“What are you doing here?” Burchard asked, breaking the silence and hoping it wasn’t too awkward already.
“I was in the area and was hoping to see you again. You look well,” Jade replied.
Burchard couldn’t help himself. He laughed. “I am not permitted to swing a sword until tomorrow; I’d hardly call that in good health. Ruschmann is in even worse shape.”
Irritated, Jade squared her shoulders. “I see you don’t know how to take a compliment.”
Burchard took a deep breath. If Jade thought well enough of him to check in, then he should not ruin their budding friendship by being mean. Those actions were what Reggie would do, and he tried with every fiber of his being to not be like his brother or father.
“Sorry, I’ve just been cooped up. Most of the people at the castle, including my father, don’t believe our story, even though we lost a full squad of knights and were accompanied by our knight masters.”
Jade’s eyes sharpened. “Lost a squad to the rebels?”
Burchard shook his head. “No, they would believe me if that were the case.” He pressed his lips together, unsure about telling her the rest of the tale.
Jade swung the pack from her shoulder and held it up. “I have a blanket and some snacks. Why don’t you tell me what happened?”
Burchard nodded, relief flooding through him. Jade is a druid. She knows about magic. Maybe she can help. He dismounted and led Chip a little bit farther away. When he came back to Jade, she had a blanket spread out, and she was sitting on it. The food she had brought was on a wooden plate. “You keep a plate in your pack?”
“Don’t you?” she fired back.
Burchard smiled and sat down facing her. “No. I never thought about it.”
He patted the edge of the blanket, hoping Fang would join them. Fang decided to oblige his request and lay down next to him, but she kept her face trained to the trees, watching.
“How did you end up with a wolf?” Jade prompted.
“Her name is Fang. I think the wisest thing would be if I start from what happened after we left you at Leosor Hollows,” Burchard said, then launched into the tale of both encounters at Camp Tooth.
When he was done, the owl who had been perched on the tree was now directly in front of him on the blanket, wings flared. He looked at Jade, not sure what the owl was doing, but Jade’s focus was on it.
“What?” he asked uncertainly.
“There’s a legend,” Jade began.
Burchard groaned. Not another legend!
“Do you have a problem with legends?”
“Only that they all seem far-fetched,” Burchard muttered.
Jade clucked her tongue before continuing. “As I was saying…there is a legend about a man with a wolf companion who faced Ossa and Umbra and prevailed, preventing Mors from being able to rise again.”
Burchard growled. “A legend is a story of past deeds, right? Not a prediction of future events like a prophecy.”
Jade nodded. “Yes, that is true. But if you’ll let me finish, I will get to that part. There is a prophecy in the druid lore that the man with the wolf companion will return when things are dire and Ossa and Umbra once again walk the world. Damos can recite it for you if you need to hear the full thing.”
Burchard chafed. “I am a fourteen-year-old squire. I am not a man, certainly no mage. There’s no way that I can be the person in the legend or prophecy.”
“Of course,” Jade murmured soothingly. “As you said, it’s just a story.” She scooted closer to Burchard so their shoulders were touching. The owl returned to her perch in the tree. “When you mentioned your brother, you sounded worried that he had joined Ossa. Is that something you would suspect him of doing?”
Burchard raised his eyebrow. “Reggie and I don’t have the best relationship, but I feel confident he would not betray Etria.” He was about to add how terrible his brother behaved toward him but decided to omit that information.
“Do you have any sisters?” Jade inquired.
Burchard chuckled. “I thought you knew everything about me. Shouldn’t you know I have an older sister?”
Jade shrugged. “I never said I knew everything. Females in Etria are not treated the same way as they are in Mootia and other countries. You don’t have any stories of female warriors, do you?”
“No…” Burchard replied.
“See, you just proved my point,” Jade said, nudging him with her shoulder.
“Or you just proved that I don’t read stories about female warriors,” Burchard muttered to himself. His fingers trailed through Fang’s coarse fur.
Jade laid her hand on his knee and gave it a squeeze, drawing his attention back to her face, which was now very close to his. He could see the exact shade of green of her eyes. He felt a flush creep up his cheeks.
“I really like you, Burchard,” she said softly.
Before he could ask her what she was doing, Jade leaned in, and her lips met his. His whole body tensed in surprise. He felt like his heart was going to leap out of his chest, it was pounding so hard. She was practically in his lap, and he wasn’t sure what to do.
At that moment, Fang stood up and shoved herself between the two of them, seemingly oblivious to what she had just interrupted. Burchard was grateful to the wolf and buried his face into her fur.
Until Jade’s words caused him to lift his head. “I’ve been wanting to see what it would be like to kiss you since I first laid eyes on you,” Jade replied matter-of-factly.
Eyebrow arched, he said, “Really?” Burchard never let himself dwell much on girls or kissing. He had one goal: finish his four years as a squire and become a knight. Then, when he was his own man, he could worry about finding a girl.
If I even have a say in that matter. It’ll most likely be an arranged marriage, he reminded himself. He knew other squires did things with girls—even Ru had hinted of the things he’d done with his girl back at Port Riverdale—but they also sometimes ended up with more drama on their hands than it was worth.
