The Unmapped Path

The next morning, two scouts rode out ahead of the party, rejoining the column toward evening.

"A landslide has brought down earth and debris across part of the road. With a little clearing, a small carriage could get through — but the Black Star is out of the question."

Their assessment matched what Rhea had already told them, and so the party redirected itself along the route she had indicated.

Around noon the following day, they reached the edge of the forest Rhea had spoken of — a wood that, even at a glance, had scarcely ever known a human foot.

Orbin stared into the trees, his expression dark with misgiving.

Is this really going to be all right?

The ground was the real problem. A floor of fallen leaves and rotting humus might look sound enough, but there was no telling where it would give — and a carriage wheel sinking into that muck would be a nightmare. A snapped axle would be worse still.

Then there was the matter of finding their way. In a wood this dense, it would be all too easy to lose one's bearings and wander in circles.

But they had come this far. Raising an objection now would only look like needless contrariness. He scratched vigorously at the back of his head.

Honestly. His Highness was never the type to put this much faith in anyone.

At first, he had found it refreshing — even entertaining — the way the princess said whatever she pleased in front of his lord. She voiced the things a subordinate never could, and it had felt rather satisfying, like having an itch scratched. Now, though, a thread of worry had begun to work its way in.

I suppose she did provoke His Highness in a good way, at least.

Orbin had been startled when Carion decided to bury the Poema governor's smuggling affair. It was a decision utterly unlike the lord he knew. He had been disappointed that his master hadn't extracted something from the governor in exchange — and yet, in that very disappointment, he had felt proud. That, at least, had been like his lord.

Ah, I'm reading too much into it. As if he'd change course over a princess.

He nodded, as if to confirm the thought to himself. When he lifted his head, he caught sight of a slight figure on horseback.

He wouldn't actually marry that princess... would he?

He welcomed his lord accumulating merit. But if the price of that merit was marriage to a princess whose motives remained opaque, that sat poorly with him. He would rather they simply piled on gold or trading rights.

At least His Highness drew a firm line. That's a relief.

To understand what the princess was after, they would first need to grasp the situation in the kingdom of Zephyros. How to obtain that information was a problem that had been occupying him of late.

Well, I'll be damned.

Orbin's worries proved groundless. The forest path was genuinely fine. It was as if someone had deliberately cleared a road through the trees — a broad track of nothing but ankle-high weeds, stretching on and on, with not a root or stone to catch a carriage wheel.

Why is there a path like this here?

Orbin was baffled. The Empire's greatest advantage in seizing the continent had been its command of the roads. Exclusive knowledge of a route the Empire had yet to map carried genuine strategic value.

He glanced at Rhea, who was riding ahead of him. She had taken the lead to guide them.

He kept turning over the exchange he had overheard when she took the front.

"I know the way, so I'll ride at the front."

"The very front can be dangerous. Perhaps you'd be safer in the second rank."

"Dangerous how?"

"Those bears you mentioned, for instance."

Orbin kept turning those words over in his mind.

She couldn't have meant anything by it.

She couldn't possibly have spoken them knowing the weight they carried. He shook his head to clear the thought, but a new question rose in its place.

How does she even know about a path like this? A princess from a closed-off kingdom?

Carion was thinking much the same thing.

There's no way the princess doesn't understand the value of this road.

Had she waited until they were already in trouble on the original route, then appeared as their savior, she could have demanded a great deal in exchange for the information. Instead, she had chosen not to profit from it. She had offered the knowledge as easily as a kindness.

If it had been a calculated move, it was a shrewd and meticulous one. It had left a deep impression on everyone. And yet, strangely, he could not bring himself to suspect her of some hidden agenda. She had simply wanted to help before they found themselves in difficulty.

Having reached that conclusion, Carion shook his head, as if to wipe the thought away.

What do you even know about that woman?

He found himself absurd for passing judgment so freely. It was ridiculous how easily his wariness had crumbled — and stranger still that he had no desire to shore it back up.

They had not made it out of the forest by sundown.

"We'll be out by noon tomorrow at the latest."

Rhea's voice was sure. No one questioned her. Frankly, it seemed that as long as they followed where she led, nothing would go wrong.

A few of the party exchanged glances, their expressions faintly peculiar. Without anyone quite noticing, Rhea had begun to lead them. She looked practiced at it — a woman who had clearly commanded people before.

They made camp in a suitable clearing at the heart of the forest.

"If there are bears about, we'd better increase the night watch."

"Pitch the tents close together. Set fires in several places."

"Keep the horses in one spot and guard them through the night."

While the others bustled about, Carion sat in the Black Star's office, sunk in thought.

Today marked the third day since they had left the Poema garrison. For three nights running — through last night — he had suffered his attacks.

It's getting worse.

If he ranked the agony of his seizures on a scale of three, the last night at the Poema garrison had been the first degree. The first night of the journey, sleeping in the open, had been the second. Last night had been the third. In other words, last night's pain had been nearly equal to the attacks he had always endured. If the pattern held, tonight would be worse still.

The question was whether he could bear it. He had no idea.

He had experienced attacks more agonizing than usual only twice: once when they entered the forest village, and once that night in his bedchamber. Both times, he had been unable to overcome them on his own. Both times, he had needed her help.

Hah...

He pressed a hand to his forehead and bowed his head. It was not simply a matter of not wanting to show weakness. Her help meant physical contact. If he summoned her — what was he supposed to say?

A deep shadow of worry settled over his handsome face.

The Zephyros delegation gathered around the campfire. Traveling split among three carriages, they could only come together at lunch and dinner, and each time Rhea gathered them all and offered what encouragement she could.

She had guessed they would be thoroughly cowed. It was the first time any of them had left the kingdom, and they were traveling a long road to deliver a document of surrender. If things went well, all the better — but they had to be prepared for the worst. Every one of them had joined the delegation ready to stake their lives.

Rhea wanted to ease their tension. Nothing grand. She checked whether anyone was unwell. She shared what she knew of how much farther they had to go. And simply letting them chatter freely about trivial things each night was enough to ease the tightness from their faces.

They relied on her more than she realized. Her mere presence turned them all into optimists. As long as they were with the princess, it somehow seemed that everything would work out.

"My lady, how did you know about this path?" Penny asked. "Even the Empire's people don't know it. And this is your first time here."

Everyone pretended to be otherwise occupied, but every ear was listening.

"There's always a way. Our kingdom's intelligence service is quite capable."

"Ah..."

Penny nodded, as if that settled it. Her faith in Rhea was so unshakable that if Rhea had pointed at the sun and called it the moon, she would have agreed without a second thought.

Kasim, however, caught the lie. As one of the king's innermost circle, he had access even to the kingdom's most sensitive intelligence. There was no chance that Zephyros's information bureau — a body that did not even possess a proper map of the continent — would know about a forest path like this.

What secrets are you carrying, Your Highness?

He had been told that Rhea had saved the kingdom through a prophetic dream. Watching her all this time since they left the kingdom, he had begun to suspect there might be other secrets besides. But he had no desire to dig. He did not even want to be curious. He only worried that whatever she carried might become a weight too heavy for her to bear.

Rhea put a finger to her lips and made a small shushing sound.

"Penny. What we say about our intelligence service stays among us."

"Of course. Don't you worry. My lips are sealed."

The others around the fire nodded along.