Serpent's Daughter (Four Kingdoms #1) ✓

34. A Grave Mistake (Part 2)

However, as it was now, they were traveling in a sandbox full of tension, anger, and grief.

Alethia shook her head, and Ren glanced at her sharply. Silence fell over them again like a wet blanket. Sephirah huffed out a breath as they reached the desert, leaving behind the sparse trees of the forest. Her boots dug into the sand, the grains pushing against her and sliding her backward. The weight of her bag dragged her down. As her legs burned with the effort of lifting themselves, Sephirah was grateful for the cold wind tangling her unruly hair.

"Have you heard the names Callistro or Icarus before?" Alethia broke the silence, earning a loud sigh from Ren.

Aydin's shoulder brushed against Sephirah's side as he stepped through the sand. "No, who are they?"

"People from a bloody dream," Ren interjected before Alethia could speak. "For skies sake woman, do you have to drag all of us into your delusions?"

"Did you ask her what her dream was about?" Sephirah moved faster, ignoring the soreness of her muscles. She reached Alethia's side and heard Aydin shuffle closer as well. Sephirah peered at the girl who remained facing forward, eyes focused on the horizon as if seeing something other than endless piles of sand.

Alethia's lips pressed together, and her pale face tightened. When she kept quiet, Sephirah huffed out a breath.

"You do not trust us, do you?" she asked softly, a tinge of sadness in her voice. For a fleeting moment, something unreadable flickered in Alethia's eyes.

"No, I do not." Alethia's voice was flat and matter of fact. It was an evident conversation ender, but Sephirah wasn't willing to accept that as an answer. They had already been through so much together, and she saw a potential friend in Alethia. She refused to give up on that.

Sephirah cleared her throat, considering her next words carefully. She felt as if she had to treat Alethia like a wild, stray animal. The littlest things could set the girl off.

"It would be easier for us to help you if you told us what you know. We are supposed to work together."

Aydin opened his mouth to interject, and Sephirah stopped him with a stern shake of her head. Ren stared at Sephirah with narrowed, criticizing eyes. Alethia's face hardened further.

"I do not require your—"

"Yes, yes," Sephirah waved away the words, drawing Alethia's attention to her. "You do not require our help. You are a strong, capable woman, Alethia. No one denies that, trust me. We are willingly helping because it's not just you affected by this war. Everyone here has a goal, a purpose in all of this. And we have the same enemy. So, lighten up, would you?"

Ren scoffed, eyes focusing on Alethia. "The day this woman lightens up is the day the sun stops rising."

"He's right," Alethia remarked drily. "I cannot light up. I do not have that magical ability."

"By the goddess's lovely bones, you really have a screw loose, don't you?" Aydin leaned forward around Sephirah to direct his question at Alethia.

"I prefer my loose screw, as you call it," Alethia paused to peer over at Aydin with scrutinizing eyes and an expression of disgust as she continued, "over your pathetic drinking habits."

Sephirah sucked in a deep breath. Her heart thundered as she watched Aydin's face darken. Ren grunted in agreement.

"Okay, look," Sephirah held up her hands as Aydin mumbled a string of vulgarities under his breath. "Aydin isn't drinking anymore. Both of you need to try to get along with everyone. You guys act as if the entire world is against you."