Page 66 of Dawn of Hope
We finish eating just as the suns finally set, casting the camp in darkness, the magic triggering all the torches to light around us. Everyone clears their places and scatters to different parts of camp. Exhaustion from all the events today hits me like a crashing wave, and I find myself unable to stifle yawns.
Dane gives me a small wave goodbye as he guides Fin toward their side of camp. I send up a quick prayer to the gods that his first night alone and away from his family goes smoothly. Being so young and away from your family has got to be tough, so I hope some of the other boys take him under their wing.
I shower quickly, successfully avoiding anyone else, then head back to our bunks, ready to finally climb into bed. When I come around the corner to climb the ladder, I almost let out a scream. Mara startles me, standing in the entry with a scowl on her face and her arms crossed over her chest.
“I’ll advise you to get some sleep. You think you’re tired today, just wait until tomorrow. You better be able to keep up.”
She turns on her heel before I can respond and goes straight to her bunk.
Fine. If she doesn’t want to be friends, we don’t have to be, but she can at least be civil. I have done nothing to her besides come here with the same hope and goal she did and be wrongfully imprisoned.
“Goodnight Mara,” I say directly as I walk by her bunk and start climbing toward mine. I’ll be ready for tomorrow. She says I need to keep up, and that won’t be a problem, as long as I keep down enough water in this humidity. I want to get out and search just as much as she doesn’t want me with her. I am going to use these days to my advantage and soak up all the knowledge from the experienced Voyagers as I can.
Edmond always taught me I need to have a strategy, a plan of attack, and a goal in mind. I know what my goal is. The elixir. To get home to my mother. And now I need to use every piece of information and knowledge that everyone else has gained over years and years of searching to get me there.
I take my boots off and climb into bed, barely remembering moments after my head hits the pillow, but ready for whatever the morning brings.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Iwake up to something hitting me in the face.
My eyes fly open, the sky above me still a deep blue of the early morning. Something from below comes flying at my head again, and I swat it away before feeling around my bunk to see what had hit me. I reach over and grab balled up socks, then stick my head over the side of my bed to find Mara standing with her arms crossed, a look of impatience on her face.
At least she used something soft.
“I’m leaving in one minute. You’re either with me or you’re on your own,” she yells.
I fling my blanket off and hurry to pull on my boots. “I’ll be right there!” I call down. I grab a string of leather that I had taken from the extra clothes and supplies in the bathroom and quickly braid my hair, tying it off at the ends. Having it off my neck will hopefully help with the heat. I slide my dagger into my waistband and start climbing down the ladder.
Mara is already striding down the walkway by the time I make it to the last rung and hop down.
Rolling my eyes at her back, I hurry after her.
So this is how today is going to go.
A bunch of boys are eating in the tavern when we arrive. I glance around but don’t see Dane or Fin. He is probably letting him rest after the shock to his life from yesterday, just as he did with me.
I inhale breakfast, trying to keep up with Mara, who clearly doesn’t care if I am left behind. We finish eating wordlessly and clear our plates, and she takes off toward the armory. She opens the doors, pulling out a sword and a dagger and strapping everything to her waist.
I take a moment to glance at the contents of the armory. An array of blades of all shapes and sizes hang along the wall. Bows and crossbows hang from pegs, and quivers filled with arrows stand on the floor. There are some weapons I’ve never seen before. I move past them, reaching for a bow and a quiver full of arrows. I sling them across my back to keep my hands free for anything we might encounter on the island.
“Do you even know how to shoot that thing?” Mara asks, a tone of annoyance coating her voice.
“Yes.” I don’t offer her anything more. I’d have plenty of practice being diplomatic and not letting my emotions show through my words. If this was how she wanted things to be between us, then I would treat her with respect and nothing more.
I’ve never realized how much the lessons Edmond had been drilling into me actually applied to life. They always seemed so tedious, and mostly unnecessary. But now, as I am out interacting with people and in different, potentially dangerous situations, the lessons flood back to me and help me think through every decision I make.
“Let’s go then.” She leaves the doors to the armory open, and we slide past another group coming to grab their weapons for the day.
Once we are out of camp and through the trees, Mara moves quickly, heading in the opposite direction Dane and I had exploredyesterday. It’s difficult to pay attention to my surroundings while trying to keep up with her, but I do my best. Clearly, she knows the island well, and is pushing me to keep up.
We cut off the main path and head down a hill, into a valley. I follow wordlessly, focusing on trying to keep up with her pace and mentally making a map. After a few more minutes of blindly following, I decide to try to break the ice.
“What are we doing today?”
She whirs around, stopping me in my tracks, and stomps toward me, shoving her face into mine.
“Are you sleeping with Dane?” she spits, the look of anger and jealousy written across her features.