I considered. If he was injured, he’d go farther into the forest. Crawling on my hands and knees, I searched the ground, exploring with my hands.

“Uh, Healer Avry...” Eva said.

“Go. Before you’re—”

“Are you insane?” Loren asked. Quain and Flea stood next to him. The fierce expressions on their faces meant they’d carry me from the woods if they had to.

“If Kerrick’s here, he’s safer than you. Come on!” Loren grabbed my elbow, hauling me to my feet.

“No.” I yanked my arm from his grasp and stumbled back. An invisible hand wrapped around my ankle.

“Avry?” asked a bush.

I squealed with pure joy and crouched down, finding Kerrick. Arms snaked around my back as he pulled me close. The rest of the world disappeared as I clung to him, breathing in his scent, feeling his chest move. Bliss.

“Avry,” he sighed.

“Where did she go?” Flea asked.

“Flea’s here?” Kerrick released me, but I stayed next to him as he moved into a sitting position.

His magic buzzed through me and his camouflage disappeared. The monkeys and Flea beamed at him.

Kerrick frowned. “Get out of here before the blockade—”

The unmistakable ruckus of an army on the move exploded around us.

“Too late,” Eva said. She balanced on the balls of her feet as if ready to bolt.

Kerrick pushed up the sleeves of his arms. “Grab on, gentlemen.” He grasped my hand with his. “Eva, you, too.”

The others huddled around him, touching his arms. Kerrick’s magic stopped and we all blended in with the forest. Strange.

“Cool,” Quain said.

“Quiet,” Kerrick whispered. “They’re coming.”

With Kerrick in the middle, we drew in close together, making our group as small as possible for six people. No one moved.

Soon, soldiers passed us. A few quite close, and one man headed directly toward us. We braced for impact, but he stumbled, tripping on a vine and missing us by inches. In fact, many of the soldiers who ventured too close to us had problems with that pesky vine.

As we sat there for over an hour, I learned a few things. Kerrick didn’t use his magic on that vine or our camouflage, which was the opposite of how it worked in the past. And after the fight in the manor house, we were in serious need of a bath. Except Eva, who smelled like roses and kept unnaturally still the entire time.

A million questions for Kerrick bubbled up my throat, but I held them for later. When we escaped this situation, he’d have some serious explaining to do. Funny, I hadn’t thought if we escaped. Guess my outlook was rather optimistic. Hard not to be when I held Kerrick’s hand.

After another hour or so, Kerrick said, “Most of them have moved east. We can sneak north.”