She held up a heavy branch, ducking under it and waiting for me to follow. “I noticed,” she said. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for the past five minutes, but I don’t think you heard anything I said.”
I shook my head, rubbing my hands over my face. “I was just… remembering.”
Jo nodded, her voice dropping low. “Ah. The pull of memories can be a funny thing, can’t it?”
Something about her tone of voice told me she knew exactly what she was talking about.
I turned slightly, but Jo wasn’t looking at me anymore. Her gaze was distant, her brows furrowed as she fiddled with her cloak.
“Yes,” I agreed. “But I prefer to leave the past where it belongs. Somewhere where it can’t bother me.”
“If you ever want to talk about it, let me know.”
“Thank you,” I said after a moment.
We walked in silence for a while before Jo turned to me.
Even though she was shorter than me, with her arms crossed and a frown on her lips, she looked fierce. “Look, Ana, there’s something I have to say to you.”
I shifted on my feet, unsure of where this conversation was going. “Okay…”
“I don’t exactly know how you and Xander met other than what you told me yesterday…” Jo paused, as though waiting for me to fill in the blanks, but I wasn’t about to do that.
Somehow “he stalked me in the woods and I stabbed him” didn’t seem like an appropriate answer, so I held my tongue.
After an awkward pause, Jo continued, “Xander is one of my oldest friends.”
“You mentioned that.” Something about her tone made me feel on edge. I felt my hackles rise as I looked at the barmaid.
“You seem like a nice girl, but I just need some assurances from you.”
“Assurances,” I repeated. This conversation was becoming odder by the moment and suddenly, I felt the desire to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.
Jo nodded. “Yes. I need to make sure that you don’t hurt Xander.”
“Hurt him.” My voice was monotone as I stopped moving and leaned against a tree. I’d already stabbed him and he seemed to be fine hours after that, so I wasn’t even sure Xander couldbehurt. I asked, incredulous, “You think I can hurt Xander?”
“Yes,” Jo replied. “I’m sure you know Xander has been through a lot in his life.”
Unbelievable. This female wanted to make sure I didn’t hurt my fake husband’s feelings. To be honest, I wasn’t sure he was even capable of feeling anything other than hatred, so this entire conversation seemed slightly laughable to me.
Hadn’t we all been through a lot?
I hadn’t realized I had spoken out loud until Jo nodded. “It’s true, we have, but Xander has been through more than most. And I’m sure he’s already explained to you what the map means, and why this is so important to him, but I just wanted to—”
Putting up a hand, I pushed myself off the tree. “Wait, what map?”
She narrowed her eyes. “The piece of the map he got in Thyr. The one that I’ve been holding onto for almost a year until he could get back into the city safely.”
“Oh, that map.” I nodded profusely, as if I knew exactly what she was talking about. Internally, I grabbed onto the new piece of information and stuffed it away to deal with later. “Sorry, I just forgot for a moment. I know about the map.”
A nervous burst of laughter erupted out of my lips as I cursed myself for my lack of social awareness. Stepping backward, I awkwardly slammed my body against the tree.
At that same moment, a gigantic bird came flying out of the leafy canopy. It squawked, flapping large wings. Bright blue feathers showered over us as the bird took off. The nervous laughter kept coming out of me. Despite my best efforts, I felt unable to stop it.
Of course, that was the moment Xander turned around. He crossed his arms, raising a brow as he closed the distance between us. When he was just a few feet away from me, he spoke. “Something funny, Sunshine?”
I raised a brow, smirking at him. “Funny? No. But there is something I need to talk with you about,darling.”