“But that’s like slapping bandages on skin bearing a thousand cuts.”

“In a way, yes. But it’s not that bad yet.”

“Yet? Are you saying it’s going to get that bad?”

“Maybe? In truth, no one knows, not even Cintra. Maybe the goddess does, but if so, She’s not telling the Sightless.”

Soraya blew out a frustrated breath. She hated not knowing things. Because most of her sixteen years of life had been spent within the Rocklands, she’d taken to entertaining herself by learning everything she could about every creature, every plant, even every stone within its boundaries. She knew that a butterfly exposed to godsblood would shed its wings and grow long, pincerlike legs sharp enough to impale flesh. She knew that a sunflower whose roots had drunk the golden liquid would shrink upon itself until its ‘flower’ was as hard as a rock. She also knew one could crack open that rock to reveal a nut that, when consumed, would provide a burst of energy, but that doing so was forbidden under the Forsworn Oath. And yet now…now she was entering a world she knew next to nothing about. She’d given her entire life to serving Narcissi, but that didn’t make it any easier to walk into the dark without a light.

“I’ll be here every step of the way to guide you,” Shim said, as though he’d read her mind, something he had a habit of doing.

“I know. Thank you. I will endeavor to learn from you.”

“Good. Then I suppose we should get moving. Though you may want to grant Morg his freedom or he’s likely to gnaw a hole in your satchel.”

The pack’s bucking had grown even more violent, so it was a relief to unknot the ties. The creature practically flew as he freed himself, landing on the ground before her and immediately taking to chasing his puffy tail in circles. “Morg, Morg, Morg!” he rambled. Soraya couldn’t help the girlish giggle that escaped her lips, but quickly stifled it. “Sorry. He’s as excited as I am, is all.” He quickly grew bored of his tail and scampered over to a patch of buttercups, sucking the petals down one at a time and leaving the green stems behind.

“It’s fine. Errol is excited too, though he doesn’t show it as much.” With slow, ponderous steps, the tarantula crawled up Shim’s arm, not stopping until he was perched on the man’s thick shoulder. Her partner started into the forest, following a somewhat overgrown path between a series of silver-trunked trees standing sentinel on either side.