“Enough. Everyone needs to get some sleep. I want to cover at least twenty miles tomorrow.”

Ugh. The monkeys fixed their bedrolls and settled down.

My thoughts returned to Quain’s question. “I’ve never had to deal with any...man pain before, but if I do, I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“Thanks,” Quain deadpanned.

Once again everyone quieted down. I was about to drift off to sleep when Flea said, “I miss being Flea.”

“You’re still Flea. Nothing’s ever gonna change that,” Quain said.

* * *

Dawn arrived far too soon. Groggy and achy, I balked at leaving the toasty warmth of Kerrick’s arms. The air had cooled overnight and a light frost coated the ground.

We ate jerky for breakfast and packed up, continuing east. Kerrick set a brisk pace. Gazing at the surrounding landscape, I searched my memories. When I’d traveled to Galee to become Tara’s apprentice, I’d cut through Pomyt Realm. While Grzebien was the largest city in Pomyt, the realm had many smaller settlements tucked around farm fields and wooded areas. That was true for all the realms. Most had only two or three large cities.

Which meant we shouldn’t have to go too far out of the way to remain in the forest until we reached Ozero. Now all we needed were some horses. Except Kerrick avoided all the small towns and farms we passed.

I understood his reluctance to ride the noisy animals, but time was critical. After we bypassed a farm with horses grazing in a pasture, I reached for his shoulder, or rather where I thought his shoulder should be, since he’d gone woodsy as soon as we had set off this morning. I touched nothing but air at first. Then he took my hand and my skin turned the colors of the forest.

“Hey,” Quain said right behind me. “Give a guy some warning before you just disappear, will ya?”

Flea stood next to him, but Loren stayed back in the rear-guard position.

“Sorry,” I said, but stared at Kerrick. When we both blended in, I had no trouble seeing him clearly. At those times, he was all mine.

“Something wrong?” he asked in a low voice.

“Yes, why did you pass that farm? They had horses, lots of them.”

“We’re not ready for horses.”

“We or you?”

“We. Trust me on this.” He squeezed my hand.

“All right.”

He let go and vanished once again.

“Welcome back,” Quain said to me. “Remember those times we wished Kerrick would disappear?”

“I can still hear you, you know,” Kerrick said.

“Is that so? I’d thought maybe you had vines growing out of your ears or something. Since you’re now...a weed of the forest?”

Kerrick the weed. My laughter bubbled up my throat, unstoppable. The boys joined in.