Carson, Rae - Fire and Thorn 01 - The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Carson Rae

Author:Carson, Rae [Carson, Rae]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Everyone will have something to do in our absence. A few will travel to the conde’s holdings to spread rumors of the mysterious Malficio. Some are tasked with building our arsenal and training in the use of sling and of bow and arrow. Still others will dig pits throughout all the major approaches, to be covered later by tent canvas and a shallow layer of dirt. The littlest are tasked with harvesting duerma leaf.

I dread the journey. Heat, aching feet, tiny tasteless meals. This time, since we travel in stealth, we cannot take the camels and must carry our own packs.

The whole village sees us off. They wave as we climb the rise, their hopeful faces grinning absurdly above frayed robes and bandaged limbs. Humberto leads us again, silent and unsmiling, shoulders hunched forward as if plowing our path through the air. He has not spoken to me in nearly two days.

The straps of my pack bury themselves in my shoulders, weighed down by my bedroll, dried food, a water skin, ink and hide to map the army.

Humberto sets a vigorous pace. As before, I struggle to keep up. I’m not the same fat princess who was kidnapped from her bed in Brisadulce, but compared to my nimble companions, I am slow and lumbering. Our journey through the desert was brisk but steady and straight. Here in the hill country, my knees and ankles throb from maneuvering around boulders and mesquite, from huffing up a rise only to skid down the other side. I’m easily the noisiest of our group, and I can’t imagine how I’ll sneak close to Invierne’s army undetected.

By the time we break for a quick lunch of jerky and dried dates, my robes stick against my chest and the skin beneath the shoulder straps stings like an open sunburn. I drop my pack to the ground and make a point of sitting next to Humberto on a boulder. He stares straight ahead, nibbling on his jerky.

“Humberto?”

“Hmm,” he grunts.

I keep my voice low. “Why are you angry with me?”

He casts me a darting glance. “I’m not angry.”

“You’re ignoring me.”

“Yes.”

I sigh with exasperation. “I’ve never had a friend before. Just tutors and nurses and servants and . . . a sister. So I’m not very good at being a friend. I don’t know why I upset you and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“His Majesty is not your friend?” His voice is wry and startling.

Is Alejandro really my friend? I shake my head. “I honestly don’t know. He said he wanted me to be, but now I wonder if those were just words to placate a child. We never spent time together or got acquainted. He has a personal guard, Lord Hector, and I think he and I could have been friends given time.”

“You didn’t tell me you were married.”

“I’m not in the habit of revealing state secrets to kidnappers,” I snap. “Of course I said nothing. And see? You’re angry.”

“No. I just feel . . .

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