Curse Breaker (2)

27

Before now, the only map of Torrine I'd ever seen was in the Palace when Killian and I snuck around the various rooms at night. But even then, I didn't get much of a look. I didn't care about Torrine. In my mind, it was a neighboring enemy country that King Ereon protected us from.

I never would've thought I'd be staring at a map of the country with Torrinian citizens themselves. And, glancing over at Killian tending to Fluffy, I think about what Freya from a year ago would've thought if somebody had told her she'd have her heart stamped on by the commander of the Torrinian army.

"Freya?"

I blink away from Killian, back to Lei waving a hand in front of my face. "Huh?"

"You need to focus. As soon as Juem gets here, we'll need to leave." She clicks impatiently, pointing to the two maps spread across the flat stone surface between us. "What's so distracting anyway?"

"I was watching Casimir," I say quickly, glancing back down at the maps. With a fleeting glance in her direction, one quirked eyebrow tells me she knows exactly who I was staring at. And it's not Casimir, who is currently fiddling with the saddle of a chestnut mare.

"Here." I trace my finger along the line on Myers' map, stopping right where the dotted line halts. "These mountains; that's where it's leading us to."

Lei glares at the map. "I can't see it, remember?"

I shift my gaze to the map beside Myers. Lei's map. The pages are tainted with splotches of dirt and small tears, unlike Myers which was kept hidden away all these years, only yellowed by age. Scanning the map, I compare the two.

"I think it's these mountains," I say, pointing at her map.

"You think?"

"I...I'm not sure. The maps look a little different. There are a few different mountain ranges."

"You have to be sure, Freya. We can't travel days only to end up at the wrong mountain range."

I look back down, studying the fine lines. Though it has clearly been through turmoil, Lei's map is far more detailed than Myers, drawn from a different angle. And Myers map only has a few landmarks labelled.

I nod. "I'm pretty sure."

Lei lets out a groan, muttering something under her breath that I don't quite catch.

"The Saulun mountains," Killian calls from over his shoulder. "It has to be. I told you, Lei. Myers had rocks from those alps."

"That could mean anything. Travelling to the Saulun mountains will take days. We have to be sure."

Killian pats the horse's hind before strolling over to us. "How else would he have gotten those stones?"

I swallow as he reaches us, eyes sweeping over the maps. Killian always looks put together, but there's something about his attire that makes my stomach drop. He's a portrait of elegance. Adorned in all black, only the various weapons sheathed at his belt glint beneath the morning sun. Aside Lei in a similar attire, they make the picture perfect pair. I feel like a child playing dress up in the combat clothing Lei leant me, the clunky weaponry belt weighing down each step.

"Ignore him." Lei swats his words away with a hand. "I'm the navigator. And I say you need to be sure."

I look at Killian; his eyes glint. "No pressure."

The lightness of his tone somehow eases some of the pressure off. I look back to Lei and nod. "I'm sure."

"Really?"

No. "Yes."

She stares for a few more seconds before nodding in affirmation just as Sanaa appears over her shoulder, a stocky man an inch behind her. Lei and Killian both turn at their arrival.