“I’m right in front of you, so you can stop talking about me like I’m not here.” His stare goes blank and Braizen chuckles. Nuri strokes the handle of her mace.

“The real question is why a Verdanian and a bunch of Baellileans are traveling together in the first place. Isn’t it?” Nuri asks, though her tone suggests she already knows the answer.

Everyone falls silent. Lin glares at me, commanding me not to speak.

I ignore him. “They kidnapped me. For what reason, I don’t know.”

Nuri’s eyes widen, and she blows out a heavy breath. “And you saved them? Now I’m as confused as the anxious one!”

Lin’s jaw unlatches as he releases an agitated breath. He clearly doesn’t enjoy being called that by a stranger. The woman appears gratified by his annoyance.

“Well, technically, we saved her first. We rescued her from the Obsidian Mist,” Braizen cuts in.

“Is this supposed to be a joke? You kidnapped me!”

He sends me a tight smile. “Did it make you laugh?”

I scowl, wishing with everything inside me that we could touch, just long enough for my hand to strike his cocky face.

“Ah, yes. The mist is a terrible thing to witness, indeed. I’m surprised at how well you are all faring after seeing such a thing.” Nuri gives a low whistle and pulls her mace up beside her, a little too casually for my taste.

“Trust me,” I breathe. “I’ve seen worse things than the mist.”

I feel him staring at me, but I refuse to look. He knows exactly what I mean.

“So, Nuri, is it?” Lin says, breaking the tension. “What exactly is the mist? How does your kind survive it?”

She laughs at him. “My kind?”

“I didn’t mean it offensively, of course! I only meant to say, well, to ask…It’s just that between the mist, sentient plants, and scarce wildlife…It makes for nearly impossible living conditions, and I was wondering …”

“We aren’t enemies to the forest,” she interrupts. “I’m afraid that’s reserved for your kind.” She winks, draws her mace up to her side, and uses it to knock on the carriage wall behind her. The horses halt. Lin rubs his palm against his mouth in a flustered motion, but Nuri only leans forward and places her hand on his knee.

“Magic.” She says simply. “That’s how we survive.” Lin squints at her.

“Magic?” He repeats, the word suspended in disbelief.

The woman smiles widely. “Yes, magic. I’m sure you’ve heard many stories of the Wood and this one is true. Magic flows through it like a hidden web. It connects all things and weaves them together. Those who live within this web are tethered to it; we can feel its ebb and flow. We don’t fear the magic because we’re as much a part of it as the trees. It helps us survive.”

Lin inhales deeply as Nuri squeezes his knee harder. “But should something or someone come and disturb this web… That’s a much different story. Magic itself is a being, you see. It’s the roots that ground the trees. Some wish to tend it, but others seek to cut and dig it out. Theirs is a dark relationship, a viscous and harmful one, and it can create even darker outcomes.”