Page 48 of Whispers of Ruin
“I have to get my pack.”
Ryker’s attention shifted to the trees. “The sooner we get started, the better we’ll be. It’s much hotter but safer to travel during the day.”
Brokk had a feeling it didn’t matter much in this realm, but Ryker had been here a lot longer than him. Few survived a week in this place; he gave Ryker and his men credit for lasting almost a year.
Turning, he pushed back past the curtain, used the mouthwash for his teeth, finished dressing, packed the extra blankets, and shrugged on his pack. He returned to the clearing to discover Ryker only a few feet away.
Brokk walked over to stand beside him. “What about the shelters?”
Ryker glanced around the clearing. “They stay. Sometimes, if we find them again, we return to some of our old camps for a night or two, but not often. It’s best to stay on the move here.”
“So, you establish camps when you intend to stay in an area for a little while?”
“If we plan to be there for more than a few days, yes. It gives us a little sense of normalcy in a place where there is none.”
“I can understand that. What about the table and chairs in your hut?”
“Sometimes we build more, sometimes we don’t. It depends on the situation. We’ve built some camps near the crudue vine, but we won’t stop at those.”
Brokk frowned at him. “Why not?”
“They might not be where we left them, and I’ve learned not to waste time searching. It’s a good way to die.”
“Fair enough.”
“This jungle is alive around us. Never forget that.”
The leaves of the trees, rustling in a slight breeze, emphasized Ryker’s words.
CHAPTERFORTY-SIX
By the timethe sun was high in the sky, Brokk was fighting his growing irritation with Kaylia as she went out of her way to avoid him. They had yet to speak, and she remained clustered with the witches.
Normally, he wouldn’t mind that she wanted to be with them, but she wasn’t with them to catch up. She was there to avoidhim.
Anytime their eyes met, she didn’t acknowledge him before glancing away. It was something he planned to remedy when he got the chance, but first, they had to get out of this area of Doomed Valley.
His teeth ground together as he used his sword to chop through the dense foliage surrounding him. The leaves here were bigger than him, and they all sought to drown him in their cloying depths.
He had no idea where Kaylia was in this mess. He’d lost sight of her a few minutes ago and was trying to work his way back into view of her, but the more he carved away, the more the jungle clung to him.
Screams didn’t pierce the air, which meant nothing was attacking them and no one was stuck in white muck, but he hated not being able to see her and assure himself that she was safe. His muscles tensed to spring at the first indication she was in trouble; he just wished he knew which way to go.
Finally, the density of the jungle eased a little, and he could see Kaylia again. She stood a few feet to his right, pulling bits of leaves and branches from her hair.
Tired of being ignored by the witch, he strode over to stand beside her. She swayed a little toward him before stiffening and bowing her head.
A muscle in his jaw ticked at her reaction. Nofuckingway was he putting up with being ignored because she’d come…manytimes.
She may feel guilty because of her dead fiancé, but he refused to let her shut out the world again. She deserved far better than that.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She plucked another piece of leaf from the short braid she’d pulled her hair into. Without looking at him, she flicked the leaf aside. “I’m fine.”
He looked around, but the witches she’d surrounded herself with earlier were half hidden in foliage ten feet away. A few of Ryker’s men stood a few feet away and were engrossed in conversation as Ryker examined his compass.
“We’re in this together,” he told her. “We’re the only ones we can completely trust.”
