After an hour, I stopped. Noelle needed to rest, and I needed answers. She plopped down on the ground.

“It’s not safe,” one man said. He had short brown hair and carried a saber.

“She’s sick.” I pulled my pack off. “If you can keep your squad quiet for a minute, I’ll be able to tell you if anyone is chasing us.”

He agreed. Concentrating on the sounds of the forests, I closed my eyes. No sour notes or strange sounds reached me.

Opening my eyes, I said, “We’ve either lost them or they’ve given up.”

“It’s still not safe. Tohon’s other patrols—”

“Are nowhere near us.”

He squinted at me. “How do you know?”

“Tohon’s troops crash through the forest like blind deer. They haven’t learned how to go silent. Neither have you.”

He bristled. “Yet we managed to rescue you.”

“Thank you, Mr....”

“Gilson.”

“Avry.”

He inclined his head.

“While I’m grateful for your help, you have to admit your appearance was rather...timely. Were you in the area, or...”

“We were waiting for you,” Gilson said.

Alarmed, I wrapped my hand around the hilt of my knife. “How did you know we would be coming?”

Gilson glanced at Noelle. She had told me to go east. The pain from my shoulder spread to my heart. Noelle had betrayed me again.

KERRICK

Willing to do anything to ensure Danny’s freedom, Kerrick had agreed to be Rakel’s second when she challenged her father. If they failed, Kerrick and Rakel would die. In that case, Noak had promised to take care of Danny.

The boy woke soon after Rakel healed him. Noak helped him to his feet.

“You have been touched by summer, and now are tribe, little brother,” Noak said.

Danny craned his neck back to stare at the big man. “Kerrick’s been touched by winter, does that make him tribe, too?”

“No.”

“Why not?” Danny asked.

Kerrick suppressed a chuckle at Noak’s uncomfortable expression.

“She gave you a gift in exchange for your sacrifice.”

Danny didn’t look convinced, but he kept quiet. As they walked back to Krakowa, Rakel explained his duties as a second. He would fight Canute’s second, who would probably be Olave, and share magic and energy with her if she needed it. Since Olave hadn’t been touched, it would be her power against her father’s.

When they reached the edge of the forest, Rakel gripped his hands to test if they were compatible, just in case. Her warmth soaked into his hands, traveled along his arms and spread throughout his body. His exhaustion lessened, and he leaned toward her like a sunflower following the sun.

That feeling of longing reminded him of Avry. An image of her rose in his mind. Tohon touched her cheek and she writhed in pain. He cried out, and Rakel released him.

“You are bound to another,” she said.

“I...”

“Your challenge will fail,” Noak said to Rakel.

“It is not like ours. He can still aid me. But you must focus on me, and not let another claim your thoughts. Can you do that?” she asked.

Kerrick glanced at Danny. “Yes.”

Olave and Canute waited for them on the steps of the library. They demanded answers and insisted Rakel return to seclusion. Kerrick left Noak and Rakel to deal with them, going to bed. He would be useless unless he rested.

* * *

Something bumped into his bed. Kerrick rolled over, grabbing for a weapon he no longer possessed. Danny stood next to him holding a tray full of food. Darkness filled the windows, and lantern light flickered in the hallway.

Kerrick groaned. “It’s not even morning.”

“You’re right. It’s actually evening. You slept the entire day.”

He sat up in alarm. “The challenge?”

“The big fight is scheduled for tomorrow.” Danny set the tray on the night table. “Kerrick, you don’t have to do this. I’m tribe now. They won’t hurt me.”

“Don’t you want to go home?”

Danny stared at his feet. “I never had a home. Well...not one I remember.” He played with the hem on his shirt. “You’re my...home, and I don’t want to be alone again.” Plopping down on the edge of the bed, he grunted. “That sounded so...selfish! What I meant was...I’m fine with how things are.”

“But then you’ll never see Zila or Ryne again.”

He shrugged, putting on a brave front. “Zila’s annoying, and Prince Ryne’s too busy. Besides, he’ll come find us eventually. Right?”

“We can’t count on that. There’s a very good reason why Ryne’s busy.” And it might be Tohon and his army that finds us  first, Kerrick thought. He’d better warn Noak before the challenge.

“Don’t fight. Please.”

Ah. Kerrick considered his next words carefully. “Danny, there’s more than one reason I agreed. Rakel doesn’t wish to marry Olave. I can’t stand by and let that happen, even though she’s my enemy. Besides, Avry would kill me if she found out.”

“Uh, Kerrick. Avry’s—”

“No, she’s not. She made me promise not to tell anyone, but if I die tomorrow...I want you to know.”

Kerrick watched as a combination of emotions rolled through the boy. Joy, anger, fear and back again.