Mystic

Chapter 15

Taryn was in no shape to travel the next day. She woke up exhausted, but they needed to move quickly. They still had a few days left until they reached the Runan pass, and from there Taryn would have to travel alone to go find Neve. Just thinking about that made her even more tired.

She crawled out of her tent, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning, princess," Andre said. His voice was pleasant enough, but Taryn could still hear the disappointment in his tone.

"New nickname?" She asked.

He didn't answer.

Zeph handed Taryn some bread for breakfast. She thanked him and leaned up against a tree, eating it.

"We need to take the Runan pass." Taryn said.

Andre's eyes shot open. "Are you insane?"

Taryn raised an eyebrow. Given their arguments over the past few days, she could guess insane was just one of the many new labels Andre had given her.

"No, absolutely not, I'm not taking Zeph through there, let alone me."

"That's what the letter says."

He scoffed. "Where?"

She moved towards him and shoved the letter into his chest. "Read it."

He flipped the letter over and saw the fine writing on the back. "And you trust a letter that might not even be from the actual heir?"

"It is."

"And how do you know that? If I remember correctly, no one even knows her name. How do we know that--" He flipped the letter over, reading who it was signed by. "--Tara Dracali really is the Northern Heir?"

"She is, you'll just have to trust me on that."

"Trust isn't really a thing we do now," He muttered, handing the letter back to her.

Taryn folded it up and slid it into her pocket. "What's so bad about the pass?"

"It's one of the least guarded passes through the Orin mountains."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"You didn't let me finish," Andre said. "There's a reason the Southern Soldiers stay out of that pass. No one has been able to safely travel through there in years."

"What makes it so dangerous?"

"Storms that pass over the canyon can cause flash floods amongst other problems. Rumor has it a beast looms amongst the skies waiting for ignorant travelers to make its next meal."

Taryn let out a laugh. "You sound like Neve,"

Andre wasn't amused.

She continued. "Look, it's no big deal. If we see a storm coming, we'll wait to enter the pass."

"And the beast?"

"You said it yourself, rumor has it. I'm sure it's nothing."

"And if it is?"

"We've fought off a dragon before, I'm sure we'll be fine."

"I almost lost my leg to that dragon!" Andre shouted.

"Maybe I should've let it take your life," Taryn muttered.

Andre gritted his teeth. He opened his mouth to speak but Zeph cut him off.

"That's enough!" He yelled. "I'm sick of listening to you two argue all the time!"

Taryn glanced up at Andre, he turned and looked away.