Book One – Chapter 17

“Hello,” Yu said at last, for lack of anything better. He regretted his choice instantly.

The borman stared, but then inclined his head, a slow and heavy gesture. The krynn just stared, but his long fingers never stopped working on the unconscious pair.

„I’m just … going inside,“ Yu said. “With you. Or after you. I mean — when you’re ready. Then you go. When you’re ready. Like Estingar told you.” He was not even sure if Estingar had said he would come back. He hoped.

And then Yu folded himself against the outer edge of the bench, right where he stood. He sat stiff and straight, arms pinned tight to his sides, talons curled hard into the stone floor to suppress the shivers. He fixed his gaze to the ground directly before him and did not let it move.

The sudden warmth left him lightheaded. Throughout the whole day, he had darted in and out to fetch water, but those had been brief moments. Nothing like this. Nothing so exposed. Now, his legs could not stop shaking and his feathers itched all over from the thawing frost.

There was no time to rest. Yu’s thoughts were a mess. All of this was a mess, and he had not even enough information to sort any of it. Still, he had to. He had to try, for dear life. So he collected his last thoughts and went from there.

Somewhere in that unebbing flood of dread, a single thought rose to the surface and held. Yu realised one thing:

It did not matter if he could trust any of them.

It did not matter if Imbiad had been sincere, if Fallem’s concern covered a lie, or if Harrow had been playing both sides all along. It did not matter whether anyone in this escorting party bore him goodwill or served the syndicate. It changed nothing. Because it would not save him.