By now Kumul felt well enough to take his turn to look around the local area. His ribs were obviously not cracked after all. His side was still bruised, but he could move his arm freely, though with some pain. On the second night of their stay, the three men gathered to discuss their next move. “Between us, Kumul and I think we have devised the best way to get you to the Oceans of Grass and the Northern Chetts,” Ager told the prince. Lynan nodded for him to continue. “Twenty leagues to the north lies the Forest of Silona, a thinly populated and well covered area that will protect us from prying eyes for the next stage of our journey. The forest is nearly sixty leagues long, south to north, and will take us several days to get through.”
Lynan could not help notice Kumul’s grim expression. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Kumul sighed. “I have heard stories about this place.”
“A soldier’s tale,” Ager said dismissively. “Maybe, but most soldiers’ tales have a kernel of truth.”
“What stories?” Lynan asked.
“The forest is left alone by people who live nearby,” Kumul said. “It is a dark place, an old place, inhabited by foresters who have little liking for company. I have only seen it myself from a distance, and it still made my blood run cold.”
“We’ve discussed this,” Ager said angrily. “We both know the real risks. The forest is our best chance to make up distance and time and still go undetected.”
Kumul nodded resignedly. “I know. I have no other plan.”
Lynan was distinctly unsettled by the conversation, but he told Ager to continue.
“Once on the other side of the forest, we are fifty leagues from Sparro, Chandra’s capital. From there we can find passage on a boat going up the Barda River to the Ufero Mountains. After crossing the mountains we can reach the Strangers’ Sooq—the main trading town between the Cherts and merchants from the east.”
“How many days will it take us to get to the Oceans of Grass if we go this way?” Lynan asked.
Ager glanced at Kumul, the scars on the skin over his dead eye looking like crevasses in the wan moonlight. “We think it will take as long as four weeks. If everything goes well, we may cut that down to three. If things go badly, it could take as long as five or six weeks.”
“Is time no longer of the essence, then?” Lynan asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Of course it is,” Kumul answered shortly. “But Ager and I agree it is the quickest way for us to get to the Oceans of Grass without being captured. There are safer routes, perhaps, but they would take several months.”
“And, again, it is to be my decision?”
“Yes.”
“So if I insist we continue with the original plan, you will not argue with me?”
“No, but we may not follow you. We can’t speak for Jenrosa, but at the moment neither can she.”
“This leadership is a hollow thing, I think,” Lynan murmured bitterly.
Ager pulled gently on one ear lobe. “Your Highness, leadership is not hollow, it is two-edged; too many regard it as a privilege and not a responsibility. I’ve suffered too much at the hands of those who misuse it.” He looked up and saw Lynan’s expression. “No, lad, not your father, but I’ve served under other generals, not to mention a bounty of ship’s captains.”
“I will follow your advice.”
The two older men nodded solemnly.
Jenrosa woke again that night. She was confused and did not have the strength to sit up without assistance. She ate willingly, listened patiently to Lynan as he described what had happened since the bear had struck her down, but fell asleep again before he could tell her about the change in their plans.
“It’s all right,” Ager assured him. “There’ll be time to tell her everything when she’s fully recovered. When she wakes tomorrow, she’ll probably remember nothing of what you’ve told her tonight.”
“But she’ll be all right, now, won’t she?”
“Now that she’s climbed out of her deep sleep, I think so. I admit, I was afraid she would die on us without ever coming to. I’ve seen it happen before.”
Ager lay back and closed his eyes. Lynan sat in the darkness of their makeshift shelter, Jenrosa’s head in his lap, listening to a chorus of frogs from the stream’s banks. He could also hear the soft footsteps of Kumul outside, restless as a tiger. Absently, he stroked Jenrosa’s hair and wondered what her life had been like before he and his problems had set it astray. Were her parents still alive? Did she have any brothers or sisters? Suddenly it was important for him to know.
He was aware his feelings for Jenrosa had become stronger since their escape from the palace, but what those feeling were, exactly, left him confused. He had never before felt so protective about someone. He was attracted to her, but the emotion churning inside of him involved more than his desire to bed her.
And what of her feelings for him? Her attitude had been standoffish, even resentful, and this hurt him. She said she did not blame him for her predicament, but there was no doubt it was his fault she was now on the run, her life in constant danger. However, he could not help being glad she was in exile with him, nor help feeling guilty that he should be the cause of her unhappiness.
And her injury, he reminded himself. What if she dies? It would be his fault.
He had no answers to his questions, and they filled his heart like a great leaden weight.
The next day Jenrosa tried standing. She managed to walk a few paces before falling back into Lynan’s arms. Ager had been right about her memory, but Lynan patiently recounted everything a second time, adding the change in plan.
“I wonder if I’ll ever get back to Kendra,” she mused aloud, and Lynan felt a pang of homesickness also. “I don’t have any choice but to go along, do I?”
“The kingdom’s soldiers can’t look for us forever. When things quiet down, perhaps you can go back to a life in one of the cities or towns.”
“But not Kendra.”
Lynan shrugged. He did not know what to say.
“I don’t know how fit I am to travel,” Jenrosa said, “but I’ll try not to slow you down too much.”
“We can wait here for a day or two more,” Ager said, “but not much longer. We’re pushing our luck by staying in one place for so long. Eventually, some local will notice our smoke or stumble across our shelter.”
“The most dangerous part of the journey will be from here to the Forest of Silona,” Kumul said. “It’s all open farming country, and we’ll stick out like trees in a desert. So rest well now, for when we start, we must move quickly.”
They never got their extra day. The next morning, soon after the four had eaten a light breakfast, Lynan accompanied Jenrosa as she tried to exercise, intending to walk her to the ford and back. At first her feet were unsteady, but by the time they had reached the ford she was walking normally if more slowly than usual.
“How do you feel?” Lynan asked her.
“Like someone’s inside my skull trying to break out with a hammer. If I move too quickly, I think my head will explode, and all my joints turn to jelly. But I’ll survive.” She turned and smiled at him, touched by the look of concern on his face. “I hear you saved my life.”