Praetorian Rising, стр. 25
She opened her mouth to snap that she didn't own a damn thing, but Peter responded for her. "Outside, north wall, under the house."
She wanted to scream, to utter words that would blast away any chance she'd have of ever being welcomed back. The monster inside her chest bellowed in rage, begging to be released, but something about Vesyon's austerity stopped her dead in her tracks. Whether it was his familiar eyes or his powerful aura, she held her tongue as he moved toward the door.
"I don't know if I'll make it back," Vesyon said to Peter, jerking open the front door.
"Just get across the river," Peter replied. "I'll handle my part of the deal if you handle yours."
Camille cocked her head at their cryptic exchange, but Vesyon was already moving through the doorway before she could question his intentions.
"Grab only what you can carry," Vesyon commanded over his shoulder as he left. Neeko followed in quick pursuit, the front door slamming behind the man and cat in a whirl of sleet and bitter wind.
Camille's eyes tore away from the door to land sharply on Peter's soft blue irises. "Please don't make me leave. I didn't mean to keep the Chimera I saw a secret; I didn't mean to betray you."
"There's nothing you can say to change the course of the evening," Peter said, turning to face Lunci before she could read his expression. "You need to grab your things and leave."
"Why? I can stay. I can protect you," Camille pleaded, her hand outstretched in desperation as tears slipped from the corners of her eyes unwillingly.
"I'm sorry, but you can't stay here. It's not safe. Vesyon will take you to the next village."
Camille sighed, her hand filled with the weight of understanding falling back to her side. She grabbed her hunting gear, her cloak lined in thick black fur, and her favorite dagger, shuddering all the while. In her broken memories, Camille only ever remembered Peter and Lunci, but she recognized the feeling of complete loss. She grasped the doorknob and steadied herself, stealing one final glance at Lunci sprawled on the table, his skin a healthier shade of peach and his chest softly rising and falling.
"Ad Astra per Aspera, Camille. Always remember that," Peter said from his grandson's side, unable to look away from her. "Go now, while you still can." His expression, though sharp and determined, seemingly brimmed with heartache as she watched several tears slip down his weather cheeks.
They stared at each other for a long, silent moment before Camille walked out into the black depths of the night.
Chapter Seven
Strangers in the Forest
Camille collided with Neeko the moment she stepped out of Peter's home, and the ordinarily sleek cat puffed with annoyance at her delay in leaving.
"I had to say goodbye," Camille bit out, blaming her tingling nasal cavity on the brisk chill and not the tears threatening to fall in rapid succession. Neeko wasn't moved by her excuse in the least. He mewled sharply and disappeared around the side of the cabin, apparently expecting her to accompany him.
Camille squelched her way over, the mud sucking at her boots with each step. A blast of rain pounded against her hood, running down her shoulders and arms in icy rivulets. The worsening storm’s barrage muted the sounds of the village, but she felt just as vulnerable and open to the shadows of the forest as she felt removed from it.
"Took you long enough," Vesyon said from the shadows. He stepped into view from an open gap beneath Peter's home, snug and removed beneath bright green shrubbery skirting the edges of the foundation.
"I had to say goodbye," Camille snapped back, unable to keep the sharp sting of abandonment from her voice. Despite the unavoidable turn of the evening, and the clear understanding that she was no longer able to stay with Peter, she still felt as though she had been deserted. She had lived in happy comfort with Peter for over eleven moons and in a single night she had not only lost her home but also the only two people she had known as family.
Glancing up through her downcast lashes, she noticed Vesyon surveying her with sharp, glinting eyes. His lips twitched, appearing as though he wanted to say something, but remained silent. He hastily handed her a sheathed sword, several glinting daggers, a worn leather belt, and a pack filled with supplies.
"These aren't mine," Camille said as she fingered the intricate weapons in awe. Vesyon grunted in reply as he bent down to right his boots and adjust the many weapons he had clipped to his belt. "Well thanks, I guess," Camille said almost to herself as she inspected the weapons more carefully before wrapping the belt around her hips, securely holstering the sword and daggers and pulling the pack tightly against her back.
"We need to go," he said, rain droplets catching on the fur coat draped over his shoulders like little glossy bugs, running the length of his upper body before losing their grip and crashing into the mud. The massive hood hung low over his hair, protecting his face from an onslaught of water. His silhouette appeared bearish in contrast to the sleek form beneath the layers of fur.
"Where are we going?" Camille asked, trying to engage him, but his stoic stature remained coolly silent. She was gliding her hand appreciatively over the shiny silver hilt of the sword, inlaid with fiery red rubies, when she heard the warning howls of an impending attack and froze in place. Her face snapped to Vesyon in apprehension but he remained calm, detached and void of emotion as the storm raged above them.
"They're here. Let's move."
"The Chimera?"
A second growl rumbled even closer, and Vesyon took off at a clipped run south toward the Dun L’er forest edge.
"Where are we going?" Camille bellowed as she vaulted over a fallen tree trunk and lurched into the maze of the forest—her