The Prince's Mark

Chapter Twenty

Being back with Ina and Pendaer was still unpleasant, despite the better treatment. Ina in particular wanted to smooth things over with him, to make up for what happened, but all that did was remind Tracou of the incident. Not that he would have been able to forget with Pendaer around.

Their routine was largely unchanged. Pendaer led the way on his horse while Ina and Tracou stayed in the wagon.

If their pace had been rushed before, it was worse now. Pendaer was just shy of being frenzied. His Elvish mumbling had increased sharply in both frequency and volume, especially on days when the color in his hair started to fade. The dye he used didn't last long. It was critical for Tracou and Ina to keep silent about it, otherwise Pendaer would seethe for hours and refuse to help set up camp when they stopped for the night.

Pendaer continued to keep his distance from Tracou, but he had made some kind of breakthrough with Ina during the days Tracou had left them. He would speak with (or rather at) her about how to use a bow at night. They weren't exactly friends, but they were at least on speaking terms. Tracou would watch, both impressed and confused, when they would practice. They didn't have much time to practice during the day since they were going full speed back to Shalen. It seemed pointless to practice at night when both Pendaer's and Ina's vision was hampered by the lack of light, but they did it anyway.

When they finally arrived in Shalen, rain lashed at the ground as if to punish them. Tracou had never seen Shalen like this before. Normally, the sun beat down on Shalen so harshly that the dirt smelled like it was baking. People lined the streets, making absurd amounts of noise. Now, though, the amount of people around had dwindled and the dirt had turned into mud. The city was quiet, even with the rain slamming into it.

The three of them were haggard. It was easiest to see with Pendaer, whose hair was more green than blue by this point. Tracou was exhausted, having been away from home for more than two months now. By comparison, Ina looked fine from the view of a stranger, but to those who had seen her in better times it was clear that her eyes were vacant far more often.

Ina split off from them the first chance she got. After taking her pay from Pendaer, she told them that she would meet them in front of the inn where Pendaer and Tracou would be staying tomorrow morning. Then she was gone.

This left Tracou alone with Pendaer. The two of them stood near each other, but not too close. Neither of them knew how to proceed.

"Go dye your hair. Give me some money and I'll try to buy supplies," Tracou said, facing away from him.

Pendaer scoffed. "I can't trust you with that. What if you run off?"

"You have my wand."

"That didn't stop you from going to the Zeibr," Pendaer sneered.

Tracou gave Pendaer the coldest look he could muster. He would have to add this to the long list of things he told Mirthal when he saw him.

"Why would I want to stay around people who beat me?"

Pendaer's teeth audibly clicked as he shut his mouth.

Neither of them moved. The tension around them was so thick that a passerby took one look at them and hurried away as quickly as the rain would allow.

There was no getting along with Pendaer. That had been obvious from the moment they met. But he had to say something, otherwise the two of them would stay rooted to the ground as the sky pelted them with cold water.

"What do you want to do? You want me to come along and sit by you while you dye your hair and then you want to go and get supplies together?"

"I would rather not be in your presence."