heard him say he was leaving for any particular errand.

“Where’s Jarin?” she asked Kade.

“Down at the lake, I think,” he said.

“You think?” How did he not know? Wasn’t he supposed to be watching him?

“It’s the only place he could be. If he tried to run, Zaina would have brought him back. But if you’re so concerned, why don’t you go down and check for yourself. It’s that way,” Kade said, pointing off into the woods.

It was true that Zeru and Zaina were following them, but Ashea didn’t have complete confidence they were always watching Jarin. She knew Zeru wouldn’t easily leave her side without an order, which she hadn’t given. Zaina was probably watching him, but she would be more likely to kill him than bring him back, should he try to escape. For Jarin’s sake, it would be better to have an actual human being check on him.

“I’ll be back,” Ashea threw over her shoulder and started off in the direction Kade had pointed.

The lake wasn’t far, and as she got closer she could hear the sound of water splashing. The full moon bounced light off the dark water, providing enough illumination that she could make out Jarin’s form crouched at the water’s edge. His hair was let down as he ran his hands through it, wetting it down before splashing his face with several handfuls of water. It wasn’t until he spoke that she realized she had been standing there staring for far too long.

“Did you need something?” he asked as he spared a glance at her.

“Just wanted to make sure you hadn’t decided to run off,” she half lied, hoping he hadn’t caught her staring.

“That would be difficult considering both of your draks have been tailing me since I left camp,” he said, standing up.

That was interesting. How had he known? They never came out in the open; they were too smart for that.

“Why would you assume that?”

“It’s not an assumption when it’s a fact. I heard them following me,” he stated, his arms crossing over his chest.

“Prove it. Where are they?” Ashea challenged. Not even she could hear the draks when they moved, and she was quite perceptive. He hadn’t heard Zeru stalk up behind him before, therefore he had to be lying now.

His gaze turned thoughtful as he scanned the trees behind her. “Zeru doesn’t like to be far from you, so that’s the one standing about thirty feet to your left,” he said, pointing off beyond her left shoulder. “Kade’s is more wary. She’s another fifty feet to your right.”

She stared over her shoulder but couldn’t see anything through the dense trees. She had to admit it was pretty elaborate for a bluff, but she would prove he was wrong. She called out for Zeru. If he was as close as Jarin claimed, he would come out. It only took a moment before Zeru revealed himself from the same area Jarin had pointed.

Ashea stared back at him in shock. “How did you know?”

“I told you I could hear him. You didn’t believe me,” he replied complacently.

“If that’s so, why didn’t you hear him when we first met at the hot springs?” she challenged as Zeru came forward and nuzzled at her hand. She started stroking his nose absently.

“I had a fair amount of…distraction,” he replied, more than a little shame in his tone. “It won’t happen again.” He then turned and gathered up his things preparing to head back to camp. “Was there anything else you needed?”

“Just one question. The group we came across today, why didn’t you approve of them?” she asked. She was genuinely curious, since Kade didn’t seem to mind the idea of traveling with the strangers. Maybe Jarin was jumpy and overly suspicious of strangers since they had taken him prisoner. Then again, maybe not.

He hesitated, fidgeting a bit before finally answering. “They were gypsies. I didn’t like the look of them, the way they kept staring at you.”

“And what way would that be?” she scoffed with crossed arms.

“Like an easy target.”

She was hoping for something a little more ludicrous, something she could make fun of. That reason wasn’t so easy. It almost sounded like he was thinking about her safety. But he had no reason for that. Wasn’t he the one who said it was better for Hunters to kill off Paladai?

“Kade didn’t seem to care about it, or else he would have said something.”

“Then he’s a fool,” he snapped.

“Why do you even care?” She would have her answer one way or another. She knew he was hiding something, and he wasn’t going anywhere until he finally confessed.

He let out a groan that sounded more like a growl. “I don’t,” he said sternly. “But if you get attacked, I’m the one who has to save you. I don’t feel like risking my life more than necessary. Satisfied?”

No, she wasn’t. It still didn’t explain his behavior earlier, how kind he was being. And asking him outright about it probably wouldn’t get her anywhere. She didn’t have a choice. She was going to have to settle with his response.

“For now,” she said.

He made a frustrated groan before stomping off. Zeru gave him a low growl as he passed.

“Go growl at someone who cares,” he retorted and continued on. Zeru actually looked startled for a moment, as if he didn’t expect to be told off. He looked at Ashea with a puzzled expression before nuzzling at her hand again.

“It’s okay, boy. I think he’s gotten too accustomed to having you snarl at him,” she said, giving him a consoling nose rub.

Ashea went back to camp where the evening passed by slowly and uneventfully. When it came time for sleep, Kade took first watch and told Jarin he would wake him when it was his turn. She wasn’t allowed to, which didn’t put her in a better mood. Hopefully the effects of the datura would wear off sooner than three days. If she didn’t get to be more useful soon, she knew she was going to explode. Trying to put those thoughts behind her, she settled down on her sleeping mat, pulled her blanket over her, and tried to get some sleep.

The next morning the sun rising quickly forced Ashea up to find her blindfold, the small bit of light already irritating her eyes. She groped around for the bit of cloth but couldn’t find it anywhere near her mat. What had she done with it last night? She couldn’t remember exactly. She knew she had been sitting near the fire, but now that she couldn’t open her eyes without feeling like they were being burned out of her skull, she couldn’t find where that spot was.

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She crawled around the ground feeling about for where it might have gone. She only made it about a foot before running into what felt like a person. That wasn’t there when she went to sleep. This wasn’t good. If the spot she was sitting at last night was where she thought it was, whoever was sleeping here was in her way, leaving her only the option of crawling over them. This was definitely not good. With any luck though, she could get over them without waking them.

Reaching over with one hand Ashea tried to position herself over the top of whoever was beneath her so she could quickly get over them. She narrowly missed and her hand slipped across their waist nearly causing her to fall on top of him before her hand found the ground to steady herself.

The man let out a grunt, shifted around, but thankfully did not wake up. She would have sighed in relief, but the grunt did not sound like Kade. That meant the body beneath her was Jarin. As if this position wasn’t bad enough.

She reached over with her other hand and set herself up to swing her legs over. She started over with the first leg, but her skirt was longer and fuller than what she was used to and got caught over Jarin’s upraised knee that she had not noticed and sent her collapsing on top of him. He let out an ‘oof’ before coming fully awake.

“Ashea? What are you doing?” he asked gruffly, his voice still heavy with sleep.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized quickly. “I was trying to find my blindfold.”

“By lying on top of me?” he growled.

“I wasn’t trying to. You weren’t supposed to be here. Aren’t you supposed to have the last watch anyways?”

“No. Kade switched off with me.” He started shifting around trying to push her off. “And he fell asleep. Damn it.” They both pushed and shoved at each other before he finally rolled out from under her. “Here’s your damn blindfold,” he snarled and shoved it into her hand.

“You don’t have to be so cross about it.”

“I don’t take kindly to be woken up by someone falling on me.”

“Then you shouldn’t have been sleeping there,” she threw back at him. It was feeble, but it was the best she had.

“Well, you shouldn’t have–” He broke off suddenly. She was about to demand him to finish when she heard the sound of running footsteps just before someone yelled a sound of attack. There was the sound of bodies crashing into each other, people stumbling and scuffling. There was more yelling from more attackers, the sounds of Kade’s and Jarin’s grunting mingled in with sounds of fighting.

Trying to keep out of the way, Ashea crawled backwards away from the fight. In her condition, she knew she would only get in the way. She crawled until she went stumbling into their gear, her limbs getting looped through stirrups and tied up with bridles and whatever else happened to be lying there. She struggled to free herself only to have a hand grasp her pony tail, yanking her up with a hard tug.

She clawed at the hand with its steely grip, kicking out at her attacker. It did little more than make the person angry, their fist making contact with her abdomen, the air suddenly rushing from her lungs.

“Stop yer squirming, bitch,” a man’s voice growled in her ear as the cold blade of a knife pressed against her throat. The accent sounded similar to the gypsy man they had come across the day before, but this man was not him. This voice was younger, maybe her or Jarin’s age.

Ashea grabbed at the wrist holding the knife but could not pull it away. She stomped down for his foot. He groaned, but his iron grip never let go. There weren’t many other options, not without her neck getting slashed. So she did the last thing possible. She called for help.

“Kade!”

She waited for something, anything to happen. If anyone could get by him without getting her killed, it would be Kade. The man shifted his body, turning toward something she couldn’t see.

“I dare ye to do it without killing her first,” he taunted, the blade pressing harder against her skin. What was Kade doing? Was he trying to use her bow? Had he lost his mind?

Moments passed by with nothing, the man’s body becoming more tense with each passing second. “Do it!” he yelled, the knife momentarily moving away from her neck. That was her moment. Ashea stomped on his foot again, this time ramming her elbow into his gut before ducking away from him. He yelled a furious, animalistic sound before she heard the sound of her bow being loosed, the arrow going through the man with enough force she could hear it as it hit.

“Damn gypsies,” she heard Kade curse. “Get the horses saddled and move out. I’ll double back with Zaina and make sure we don’t have any more coming after us. We’ll meet up at Lake Amanzi by nightfall,” he ordered.

One of them came behind her and hoisted her up roughly before shoving her around and forcing her to sit down on one of the logs they had set up around the fire. The two bustled around the campsite, quickly trying to pack what gear was left before saddling the horses. When they were ready, one of them picked her up and swung her over the back of a horse before climbing up behind her.

“What are you doing?” she demanded.

“We don’t have time to get your horse ready,” Jarin said as he reached around her for the reins. “When it’s safer, you’ll get your horse back,” he said and urged the animal forward as fast as it would go.

After an hour, Jarin finally made them stop to correctly saddle the other horse.

“Get down,” he ordered gruffly, grabbing at Ashea to pull her down, whether she wanted to or not. She swung her leg over awkwardly, quickly trying to stabilize herself by grabbing his shoulders. He snarled before he practically dropped her on the ground.

“What is wrong with you?” she snapped.

“We’re in a hurry. Excuse me for not being delicate,” he scoffed.

“You don’t have to throw me around either.”

“Excuse me, princess,” Jarin muttered.

“If you have something to say, say it, errand boy,” Ashea challenged.

The sound of straps and buckles being adjusted stopped abruptly, and she barely felt it as Jarin stepped forward, his body towering over her.

“You go about spouting off how good of a fighter you are, how invincible you Paladai are, yet you can’t fend off one attacker. You are nothing but words. The only reason you have any position is because Kade gave it to you.”

Ashea stood on her toes hoping to give her some height. If he was going to get in her face and insult her, he had better be prepared to receive some in return.

“What position I have with Kade, I earned. I had to fight every day to earn not only his respect but everyone else’s. Let’s not forget I had to save your ass twice the day that we met. And in case you hadn’t noticed, I am blind. There wasn’t a lot I could do.”

“Horse shit,” he spat. “You should have been able to handle one man by yourself, blind or not. I know men with none of your training and ten times your skill.”

“Well, maybe they could teach you how not to get captured. As far as I’ve seen, you’ve been pathetic.”

A hand shot out and grabbed her arm, twisting it around to her back before shoving her against one of the horses. The animal whinnied and shifted nervously. She attempted to swing out with her free arm, but he grabbed that one with ease and pinned it back as well, his grip tightening.

“Pathetic am I?” Jarin growled.

Zeru must have been trailing and seen the altercation, because he barreled in, snarling.

“Back off, lizard. I’m not going to hurt her,” Jarin snapped. She waited for Zeru to do something, anything to help her. But he didn’t. He stood where he was and growled. Wasn’t he supposed to be on her side?

“Listen here, princess,” he said low in her ear, “because of you I had to kill a man today. Don’t think for a moment I am proud of it. I shouldn’t have had to do that. Learn to take care of yourself, because if there is ever a next time, I won’t raise a hand to help you. Are we clear?”

Not by a long shot. If anyone was going to scold her, it would be Kade, but even he was someone Ashea refused to let lecture her. She kicked out thinking she knew where his knee was. Her kick missed and he took the moment to wrap a leg behind her knee, kicking her leg from underneath her and forced her to the ground, her arms still pinned snuggly behind her as she tasted dirt.

“Are we clear?” he growled again.

“Crystal,” she strained. She had no choice but to concede. For the time being, he had the upper hand. But when she had her sight again, he would not find her such an easy opponent. Satisfied, he released her and left her there on the ground.

Jarin had proven he wasn’t completely useless already, but he was quicker than Ashea gave him credit for, thinking fast on his feet and executing a disabling maneuver. Whoever this man was, he was no mere messenger. They didn’t make a habit of learning how to fight. Was he really something else? A mercenary maybe? Certainly not one of the king’s Elites. They would never allow themselves to be caught and kept prisoner. And they wouldn’t have tried to save a Paladai. Whatever the case, this was not a man to be taken lightly.