The Path of Giants

expected after everything that had happened, Kataleya was someone who tried to avoid conflict unless necessary. I tried to as well…sometimes.
It was for this reason that I would be polite to Hadley. Kataleya and her mother headed off to a different section of the mansion as I waited in the dining room for the servants to bring Hadley in for me, as well as our breakfast.
Eventually they came in with her. I felt like I had seen her before, that we were even familiar with each other. She had long, black hair. It was thick and covered her shoulders. Dirt seemed to be caked into her skin and clothes from head to toe. Her trousers were loose, baggy, as if they had belonged to someone bigger.
She had probably stolen them.
She wore a loose coat held together with a few buttons. I didn’t know what had happened to her original clothing. She hadn’t been on the run for more than a month, but that could be a long time for someone who was not well-prepared. Or perhaps she was like Remi and just dressed in loose clothing by choice, and this was what she had on when she fled her home.
The longer I looked at her doll-like face, the more I realized that it was the one I had seen in the dream where we’d first communicated. So I really had seen her before now. I almost couldn’t believe it was possible.
I swallowed a lump in my throat as I remembered the feeling she’d evoked from me, the same feeling clutching at my heart now. It wasn’t that she was very beautiful right now—she looked like a cute girl who was in over her head—so I figured it might be part of some spell or trick with mana.
She had a sweet, round face, with large eyes, pouty lips, and the kinds of cheeks grandmas were known to squeeze. Her eyes and eyebrows were dark, like her hair. I never would’ve guessed she was a witch capable of harm.
I gestured at the seat across from me. Her gaze never left me as she cautiously climbed in and sat down, but not before she set her dirty bag next to her chair. I had no idea what she was thinking as she looked at me. She didn’t say a word.
The servants brought in our breakfast, porridge and bread, with a dark juice to sip on.
I hadn’t slept very well. I was a bit tired and very hungry. I expected her to say something soon, at least ask a question, but she simply stared.
I took a spoonful of the porridge and held it up to my mouth. She did the same as she continued to watch me.
It was too hot, so I blew on it. I heard her do the same.
Her eyes still never left me.
I took a bite of the porridge. She did the same.
Then she seemed to forget all about me, looking down at her porridge as if noticing it for the first time. A small smile found its way onto her lips.
She ate quicker and quicker, no doubt burning her mouth as she used her hand to fan her open mouth here and there, but she didn’t seem to mind. She went straight for the bread as soon as she was done with the porridge.
I watched her consume all of it, her gaze never meeting mine again. Then she chugged down the juice.
Finally, when she was done, she looked at me.
I had thought of my first question by then. “Can I see your papers?”
She reached into her bag and pulled out some wrinkly parchments. She seemed hesitant as she held her hand back while I reached out.
“You’re going to have to trust me,” I said. “Unless you want to spend the rest of your life running.”
She sighed, then handed her papers to me.
The first thing I noticed was that the seal at the bottom was not a symbol I had seen on anyone’s papers before. It was an “R” of fancy calligraphy. It took me a moment to realize what it meant.
“You’re from Rohaer?” I asked.
She nodded.
It wasn’t that she looked nervous as much as it seemed that she was holding in, well, possibly everything.
Like most identification papers, there wasn’t much on them. They just listed her name, the year she was born, her place of birth, and the names of her parents.
Hadley Eshell. She was eighteen years old, a little younger than me given the month of her birthday.
I wondered if she was capable of killing me in my sleep. She didn’t look like it. Comparing her to Endell, I had no fears about this girl. I knew that was wrong, however. Just because she was desperate to stop running didn’t mean she would cooperate. There were many people who valued safety above all else. If she thought I was leading her to her death, she would escape at any cost.
With Kataleya coming with us, though, I wouldn’t have to be as vigilant. It should be easy to get Hadley back to the castle. It was just a one-day trip if we rode hard. Then I could let the king decide what to do about her. I usually trusted the decisions he made.
“What do you want from us?” I asked Hadley.
“By ‘us,’ do you mean sorcerers of the king?”
“Yes.”
She scrunched her mouth. “My things back, to start with.”
I had her bag next to mine, beside my chair. She eyed it.
I put it on my lap to give her a better view. “These are ingredients for curses, right?”
She had an unamused expression. “You said you want my help.” It was posed like a question.
“I do.”
“And you know I’m a witch.”
“I do,” I repeated.
“So…?”
“I’m not going to make any judgments yet,” I explained. “I’m just trying to learn more about you. These are ingredients for curses?”
“Yes.”
“What else can you do?”
Her eyebrows lifted as she fiddled with her fingers. “Well, I was a grocer in the capital for a while. I know a