Curse Breaker (2)

4

By the time Lei has shown me around the entire camp site, the sun has begun its descent. I stay by Samu's side, brushing his hair back from his forehead and ignoring the occasional murmurs from outside the tent.

Part of me wants desperately to be exploring camp further. Following the path to the stream or keeping a closer watch on the guard changes of the specific tent, but I force myself to stay put. Eyes watch my every move already. I can't risk heightening their suspicion.

Samu's chest rises and falls steadily, his skin no longer a sickly grey. And yet my heart aches as I sit restless at his side.

When Cadence and I were eight, her grandfather fell into an unconscious state much like this. I remember hiding behind the kitchen doorway with Cadence, spying upon her mother as she whispered words to the unresponsive man lying flat upon the bed.

She caught us spying once, invited us in.

They can hear you even when they don't see you, she said, from the depths of their mind. You can help them come back.

Cadence whispered words to her grandfather for the next week before he died. When she returned to school, she was a shell of her former self, convinced that she hadn't spoken to him enough, hadn't convinced him to return. She believed it was her fault he died.

And though I always doubted the truth to Cadence's mother's words, I understand. Because though Samu remains unresponsive to any touch, any voice, any words, I murmur stories in his ear—of Casimir, our father, of the wildflower meadow by the lake in Veymaw.

I don't realise I've fallen asleep until a cough from the entrance draws me from my own state of unconsciousness. I'm slumped over on my arms, leaning against Samu's mattress as Lei blinks into vision.

"Dinner is prepared," she says. "In the dining tent."

The dining tent had been large enough to fit the amount of people at camp. A meal time, I assume, would be the time the streets are most empty. "I'd rather eat alone."

"That's not an option."

"Fine. I'm not hungry then."

"Queen Sanaa requests that you join her, regardless of your hunger."

I lift my head to meet her gaze. There doesn't seem to be a threat to her words, nor in her stance. Rather, after spending most of the day with her, my original fear has shifted to a faint wariness. I don't doubt that she could tear my head off if she wanted, but I'm not afraid of her. Not anymore. But something in her gaze suggests she's not going to take no for an answer.

I force myself to my feet and meet her by the entrance, rolling my shoulders back. As suspected, it's pitched black outside. The only guide along the path are the purple moonstones scattered alone each side, creating a strip through the tents. I keep my eyes trained to the floor, trying to keep up with her pace as the distant murmur and warmth of voices lures us closer.

The tent she showed me earlier is the only one alight in the entire camp, emitting an orange glow. Shadows crawl up the sides of the material, making the figures inside appear much more threatening. Yarrow glances at me before pulling the sheet aside. I take a shaky breath, rolling my shoulders back to step in after him.

The warmth is the first thing I notice, the stares the next. The conversation lulls to a murmur as I step through the entrance, all eyes casting towards where I stand inches behind Lei. I force myself to lift my chin, keeping my eyes forward despite the fear coursing through my veins.

The last time I was around this many shifters was in the ballroom. And even then, I'd thought I had Killian, another human to keep the fears at bay. Now, there are no illusions to what I've walked into. I am entirely outnumbered. Not even Lei's talk of her country and their beliefs are enough to keep the fears at bay.