Into the Land of Valentia

Chapter the Sixth

VI

“Where should we head to now?”

Vivica was jarred from her thoughts by Cayden’s inquisitive voice. They were a good several miles away from the island and the siren villages; surely it was safe to assume they weren’t going to be attacked by the creatures. Still. . . .

Vivica shook away her unease. “Since when do you look to me for answers?” she joked, knowing it would annoy Cayden more than anything to have to admit that she was better at this quest than he was. When he didn’t respond, she smiled slightly. “I think our best bet is getting water from the River Silver. We have no idea where to find a unicorn, and I don’t even want to get started on the problems with obtaining fairy blood.”

“We’ll go to the fairies’ village after, then?” Cayden asked. 

Although she wanted anything but to have to mess with the fairies, Vivica nodded. The River Silver was close to the Efaesian Mountains. Though the exact location of the fairies’ village was unknown, it was assumed to be close to the base of the mountains. 

The real problem was how much time they had left. Most of the time had been lost to travelling. The only thing Vivica could reassure herself with was that two of the remaining ingredients were found in the same region of Valentia, which would mean less time wasted travelling. 

When Cayden spoke again, Vivica was startled by how late it was getting. They had left the island around midday, and the sun was already touching the treetops. There was still around an hour left of daylight before they would need to stop for the night.

“You must feel foolish right now.”

Vivica raised an eyebrow at him. “Why must I?”

Garrett tossed his head, looking as though he was trying to say, “What are you going on about now?” to Cayden. His opinion of the man hadn’t changed in the least bit, though Vivica felt an ounce of respect for the sandy-haired prince-to-be. He was brave, going out to face dangerous risks while the one he cared for most was dying. If Naleena had fallen ill, Vivica didn’t know if she could be that strong. Quite ironic, considering her last name was Strong.

“Because you were so worried about the sirens, and yet they never did a thing to stop us from taking those flowers.” Vivica couldn’t see Cayden’s face, but she could sense the smirk on his lips.

She frowned. “It was highly suspicious that they didn’t attack. I’m not entirely sure we’re out of the clear yet.”

Cayden slowed Sun down to look Vivica in the face. “We’re miles away, the faesian flowers are secured in our saddlebags, and there are no suspicious sounds coming from the forest. I’m pretty sure we’re ‘in the clear.’”

Vivica shook her head and didn’t say anything more. Arguing with Cayden was pointless. Even when he ended up agreeing with his opponent, he still believed he was right. The only thing she got from their tiffs was making him annoyed. 

“Let’s just bed down for the night,” she said with a sigh.

Setting up camp for the night was routine by now. First, they found a clearing far enough from the path so that any others passing by wouldn’t see them. Then, it was simply a matter of laying down a blanket, eating, selecting who would take first watch, and sleeping.

That particular system was going as usual when Cayden started coughing. 

Sun and Garrett had wandered off to find water and Vivica was chewing on the last bit of bread she had. Perhaps tomorrow, she thought, they could stop by a village and get more. In the past week of travel, they’d almost exhausted their supply. Of course, there were plenty of nuts, berries and roots in the forest that she had long since learned to live off of when her own supplies ran out. But if other options were available, it would save the time it took to scavenge for a meal.