Deathborn by C. E. Page

Author:C. E. Page [Page, C. E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780992554859
Publisher: Enchanted Castle Press

18

Nea

By midday the next day, they were well beyond Swinton and Garret was showing no signs of stopping. He had been silent for most of the morning, his jaw set tight and his eyes unreadable. It reminded Nea of those first days after Little Brook. She sighed and glanced over her shoulder to check on Camille, who was riding a knock-kneed old pony with the fluffiest ears Nea had ever seen. Beside the pony walked Bridie, and Pierce, who every so often stopped to rub the back of his legs.

Nea ran a hand through her hair and turned back to look at Garret, who had drifted ahead. For the last hour, he had been carrying Nora, and now she was dozing with her head resting on his shoulder, her arms hanging limply by her sides. There was no point in walking until they all dropped from exhaustion; with a resigned huff, Nea hefted Nora’s pack higher on her shoulder and increased her pace to catch up with Garret again.

“I know you’re worried about us being followed, but we need to stop. The children and Camille need a proper rest. They need ti—”

“It’s—” Garret started. Nora mumbled sleepily against his shoulder and burrowed in closer, making him lower his voice. “It’s not safe. We can’t stop until I am certain we are not being followed.”

Nea increased her pace and stepped in front of him, forcing him to stop walking. “I understand that you just want to keep them safe, but they need time to rest, to process what happened last night. We all do.”

He huffed out a breath and Nea saw just how tired he was. It wasn’t only the events of last night. He looked soul weary. She imagined he had gotten about as much sleep as she had since Little Brook, which wasn’t all that much.

“I can’t risk it. Last night was too close. I can’t …” His arms tensed and Nora grumbled.

Nea ran her hand through her hair again then placed her fingers delicately on his arm. “I know.” Of course she knew what was really bothering him. He felt responsible for what had happened to Declan and last night had brought all those feelings back to the surface. Seeing his family in very real danger, having Nora threatened like that? He wanted nothing more than to keep them safe, as though that would make up for the guilt he felt about Declan’s death. But running everyone ragged was not the answer. “Believe me, Garret. I know what you are feeling but they can’t keep going and you can’t either. If you run yourself to exhaustion because of an imagined pursuit, then you won’t be able to protect them when the danger really does arrive.”

He looked down at her fingers with a frown and then shifted Nora’s weight. “Alright, we’ll look for somewhere to rest.”

With a nod, she stepped out of his way and they started moving again.

After another hour, they stopped in a small clearing well away from the side of the road.

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