Faline kept moving, trotting east toward home. Thank goodness Lukas had been alone, otherwise she might not have escaped. As it was, he hadn’t really threatened her, or at least she didn’t think so.

He’d seemed… friendly, almost. Genuinely trying to help, in his own way.

But he was a Reaver. A pirate. A thief. Maybe worse.

She couldn’t trust that.

Fear of being pursued continued to stalk her. Lukas could easily follow her footsteps. To try and confuse him, she traced an erratic path, darted across rocks, grabbed handfuls of grasses, and erased footsteps. All the doubling back and caution meant it took far longer to get back than she anticipated.

By the time she made it back to her beach, the sun was beginning to set. Another day of scraping by. How long had it been? At least over a month, maybe more. She’d lost count.

A chill wind was beginning to slip in from the highlands to the south. She pulled her tunic closer. What was she to do when winter arrived? The mountains would be tough to survive in, the forest was home to the Harrow folk, and the coast? No place she’d found so far was ideal to make it through the winter.

Regardless, she wasn’t going anywhere near the Reavers. Even if Lukas seemed decent enough, Alax had been clear about what they were.

So wrapped up in her thoughts, Faline didn’t see someone at the tidal pool. By the time she reached the cliff face, the individual by the pool turned her direction.

“Faline,” came a woman’s cry.

Faline turned and felt a surge of joy. “Alax!” she shouted, running toward her. They met near the dunes.

“I was so worried about you,” Alax said, gripping Faline’s shoulders and looking her over. “You look so frail. I went up to the waterhole a couple of days ago and found the shelter destroyed and all your things missing. I thought maybe something had happened to you.”

“I was attacked by a bear,” Faline answered.

Alax looked her over more carefully. “Were you hurt?”

Faline hesitated. If she said yes, she’d have to explain about her wound, which would inevitably lead to revealing how she’d healed herself. Better to stretch the truth. “A little, but I got into a tree.”

“Thank the Creator you’re safe.” Alax pulled her into a hug. “I thought you had survived since all of your things were gone. When I got the chance, I searched the coast, figuring you might have come here. I found your things, but not you. I feared the worst.”

“I had gone east, to explore, and found the inlet you talked of.”

Alax’s face grew pinched. “Did you find any Reavers?”

The lie came easier than it should have. “No.”

“That’s a relief. Did you find the hot spring?”

“I did, and it was wonderful,” Faline admitted.

“Isn’t it? I remember it well. I’d love to see it again.”

“Oh,” Faline answered, thinking of Lukas waiting there. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea. There might be Reavers around.”

“But you said you didn’t see any.”

Faline swallowed hard. “I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean they might not show up. It seemed like a place they might use.”

Alax’s face fell. “Well, yes, you’re right. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.”

Faline sensed the disappointment in Alax’s voice and felt guilty for lying. “The next time you visit, we’ll go take a look. If there’s any evidence of Reavers in the area, we’ll leave immediately.”

Alax’s face lit up. “That would be great.” She looked around the beach area. “In the meantime, what have you been doing?”

“Just surviving,” Faline admitted. Then the thought came to her, the question she’d been afraid to ask but couldn’t avoid any longer. “Is there any chance I can join your community? At least for the winter?”

“I thought about that too,” Alax replied, her expression becoming serious. “Father and I have talked quite a bit. There’s a great risk if he brings up the idea to the Guild. If they say no, they’ll want to make sure you aren’t anywhere near us, which means you’ll have to leave the area entirely.”

Faline nodded, though the logic seemed unnecessarily harsh. “The fact is, if I don’t find someplace to spend the winter, I don’t know that I can survive on my own.”

Alax took her hand and held it against her chest. “I understand. I’ll ask Father if there is some way to do this that won’t leave you completely vulnerable.” The Harrow woman pulled her into an embrace. “I think of you often. You’re like the little sister I never had. All I’ve got are two older stinky brothers.”

“I have a sibling back at the settlement, but I don’t know if it’s a boy or girl. My Mama was pregnant when I left.” The words came out before she could stop them, and suddenly the loss hit her harder than it had in weeks. She’d never meet her brother or sister. And now… she’d never know them.

“How sad,” Alax said, holding her tighter. Then she pulled back and stared hard at Faline. “What happened to you?”

“What are you talking about?”

She kept moving, trotting east toward home. Thank goodness Lukas had been alone, otherwise she might not have escaped. As it was, he hadn’t really threatened her, or at least she didn’t think so.

He’d seemed… friendly, almost. Genuinely trying to help, in his own way.

But he was a Reaver. A pirate. A thief. Maybe worse.

She couldn’t trust that.

Fear of being pursued continued to stalk her. Lukas could easily follow her footsteps. To try and confuse him, she traced an erratic path, darted across rocks, grabbed handfuls of grasses, and erased footsteps. All the doubling back and caution meant it took far longer to get back than she anticipated.

By the time she made it back to her beach, the sun was beginning to set. Another day of scraping by. How long had it been? At least over a month, maybe more. She’d lost count.

A chill wind was beginning to slip in from the highlands to the south. She pulled her tunic closer. What was she to do when winter arrived? The mountains would be tough to survive in, the forest was home to the Harrow folk, and the coast? No place she’d found so far was ideal to make it through the winter.

Regardless, she wasn’t going anywhere near the Reavers. Even if Lukas seemed decent enough, Alax had been clear about what they were.

So wrapped up in her thoughts, Faline didn’t see someone at the tidal pool. By the time she reached the cliff face, the individual by the pool turned her direction.

“Faline,” came a woman’s cry.

Faline turned and felt a surge of joy. “Alax!” she shouted, running toward her. They met near the dunes.

“I was so worried about you,” Alax said, gripping Faline’s shoulders and looking her over. “You look so frail. I went up to the waterhole a couple of days ago and found the shelter destroyed and all your things missing. I thought maybe something had happened to you.”

“I was attacked by a bear,” Faline answered.

Alax looked her over more carefully. “Were you hurt?”

Faline hesitated. If she said yes, she’d have to explain about her wound, which would inevitably lead to revealing how she’d healed herself. Better to stretch the truth. “A little, but I got into a tree.”

“Thank the Creator you’re safe.” Alax pulled her into a hug. “I thought you had survived since all of your things were gone. When I got the chance, I searched the coast, figuring you might have come here. I found your things, but not you. I feared the worst.”

“I had gone east, to explore, and found the inlet you talked of.”

Alax’s face grew pinched. “Did you find any Reavers?”

The lie came easier than it should have. “No.”

“That’s a relief. Did you find the hot spring?”

“I did, and it was wonderful,” Faline admitted.

“Isn’t it? I remember it well. I’d love to see it again.”

“Oh,” Faline answered, thinking of Lukas waiting there. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea. There might be Reavers around.”

“But you said you didn’t see any.”

Faline swallowed hard. “I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean they might not show up. It seemed like a place they might use.”

Alax’s face fell. “Well, yes, you’re right. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.”

Faline sensed the disappointment in Alax’s voice and felt guilty for lying. “The next time you visit, we’ll go take a look. If there’s any evidence of Reavers in the area, we’ll leave immediately.”

Alax’s face lit up. “That would be great.” She looked around the beach area. “In the meantime, what have you been doing?”

“Just surviving,” Faline admitted. Then the thought came to her, the question she’d been afraid to ask but couldn’t avoid any longer. “Is there any chance I can join your community? At least for the winter?”

“I thought about that too,” Alax replied, her expression becoming serious. “Father and I have talked quite a bit. There’s a great risk if he brings up the idea to the Guild. If they say no, they’ll want to make sure you aren’t anywhere near us, which means you’ll have to leave the area entirely.”

Faline nodded, though the logic seemed unnecessarily harsh. “The fact is, if I don’t find someplace to spend the winter, I don’t know that I can survive on my own.”

Alax took her hand and held it against her chest. “I understand. I’ll ask Father if there is some way to do this that won’t leave you completely vulnerable.” The Harrow woman pulled her into an embrace. “I think of you often. You’re like the little sister I never had. All I’ve got are two older stinky brothers.”

“I have a sibling back at the settlement, but I don’t know if it’s a boy or girl. My Mama was pregnant when I left.” The words came out before she could stop them, and suddenly the loss hit her harder than it had in weeks. She’d never meet her brother or sister. And now… she’d never know them.

“How sad,” Alax said, holding her tighter. Then she pulled back and stared hard at Faline. “What happened to you?”

“What are you talking about?”

Alax ran a hand through her short locks. “I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but you’ve got a streak of white in your hair. It makes you look much older.” She paused, studying Faline’s face more carefully. “Speaking of which, what did you do to your hair? You almost look like a boy.”

Faline’s stomach dropped. She’d nearly forgotten it was there—it wasn’t as if she carried a mirror around with her—but now, with Alax peering at it, she felt suddenly, uncomfortably seen. “It just looked so bad I had to cut it,” she said quickly, reaching up to tug a lock over the streak as if to smooth it, not hide it.

If Alax noticed the gesture, she didn’t comment on it. “Well, I can understand that. But let me bring some shears next time, and I’ll give you a proper trim. It’s all uneven.”

“I’d like that.” Faline let her hand fall, relieved to have something else to talk about.

“So what have you been doing besides trying to cut your own hair?”

“I’ve been exploring, fishing, looking for herbs for medicinal purposes.” Faline hesitated, then decided it was as good a time as any. “Can you tell me more about the Reavers? Who are they?”

Alax’s easy expression dimmed. “Pirates. Thieves. Murderers, some of them.” She picked at a loose thread on her sleeve. “They turned up about ten years back—nobody really knows from where. Bretagne, maybe, or somewhere past the Mossy Grimwahl. They built themselves a village up the coast. Port Mortain, they call it. We just call it Reaverville.” She made a face, like the name tasted bad.

“Is it far?”

“Another fifteen miles or so, up past the inlet.” Alax glanced at her sideways. “Why all the questions? You didn’t see any of them out there, did you?”

The lie came easier than it should have. “No. I just wondered, given what you said before.”

“Mm.” Alax didn’t look entirely convinced, but let it go. “They used to be worse, honestly. Raided our caravans, our ships—we trade with Cazidor and Bretagne both, and for a while they made it nearly impossible. We armed up, got smarter about our routes. Now they mostly leave us be. Found easier pickings elsewhere, I suppose.” She said it without much relief in her voice. “Doesn’t mean we don’t watch for them.”

“So they’re human? Like me?”

“Unfortunately.” Alax snapped, then her face flushed. “Sorry, I just mean they are bad humans.”

Faline blinked, caught off guard by the bite in her voice. “Bad humans,” she repeated.

“That came out wrong.” Alax shook her head, like she was trying to shake the words loose. “I just meant—they give the rest of you a bad name, is all. Not you. You know that.”

Faline nodded slowly, though she couldn’t help wondering what exactly Alax meant by “the rest of you.”

Then Faline’s mind went to Lukas, with his friendly smile and casual offer of help. Was he really a murderer? Or just someone trying to survive, like her?

It was unlikely she’d get any mercy from the Reavers if she went to them. All her hopes were set on the Harrow folk. If they didn’t take her in, she would have no choice but to flee somewhere else.

Or take Lukas up on his offer.

No. She pushed the thought away. She couldn’t trust them.

Could she?