They kept near the exit of the cave that night, mainly because Nilda was too exhausted to go anywhere. She had to do further adjustments to flatten the ground and widen or narrow certain parts, and by the end of it she just sat with her back against a smoothed wall and watched everyone else make camp.
At least, that was what Rask called it. He had the little prince go gather wood while the princess used what rudimentary runeology she knew to start a fire. All those years reading Taurin’s books on runeology and none of it helped Nilda right now. Enchanting was a noblewoman’s skill set anyway, and she had been reminded all her life she was no noblewoman.
Nilda also had to muster up some energy to make stone bowls, the clunky forms of which made the princess scrunch her face in distaste. “We just need it to hold some melted snow,” Rask explained. “So at least we can drink some water.”
Nilda was incredulous at Rask letting the little prince wander around the side of the mountain for materials, but the boy took to the task eagerly and she considered it would be good to take his mind off things.
“Besides, he’s an expert climber,” Rask shrugged. “The boy swung through the trees before he could walk. And it’s dark, no one’s going to see us.”
“Hmm, I think the lines go like this.” The princess was ignoring both of them while etching runes on the ground around a pile of rocks and sticks while muttering to herself. “Eol and tu go here with three lines - curl through esk and ka, reversed…”
Suddenly the handful of sticks burst into flame and the princess yelped, falling backwards. Rask chuckled and ruffled her hair. “Your eyebrows survive that?”
“I cannot believe you remember all that,” Nilda inspected the mess of runes and lines. “It looks so random to me.”
“Mama taught me that one when we almost got lost in the forest once,” the princess said. “Although Trissel didn’t want me learning how to set things on fire…”
The prince returned holding a bundle of sticks in one hand and a flat piece of bark with a pile of snow on it. They started feeding the fire slowly and let snow melt in their makeshift rock ‘cup’. Rask then left to scavenge for something to eat and returned with handfuls of berries and a disgusting looking gnarled root he insisted was edible.
The four of them ate and drank what they could and the twins bundled up against Nilda, both exhausted from the day.
Nilda thought she would fall asleep the moment the twins did, but she remained awake, gently stroking the little moon’s long dark hair. Rask sat on the other side of the small fire and they simply looked at each other for a long time under the soft yellow glow.
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“How can you tell where we are?” she finally asked quietly.
“My…my father trained me to. I memorized maps and terrain for a large part of my life,” Rask said. He looked at Nilda as if that explained anything and sighed when she raised her eyebrows at him. “He was a Freerunner. He was training me to be one as well, but…”
“You decided to work for the Solaris,” Nilda said.
“Yes. My father didn’t like it. The Freerunners don’t like it when someone leaves their little fraternity.”
“Maybe they enjoy political neutrality like the Academy,” Nilda said. “Perhaps being the personal guard of a king was a little too far off the mark.”
“You don’t say,” Rask snorted.
“How did you become the Solaris’s Captain?”
“What is this sudden interest in my past, governess?” Rask asked, but his voice was teasing.
“We almost died.” Nilda stared at the flames. The world is burning. She didn’t say that aloud. “Perhaps we should finally get to know one another.”
Rask’s expression sobered again. “My father visited Caelis frequently in his work and brought me. The Solaris, who was the prince back then, befriended me. When he was poised to inherit the throne, he asked.”
“Well that’s boring.”
“Isn’t it? For years the worst thing I had to fight back were competitors hungry for my position and maybe a wolf or two. Then we went to the Heart and I started fighting off assassins and Unseeing.” Rask shook his head. “Caelis was a peaceful kingdom, but something went wrong along the way.”
“You’re making it sound like meeting me was when it all went wrong,” Nilda said, raising her chin.
He studied her face. “It’s uncharitable but I can’t deny it. I feel it is more than a coincidence.” He glanced down at the twins sleeping nestled against her. “There was so much opportunity for these two to not exist. From the attempts on Taurin’s life and the way the children survived it all, despite the odds… Nilda, I can’t help but think something is going on.”
For a long time, Nilda stared at the fire and considered telling him. Rask vaguely knew about how she got her abilities, but she never fully told him about the Being in Smoke. He also half knew that she used to be homeless but she kept her street urchin days a secret, mostly for the benefit of Taurin. Now Taurin was dead and everything they knew back in Caelis was dead, so no one would care if she told him all her secrets.
But for some reason she stayed silent. It was the nagging feeling that watching a map burn meant something. She had to be prepared for something. She couldn’t promise this man anything she couldn’t fulfill.
“Rask,” she said. He looked at her. She almost never called him by name. “Please. Promise me you’ll keep the twins safe.”
She also never begged. Something unrecognizable flickered over his expression. “I promise,” he said, voice low.
“Thank you.” She also rarely ever thanked him for anything. For the first time, Nilda could understand what Trissel had meant about regret. “Thank you, Rask.”
After a stretch of silence, she spoke again to tell him what she knew about the Lunaris and about what happened back at the castle.