Moonshadow (Book 1 of the Torrent Skies Saga)

Chapter Thirteen: A Cup of Tea

The next morning, after Lugaria and Agrata had departed, Katerin awoke to the smell of coffee. She opened her eyes to find Fykes waving a cup back and forth in front of her face, with that annoying mischievous smile on his lips. She tried to blink the exhaustion from her eyes.

"You love to sleep, you know," he said, handing her the cup and stepping back.

Arjiah sat not far away, looking perfectly alert, smiling in her direction. "Don't let him make fun. Sleep is one of the finest aspects of being alive."

Katerin sat up and scrubbed a hand across her face with a groan. If only he knew how little I slept, she thought. "So," she said, looking between them, "Where do we go now?"

"Lugaria said the ruins Byron was searching for had to be further east of here," Fykes said.

Katerin bit her lip. "Arjiah? Didn't you say my mother was searching for some kind of ruins as well?"

Arjiah nodded, and her eyes sparkled with excitement. "I did."

"To the east, then?" Fykes asked.

"I have a better idea." Katerin grinned as she looked around the interior of the tree.

Remembering the large, sturdy branches on its exterior, she pulled a thick book from her bag. It was worn, bound in red leather, with a number of tiny metal charms attached to the cord that bound it shut. Its pages were wrinkled—torn and faded in places—but inside of them were pressed flowers, sketches Mordai had doodled, and most importantly—spells.

Fykes waited with a curious expression as she shifted through pages. She held one finger up to him when he began to speak.

"How well can you climb?" Katerin asked them after a moment, finger holding a place on a page, with thick arcane runes and small notes bordering it.

"And that's where I'm out of this plan," Arjiah said, sitting back and picking up her weathered book with a shake of her head.

"Pretty well," Fykes said, curiosity in his tone. "Why?"

"This tree could give us an excellent vantage point," Katerin began. "If we could climb high enough."

Fykes grinned. "Alright." He glanced at her. "I don't have any climbing gear, though."

"We won't need it." Katerin smirked. "Just try not to fall."

Arjiah sighed. "Don't fall."

"If we fall I can catch us," Katerin said, smiling confidently between her two companions.

"If you say so." Fykes grinned and looked around the interior of the tree with a sigh.

It was the size of a large bedroom, at least, and taller than several of the other trees around. One of the oldest trees of this forest, left untouched by society to grow as it pleased.

After another cup of coffee and a simple cold breakfast, they stood at the bottom of the tree, staring up at it. Both peered into the massive branches that climbed higher than they could perceive. The thick, weathered bark would be sturdy enough to give them good holds.

"I'll race you," Katerin said, all challenge and exhilaration.

Fykes laughed. "Fine. But I'm going to win."

They began climbing, each a few feet apart, taking different branches and different approaches.

Katerin was quicker on the first few branches, finding holds in the bark and hauling herself up without pause. Then she slowed to catch her breath, realizing this was far more difficult than it had first appeared. She had made the mistake of looking down, but it was not fear that slowed her steps. She saw Fykes, saw his hair glinting in the early morning sun—and she stopped where she stood, watching as the sunlight caught his pale eyelashes.