Journey of Flame

Chapter thirty

Zai didn't say a word as we left the ship. Hell, she didn't so much as meet my gaze. And even now, as we walked alone through the trees, she kept her gaze firmly on the path ahead.

She had spoken once—only once, mere minutes ago—to say that to get to Yane, we'd have to go through Sonto first. And likely find a horse if we wanted to get there faster. Which we most certainly did.

She was ashamed. I could see it in her curved in shoulders. In the arms she had wrapped around herself once we'd entered the cover of trees, almost unconsciously.

I made a mental note to give Brink an earful when we returned. Perhaps I could make him stop. And if not, then I'd find a way to make him bleed instead.

What he had said to Zai today... It had taken everything I had to keep from burning him to ash right there. But he'd pay, I knew. Someone in the crew, whether it was me, Voss, Rogue, hell, any of them, would tear him to pieces for everything he'd done.

I gave it another few minutes of silent walking before I stopped, and Zai, noticing, did the same. She still didn't look at me, though.

I touched a hand to her arm, murmuring, "Zai."

She moved out of my grasp, her arms tightening around herself. "Please, don't. I don't want to talk about it," she breathed.

"We don't have to talk about it. Just look at me."

Her throat bobbed, but she shook her head.

I reached out, touching a gentle hand to her cheek. "Please, Zai."

At this, she sighed and finally met my gaze.

Her eyes were so bleak they were nearly painful to look at, but I held her stare as I said, "I'm here, Zai, and I'm not going away. Not for a while yet. So just know that you can trust me. Talk to me about anything. I won't judge you or ridicule you."

She nodded. "I know."

"Alright," I said, then gently pulled her into a hug, giving her plenty of time to step away if she wished.

She didn't, letting me wrap my arms around her. And in only a few moments, she wrapped hers around me too, holding me tightly.

"It's all going to be alright, Zai," I murmured. "I'll make Brink pay for what he did."

She shook her head. "I don't want you anywhere near that bastard."

"He's afraid of me," I said. "He won't hurt me."

"But if Pierce-"

"Pierce won't hurt me either," I said. "And it doesn't matter how many reasons you give; I am still doing this. He hurt you, and I'm not going to let him get away with it."

She sighed but said, "Okay. Just be careful."

"I will, I promise."

"Alright. Thank you."

"Of course," I murmured, then pulled away. "Now, let's keep going. We can look for a healer in Sonto too. Perhaps we'll get lucky."

"Yeah. Maybe." But she didn't sound convinced.

* * *

We didn't get lucky, but thankfully, Zai's mood had improved, just slightly. She had held her chin up when we'd left the healer's shop, even if her eyes had remained sad.

Afterward, we'd gone to look for horses to take us to Yane but found all of the stables closed for the night.

"Well, now what?" I asked.