Sebastian swallows hard.

What if that’s how a body walker sounds when they use their talent? We know they don’t have to be near their victims to control them. They just have to touch them once, and that’s it.

Then why didn’t Lady Aisling ever sound like that when she was controlling us?

That finally makes Sebastian’s thoughts calm. That’s true. She never did act like that.

We tiptoe toward the sound, moving as quietly as we can through the bushes. The noise gets louder as we approach, until the rustling and moaning is just up ahead. My palms sweat, and I try to smile encouragingly at Sebastian, but it comes off as a grimace.

Just a few more steps, I think at him. With my heart in my throat, I part the bushes. In the clearing ahead sits a man curled into the fetal position and holding his head in his hands.

Frowning, I peek into his mind.

Where am I? What happened?

The same thoughts chase each other through his head over and over. I tiptoe back to where Sebastian waits.

It’s just a man. He seems to be lost. I shrug. Maybe he fell off his horse?

That’s all? Sebastian thinks. Is he hurt?

There’s no blood, and I couldn’t see so much as a bruise on him. His thoughts don’t show him to be in pain either. Pain tends to be an all-consuming sort of thing. Whenever I’m near someone who’s hurt, it feels as if they’re shouting in my ears. It’s almost as painful for me as it is for them.

Sebastian begins to shake. But what if someone hurt him? What if they’re still around?

I place my hands on my friend’s shoulders and close my eyes, searching for any hint of another human mind nearby. No one else is here. I’d sense their thoughts if they were.

He begins to relax a little. We should still get out of here quickly. Just in case they come back.

I glance back at the man in the clearing. He’s managed to get to his feet and is stumbling around. I know Sebastian is right, but part of me wishes to help the man. We don’t know him, and we can’t rule out that it might be some sort of trick meant to trap us. His thoughts do seem sincerely confused, but there’s something off about the whole thing that I can’t quite put my finger on.

Still, I don’t feel right just leaving him here.

I’m going to try to talk to him. It’ll only take a minute.

Simone, no!

I turn back toward the clearing, this time stepping out from the bushes. The man shrinks back.

“Who…who are you?” His voice quavers. He holds out his hands and stares at them, then back at me. “Who am I?”

I can sense Sebastian hiding in the bushes behind me, but he doesn’t dare reveal himself.

“I’m Simone. But I don’t know who you are. We—I heard you from the path. Are you all right?”