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Amara looked sideways at me and smiled. “Whenever I leave a town and get back on the road, it’s always such a relief. But strangely, whenever I ride into a town, heading for a proper bed and a hot bath, I feel the exact same relief.”
She chuckled, and I joined her. I had been on the road for a much shorter time than Amara, but I already knew the phenomenon she described.
“I used to think I was happy at home on our farm, but now I wonder how I endured the monotony.”
Amara launched into some lighthearted stories about her own childhood adventures in the capital, and before I knew it, we were stopping for a midday meal. We decided to take the time to prepare a warm meal since we had several nights on the road ahead of us, meaning we had no particular destination that needed to be reached that night.
While Amara established the fire and heated the food, I wandered away in search of the brook I could hear burbling nearby. Amara’s elements ability could probably have told me exactly where to find the water, but I preferred to stretch my legs and find it myself.
We had stopped on the edge of a small stretch of trees in order to make use of the shade, but the trunks grew densely enough to conceal the water from my view. Following my ears proved successful, however, and the narrow stream had just come into view when a different sound caught my attention.
Although the cry wasn’t especially loud, the series of sharp, rapid notes clearly indicated distress, the intensity of the sound rising as I stopped to listen. Reaching out with my power was instinctual, but it took me a moment to identify the source of the strident call: a bird—and a big one from its feel.
I changed course, moving as quickly through the trees as the undergrowth allowed. Ember, who had roused from her usual daily sleep when we stopped, stayed near my heels, her ears pricked and her nose raised to the wind.
When I finally reached the location of the distressed creature, I realized I had struggled directly through the heart of the thicket and come out the other side. It would have been faster to skirt the grove and avoid the undergrowth altogether.
All such thoughts fell away when I spotted the bird trapped in a dense section of bush. Interlocking branches and long thorns had entangled the wings and feet of the enormous creature, holding it captive.
My early studies, under Hayes’s guidance, had focused on human anatomy, so I had yet to learn all the different species of animal found in Tartora. However, I knew enough to recognize the bird as some kind of eagle. I had rarely seen one with such a large wingspan, however.
At the sight of me, the eagle let out another series of harsh notes and flapped its wings. I fell back a step, awed at the bird’s size. At full stretch, it would be wider than I was tall.
But the movement only caused thorns to tear into its wings, and the bird fell still again, letting out another, more desperate call. I hesitated, but my compassion soon drove me forward. There had to be a way to free the bird.
Ember hung back, letting out a low whimper.
“Don’t worry, girl,” I said softly. “I won’t let that beak near me.”
Even as I said it, I eyed the sharp, curved beak warily. The claws were even more worrying, but with the bird’s legs caught in the undergrowth, it would have little chance to use them.
Streaks of red marred the luxurious feathers, but there was no use healing the bird if I couldn’t free it. I bit my lip as I examined the tangle of greenery. How had a high-flying creature like an eagle gotten caught in the first place? It wasn’t likely to have come zipping beneath the canopy like a smaller bird.
I put the matter from my mind as I focused on the more immediate issue.
“How am I going to free you, good sir?” I asked aloud, tapping my fingers against my belt.
They brushed against the leather of my dagger’s sheath, making me pause. Drawing the thin blade Nik had gifted me for my birthday, I smiled at the sight of its sharp edge. I had worried about the sort of circumstance that might require me to use the weapon, but this was a use that made me glad to have it—even if Nik scolded me later for dulling the blade against branches and vines.
“Now just hold still, good sir,” I murmured, trying to reinforce my calming tone with overlays of my power.
I had no idea what I was doing in that regard, however. I had heard of healers who managed to attract animals to them with their power, but I didn’t know how to do it. Without physical contact, I could identify the bird’s presence, but I didn’t know how to affect its mood.
I pushed my power outward, attaching to the sense of the bird and hoping that somehow it would sense me back. All I needed was for him to recognize me as a friendly presence and stop fighting.
At first, I thought it had worked. The eagle stilled, regarding me through one beady eye. But as I stepped closer, he resumed his thrashing motion, letting out a cry that was louder than the reedy calls I’d heard so far.
I held out both hands, letting loose a flood of pleading words in my most gentle voice. But it made no difference. The bird, too dazed with pain to recognize my intent, only thrashed harder.
Tears ran down my cheeks as fresh red appeared along his feathers, and I fell back several steps. The bird instantly calmed again, and I took a deep breath. I needed to think of another way, but my mind was coming up blank.
I grunted in frustration, kicking my foot against the ground. What use was all my power if I needed physical contact to use any of it? I was sure if I could just get a hand on the bird, I could calm him.
I continued to push out my power, blanketing the whole area in it, as if that would make a difference. After a while, the eagle seemed to calm further, so I risked moving forward again.
As before, he waited until I was close before launching into frenzied movement, this time swiping his head forward and nearly catching me with his sharp beak.
I leaped back with a quiet shriek that slipped out without my intending it. Ember whined her protest, pressing herself against my leg. I sighed and crouched down, resting a hand against her back.
