A Heart of Pain (What Darkness Hides Book 3) by JMD Reid

Author:JMD Reid [Reid, JMD]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fallbrandt Press
Published: 2024-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Fourteen

Zhee shivered in her soaked dress. And though it was miserable wearing the sopping-wet cloth, that wasn’t why she was shaking. She could feel the guard-general’s angry eyes glaring at her from the far side of the river. His hate and madness were so palpable, they reached across the wide Chemosh to squeeze her heart.

“Let’s get over the hill and out of sight,” Zhee said and marched away, her shoes squishing and squelching.

“Yes, there should be a road or track over there,” said Maej. “I imagine there must be a country road the herders on this side of the river use. We have to keep moving east.”

An idea itched at the back of Zhee’s mind. Crossing the river had only allowed them to immediately escape. They had to get back over to reach the mountains, and the next bridge was days away at the city of Guacho. The guard-general knew that. He would try to cut them off there.

She gripped her wet skirt as she trudged up the grassy hill. The seeds at the ends of the stalks clung to the wet linen. Her shoes felt disgusting about her feet. She wanted to take them off and just go barefoot.

They reached the top of the hill. She glanced back and saw the guards still on the other side. She shuddered and slipped down the backside of the hill and out of that menacing gaze. A tree grew nearby, the only shade around. She headed for it, ignoring the wooden fence in the distance and the dirt track running east.

“There’s the road,” Amiollea said with relief.

“We’re not going down that road,” Zhee answered as she reached the shade. Already, her skin was darkening, and she hadn’t been walking in daylight much. She could burn if she wasn’t careful. She vaguely remembered sunburns.

Vaguely.

“We’re not going on the road?” Maej asked as she stopped beneath the trees and reached behind her. She started unlacing the dress. “Then where are we going?”

“First, I’m getting out of this wet dress,” Zhee said and pulled the wet cloth over her. “I’ve had an idea.”

She fought to remove the annoying thing. The wet linen clung to her skin. She hated it. She worked it off and exposed her nakedness. Maej gasped, his eyes widening at the sight of her bounty jiggling before he spun around. He made the cutest squeak that amused Zhee.

“You can’t go around naked,” Maej said, his voice strangled as she laid out her wet dress in the sunlight so it would dry.

“I don’t have anything else to wear.” She bent down to take off those annoying shoes. She could have packed a spare dress, but that took up space in a pack she wanted filled with food. She had her priorities. The sight of Maej squirming there brought a smile to Zhee’s lips. It amused her how uncomfortable she made the young man.

Amiollea’s eyes were equally wide as she stared at Zhee. The Povazian pulled off her shoes and placed them in the sun.

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