I touched my ear and immediately thought of Jones’ hypocrisy. She hadn’t bothered to remove her ring when she hit me, as was her right, under the dubious Compromise. I glowered. If the Compromise was a fraud, then what right did she have to discipline the students at all? The answer was clear—she had no right. My belly clenched and rumbled.

Hosea let out a breath. “There you go again, grinding.”

I looked up.

He was standing over me, his hands on his hips. “As your doctor, I order you to stop worrying.” He bent down and clasped the knot of my jaw, making me wince. “You’re giving yourself tendonitis, Cobane,” he whispered.

My mind went blank as his fingers worked expertly over my jaw.

“Better?” he asked.

His eyes were light brown now, and his jaw was dark with his growing beard. It obscured the cleft in his chin. My heart skipped and I jumped to my feet. “We should get going,” I said.

“William’s so far ahead, I can barely hear his song.” I was talking too quickly.

Hosea didn’t seem to notice. His hands dropped to his sides. “Okay, just let me check the horses.”

I drank more water as Hosea checked the knots securing our gear. When he was done he started again, rechecking each tie. He went through the same steps, meticulous and measured, at every stop, no matter how short. In fact, he was measured in everything he did, which made memorizing his actions easier. I turned my back to him and looked around the wood. As the miles passed, I grew more comfortable. I would leave in just a few days. “Do you hear those birds?” I said, after a while.

He cocked his head. “Yes, whippoorwills.”

“I thought so, too.” I frowned.

“You’re grinding, Cobane. I can hear it.” He glanced over his shoulder. “What’s the problem?”

“They’ve been following us, calling incessantly for an hour,” I said.

“And?”

“And their calls sound close. Only, I haven’t seen any whippoorwills.”

He grinned crookedly, showing a dent in his right cheek. “Perhaps they’re hiding.”

Rolling my eyes, I stepped further into the wood. “I’ll only be a moment,” I called back.

“Don’t go far,” he said. He turned back to the horses.

I walked deep into the forest and stepped behind a dense patch of trees as the whippoorwills called, sounding closer than ever. I spoke loudly to Hosea over my shoulder. “Listen to that. They never stop!” I said, adjusting my aura. “It’s the most confounding thing. I’ve seen other birds, parakeets, a hawk.” I brushed at the sand in my blouse. “I’ve seen two blue jays but—”

Hosea cut me off with a shout. “Hush!”

I froze. His tone was tense. “What is it?” I called.

“Do you hear that?”