Aster Wood and the Blackburn Son by J B Cantwell Page A

Otherwise I’m going to eat it, myself.”
    I didn’t know what to do. It had been so long since I had tasted anything sweet. And yet something about the casual way he offered it bothered me. His logic was sound, for not telling the others about it, but it made me wonder what else he was hiding inside his coat.  
    Finally, I shook my head.  
    “I’m not hungry,” I said, trying to sound sincere. “Maybe later.”
    He raised his eyebrows and then grinned. “More for me.” He popped the other half of the pastry into his mouth without another thought.  
    My stomach growled. I ignored it.  
    “Who did you steal it from?” I asked, unable to drop the subject.
    “The princess herself,” he said, laying back into the grass. I eyed him, unsure of how to respond to this.  
    “You’re different than I remember,” I said.  
    He snorted, holding his arm over his eyes to block out the sun.  
    “How’s that?” he asked.
    “It’s just, when I met you before,” I stumbled, trying to pinpoint my thoughts, “you were so serious. Now…”
    He grinned.  
    “Two centuries below ground can rob a man of his joy,” he said. “Don’t I deserve a little happiness now that I’m finally free?”
    “Well, yeah, of course,” I said. “But—”
    He rolled onto his side and looked at me.
    “Don’t mistake yourself,” he said, more serious. “I still remember everything. Everything that monster did to us down below. The darkness. The rotten food. The torture. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.” His face abruptly turned dark, and he looked strangely alarming. “Don’t you think I deserve to have a little joy? Have I not earned the right a little sweetness on my tongue, no matter the source?”
    My heart was thudding and suddenly my hands were slick with sweat.  
    “I—I’m sorry,” I blurted. “Yes, of course you do.”
    He rolled over onto his back again, and smiled. “Of course I do,” he said.
    I had a sudden urge to jump away, to leave him there. But I just sat still, not daring to move at all.  
    Don’t be stupid. He’s right.
    But I did not lay down beside him. I sat looking out over the land instead, waiting for my accelerated heart rate to slow.  
    We had all been through so much.  
    Owyn stayed quiet, and I couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or not. He barely seemed to breathe.  
    His wood staff lay on the ground between us, and at the sight of it I began to squirm. I wanted to touch it, to grab it and feel the warmth emanate through the wood into my fingertips. I felt like a little kid sitting in front of a plate piled high with sweets I shouldn’t eat. But this I couldn’t resist. I checked to make sure his eyes were still closed, and then reached out a tentative finger.  
    Warm, invigorating power pulsed up my arm from the touch of just one finger to the wood. Though I had held the staff once before, I had forgotten how truly wonderful it was to feel it against my hand. It was like drinking hot chocolate on a freezing afternoon, liquid power seeping into every corner of my being, warming me from the inside.  
    A thought popped into my head that I had never considered before.  
    Maybe I did have power, something more than just the ability to run like a cheetah. Maybe I had just been looking for the power I possessed in the wrong places.  
    When I looked up I found Owyn wide awake, watching me. I dropped the staff back into the grass. I hadn’t even realized I had lifted it from the ground.
    “Better get moving,” he said quietly.  
    “Sorry,” I said reflexively.  
    He stayed silent for a moment, watching me.  
    “No problem,” he said finally, his voice silken. He sat up, hoisting his pack onto his back. “Shall we?”
    My stomach gave a painful squeeze as I remembered where we were headed.  
    I tried to imagine the village on the mountainside. It was the spot where Jade had jumped from, and it was where we needed to go now to follow her trail. I cringed as I remembered