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As a result, the unhurried days of hiking toward the Dragon's Heart (unlike the bumpy, rushed and silent wagon ride to the Lion Camp) were filled entirely with Gideon's hearty chatter.

"The three of us will have plenty of hard work to do once we get there," he chimed as they plodded along, "so it's fine for us to take our time now."

Coming to a halt in front of a nearby clearing, the man added with a smirk, "Don't you agree?"

While Gideon headed into the clearing, exclaiming what an excellent camping spot he'd found, Kel frowned at the orange evening sky. Surely, there was at least an hour more of light and even longer before any of them would start to feel tired enough to sleep.

She wasn't eager to arrive at their destination, but the constant time-wasting only resulted in prolonging the inevitable. Besides, she already knew what to expect at the Dragon's Heart. Since the chances were slim of running into anybody who could actually recognize her beneath her masculine disguise, she could just keep doing what she had been at the Lion Camp.

Taegus, on the other hand, was a complete wild card. There was no telling if and how he would act out.

"Nature is calling," Kel announced with a sigh as she dropped her pack next to Gideon and Taegus.

"I hope you've been drinking more water," Gideon teased as Kel turned back toward the forest. "It really helps get things moving!"

It had become Kel's nightly routine to duck off into the trees for a bit of alone time before bed. Gideon, fully aware that Kel actually spent the time relaxing by herself, decided to start making jokes about her lengthy 'potty breaks'.

The first few times, Kel had offered a pity chuckle to the man's taunting, but she eventually began to just ignore him.

As soon as she could no longer hear Gideon's loud voice cutting through the still forest air, Kel slumped down against one of the large trees.

"Annoying," she murmured to herself, idly grasping a nearby pebble.

Half-heartedly, she threw the pebble against a scrawny tree with a satisfying thunk.

After a few more minutes of aimless pebble and oaknut tossing, Kel decided she should start getting ready to head back to camp. With a quick glance around, she quickly pulled her tunic off to adjust the wrapping around her chest.

Nesta's initial wrapping job had lasted perfectly until washing night came. Kel had volunteered to go last in her group so she could be alone, and, like lightning, she'd scrubbed her body with ice cold water and quickly redressed.

Her chest binding, however, didn't hold up quite as well as Nesta's.

"I can't believe I already have to fix it," Kel grumbled, tugging on the ends of the wrap. "It's been less than a week."

Just as she was yanking her shirt back over her head, a sharp crack sounded to her right.

"Who's there?" Kel jolted, immediately reaching for her bow.

The group hadn't encountered any dangerous animals so far on their journey, but the distant howls of wolves echoed eerily through the forest every night.

With her bow string pulled, resting against her nose, Kel aimed the tip of the arrow toward the bush she thought the sound had come from.

After a moment, the leaves of the bush began to rustle. Kel took a sharp breath in, preparing to release the arrow, but paused at the sound of Taegus's voice.

"D-don't shoot!" the boy called, his silver hair glowing red under the sunset as he popped out of the bush.

Kel's heart began to pound faster.

Had he seen her? He'd called her a girl before; had he gotten his proof just now?

Gulping, Kel aimed the arrow once more.

She could solve this problem altogether right now. All she would have to tell Gideon is that she tragically mistook the boy's mane for a wolf.

"Don't shoot!" Taegus repeated, slowly raising his hands. "Adriell!"

Caught off guard, Kel froze for a split second. Her hesitation gave Taegus just enough time to tackle her. Wrestling the bow away from her, the boy pinned her to the ground.

Was he a mercenary? Had he come to hunt her? Was this how she was going to die?

No.

Grunting, Kel tried to push the Taegus off of her. The boy was surprisingly strong, but she managed to free one of her arms. Desperately, she reached for the discarded arrow.

But Taegus noticed and immediately knocked the arrow out of her reach before regaining hold of her arm.

"Stop," he growled, moving his face closer to Kel's. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I'll kill you!" Kel snapped, writhing under the boy's iron-like grip.

Now she understood why that massive man had been forced to the ground their first night in the Lion Camp. This kid was deceptively powerful.

"Stop it," Taegus said again, his breath hot against Kel's face. "I know Adriell!"

Ha.

Surely the news of the runaway fake princess in Serin had reached Adriell's ears. Was this her latest attempt to help her poor body double? The poison pearls didn't do the job, so now she'd sent somebody to 'save' Kel from suffering.

Or was it indeed just a mercenary who thought mentioning Adriell's name was the best way to earn Kel's trust?

"All the more reason to kill you then!" Kel retorted, baring her teeth.

"You don't understand," Taegus huffed between Kel's struggles. "I thought you were her. I thought you were Adriell."

Kel paused.

"... what did you just say?"

"I was so excited," Taegus explained, emotion filling his voice.

"I thought you were her."