With the bounty the Tiger Claws earned in Emreld they were able to buy enough supplies to last for a while, which was why they were taking the scenic route for the next leg of their travels.

  They would be traveling to Rune, the southern fae kingdom, next. Rather than doubling back through Opeali to cross the border though, Brack and Rickson had decided to continue west, cutting through Gless and taking a pass through the Sey’or mountain range.

  Before they left the Evenbone manor, Brack and Rickson gave everyone their pay. Each of the Tigers got fifty coin. As Viren finished packing his bag, he thought about what to do with the pay. He knew some Tigers, like Marce and Drew, sent the money home to their families. Suzy and Gerald were saving up for retirement.

  He asked Drew about it as they left the manor.

  “You could always start saving for retirement,” Drew suggested.

  “I think I’m a little young to start thinking about retirement,” Viren responded.

  “You’re never to young to think about retirement,” Drew said with a wink.

  Viren rolled his eyes and looked back. Brack and Rickson were talking with Lord Evenbone and his wife. They were saying their goodbyes. Lord Evenbone shook Rickson and Brack’s hands, and Lady Evenbone gave Brack a hug and patted Rickson on the head.

  With that, the Tiger Claws were off. Brack did not look back again as he moved to the front of the group to lead the company.

  “Rune, here we come!” Drew said.

  …

  The route Brack had chosen led the company through the undeveloped wilderness of Opeali. It was more or less flat, with few trees and fewer roads. By noon of the second day, they reached the river that marked the border between Opeali and Gless. “Rickson,” Brack said. “You and some others make a small raft. Drew and Viren will help it across the river.” Rickson and Marce went off in search of some small trees, and the rest of the company made themselves busy in other ways.

  Before long, Marce and Rickson came back with a few young trees, and several Tigers got to work making a raft. It was well made, given the circumstances, but small.

  “It will only be able to carry a few people across at a time,” Drew said to Viren, “so we’ll be working double duty.” Viren and Drew’s job was to help ferry the craft across the river using their water affinities. The said river was wide, and its current strong. Without the help of Viren and Drew, the raft would end up far downstream.

  “Here’s how we’ll do it,” Drew said. Brack had given them their task and then left them to work it out. “I’ll go to the other side of the river with the first group. Then we’ll each take one half of the river. Do you think your magic can reach that far?” Viren nodded—his magic could reach more than twice that far, but he didn’t mention that to Drew. He was supposed to be the weaker water mage, after all.

  The raft was dragged to the river shore, and the first group loaded on, Drew included. Viren also stepped up to the shore, the water almost lapping against the toes of his boots. As he stretched his magic—he hadn’t used his water affinity in a while—he could feel the flow of the river, feel the way it bucked and ran against the shoreline like a wild horse. It could not move past the shore though, no matter how it tried.

  “You ready?” Drew asked Viren. Viren shot him a confident smirk.

  “I was born ready,” he replied. Drew nodded and pushed off the shore with his foot. The raft shot into the river and, his face screwed in concentration, Drew started fighting against the current. Viren helped him, and the raft started moving steadily forward.

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  Viren’s heart beat faster, and even as he carefully helped Drew with the raft his affinity longed to rush and play with the river. If his shadow affinity was soaring and graceful, his water affinity was exciting and wild, as deep as the blue ocean and as rushing as this river.

  But, against his instinct and desire, Viren reigned in his affinity. He made sure to let Drew do most of the work (sorry, Drew) and soon the raft was bumping up against the other side of the river. The rest of the company watched as everyone got off the raft and returned it to the river. Drew was standing on the opposite shore, his feet planted and arms out as he navigated the raft back to Viren’s side of the shore. With a start, Viren realized that he had forgotten to use his hands when he helped Drew the first time.

  He shook his head and took a deep breath. Luckily, Drew hadn’t seemed to notice, but he might have just been occupied with the raft at the moment. He might confront Viren later. Viren took another breath, forcing his affinity to calm down. ‘Stay focused,’ he scolded himself. ‘You can’t slip up!’

  The raft reached the halfway point of the river, and Viren raised his arms and took over. He could feel the moment when Drew let go and the current took hold, that rushing half moment when the raft threatened to float away. Then Viren was in control, and he slowly brought the raft back to his half of the shore.

  When it was safely grounded, Viren turned to the company and gestured to the makeshift vessel. “All aboard,” he said dryly.

  …

  It took until the late afternoon to ferry everyone to the opposite shore. Viren was on the last raft across with Brack, Rickson, and the rest of the supplies. The ferrying had gone smoothly, except for one incident about halfway through.

  Drew had been almost done ferrying a group across the river when a large branch—almost a log, really—had come barreling along the river, hurried by the current. The branch had struck the raft (nearly knocking Tysonn off), and for a moment, Drew had lost control of the current. Almost without thinking, Viren had stepped in, and for a second, maybe two, the raft had been held motionless, seemingly unaffected by all the waters raging around it.

  Drew had quickly regained control of course, and no one noticed Viren’s intervention or the raft being held in place. The rest of the crossing passed smoothly. Rickson was pleased at that.

  “You two did a great job,” he said to Viren and Drew. “And of course the raft was well built.” Drew rolled his eyes. Rickson had been the one to build the raft.

  “Viren did fine,” Tysonn said. “But as for Drew… I almost fell off the raft when that branch hit!” Drew huffed.

  “You were fine, Ty. And as senior water mage, anything Viren does well is a compliment to me, so thank you.” Viren laughed aloud and rolled his eyes. “And anyway,” Drew continued, “the branch was hardly my fault.” At this though, he sort of frowned, like he was trying to remember something but couldn’t. Rickson noticed.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Well,” Drew said. “That branch did break my concentration for a moment. But the current didn’t take the raft, and I hardly had to wrestle the river to regain control.” Viren frowned.

  “Maybe you didn’t really lose control,” he suggested, thinking fast. “Maybe instinct just took over. That happens sometimes.” Drew gave a half nod but hardly looked convinced.

  Tysonn frowned too. “That did feel…different,” he agreed. “I dunno. Can’t really put my finger on it.” He frowned harder. Then he shrugged. “Maybe Viren’s right. Maybe Drew’s instinct is more competent than he is.”

  “Excuse me?” Drew said. Rickson laughed, and Viren joined in, silently thanking Tysonn for diverting Drew’s attention.

  When dusk fell and it was time to make camp, they were far away from the river, and only a week away from the Sey’or mountains.

  …

  At the foot of Sey’or, there was a small outpost where the company stopped to rest and prepare for their long hike up the range.

  They would be taking the Three Falls Pass through the mountains, but it was still a difficult and treacherous hike, filled with uneven ground and sheer cliffs.

  “We will have little rest once we start,” Brack was explaining. “There are few suitable campgrounds, so we’ll have to push hard during daylight hours. If all goes well, it will take us two weeks to get to Rune, so rest well while you have the chance.”

  Viren did rest well. He knew the climb would be hard (even though falling off the mountain wouldn’t be an issue for him) and long. He also spent some of his wages on a guidebook—a small, tattered thing about edible plants. It wasn’t a book he would normally spend money on, but it had been a long time since he had something new to read. He could practically read every story in his old dragon book by memory.

  A day later they would start again, and for the first time since he could remember Viren would climb a mountain in human form.