"You should get some sleep. I imagine tomorrow will be a long day."
Though Kel had said that, she struggled to let her heavy eyelids rest for more than a moment. If the bumping of the wagon over the rocky, overgrown roads leading away from Tael wasn't enough, her whirling thoughts kept her mind wide awake.
Were they going back to Serin's capital? If so, would she run into the emperor there? Or any of the others? Would any of them even recognize her dirt-covered, tattered figure?
If the capital wasn't their destination, were they going to an active battlefield? Would she have to fight against her own people? Or those from Pandreia?
Occasionally, the wagon slowed just enough to tempt Kel with the idea of jumping out the back and running far out of sight. The tantalizing thought was always overshadowed, however, by the crushing reality that Nesta and Harrow would be the ones to shoulder the burden for her desertion.
