47Chapter 38
He could go back. Shin-Ah paused on the path, letting his spinning brain freeze him in place, his hands splayed out to either side. He could go back and tell Hak he couldn't do this and then maybe hide inside of his mask fluff until his cheeks stopped burning. His face felt as if it was literally on fire.
Reaching up, he pushed his fingers past the edge of his mask so he could touch his fiery skin. At least no one could see his face right now. It might have been as red as Yona's hair.
But if he went back, he wouldn't be doing his duty to protect Yona. And his personal mission to make sure Lien was safe would also suffer. It wasn't as if he was going to watch.
His face reignited as he began walking again, following the girls down the path to his doom. Of course he wasn't going to watch. He wasn't a terrible person. He wasn't like Jae-Ha. He was going to make sure no person or creature bother Yona and Lien, that was all. They needed someone to watch their backs—in a not literal way!
Shin-Ah kept walking, but he covered his mask with both hands and hoped he didn't run into a tree. He had only gone a few steps when he felt someone to his side and in front of him. He froze again as fingers pried his hands off his eyes. Blocking the path, Yona was smiling up at him like nothing strange was happening. To his right, Lien was looking ahead down the deer path, her own cheeks rosy and pink, the delicate curve of her ear bright red as it poked through her light green hair.
"You shouldn't cover your eyes while you're walking," Yona said, tightening her grip on his hand as she reached out and grabbed Lien's hand. "You're both being weird, is everything all right?"
"Yes!" Lien said, her voice pitching up.
"Okay…" Yona took a step backward, pulling them along with her. "Then let's go." The three of them started forward again, Lien by his side and Yona leading them by the hands.
Shin-Ah's arm brushed against Lien's shoulder, and for a second, he leaned into her. Then in the next moment he was on the other side of the path, cursing himself and straining how far Yona could reach. This situation was awkward enough, he was going to make it worse, what if she thought Lien was a pervert like Jae-Ha? He sneaked a glance over at her, and her cheeks were even redder. Oh no…
Yona released their hands and kept walking, occasionally peering over at the river, most likely looking for a good secluded spot. They needed to find a part of the river that was calm, preferably sheltered by rocks and lots of trees, but not too wooded or a snake might drop on them from overhead. That had happened once to Jae-Ha not too long before they had gone into the mountains and found Lien. Shin-Ah had never seen anyone move as quickly as Jae-Ha had when he came out of the water that day. He had jumped straight upward and partially crashed into a tree. It had been something to behold.
"I think here's good."
Shin-Ah was rocked out of his memory, and he fell into the present abruptly, his eyes wide behind his mask. Yona was stepping down the embankment toward the water, having found a spot right off the bank that would be suitable. There were a few large rocks around a calm area, and the water was clear and crisp. He could spot moss and smooth river stones and a few small silver fish darting through the currents. A tree with low branches would be a good place to hang clothes—
For a moment, the three of them stood and no one moved or said anything. Shin-Ah stared at the water, Lien stared at the ground, and Yona was pondering the sky. Finally, she spoke again.
"All right, Shin-Ah, so I guess you could wait over there, a little further up the path—"
He darted off, racing up the path to a point where he could no longer see the water or the tree or anything. From there, he could watch for anyone or anything coming and he would be within calling distance, but he couldn't see them.
He heard quiet talking and soft bursts of laughter and then splashing and a bit of shrieking. They were fine though, he knew that was their way of complaining about how cold the water was. Shin-Ah looked up at the sky and then stared intensely up the path one way before looking the other way. He had to be careful to not look through the trees a certain way because his enhanced vision… He jerked his head down and stared at the ground.
He wished he had brought Ao with him. The squirrel hadn't bother to leave the fireside to join him, probably because it was too obsessed with whatever Ao had been cooking. Ao would've been a good companion.
The sun was setting, and he started to worry about the chill in the air becoming icy. Yoon had been right, it would be easy for Yona and Lien to catch a cold if they weren't careful. A cool breeze tugged at the fur on his mask, and he tried to focus on his surroundings and nothing else.
Down in the river, Yona and Lien were both rinsing off in their under things. They had decided it was too cold for a proper bath, but even the rough cloth wash off they were rushing through was freezing. Lien perched on a rock, her feet in the water, as she ran her fingers through her hair. She had carefully dunked it, trying to get some of the sweat and road dirt out of it.
Ankle-deep in the river beside her, Yona was washing her legs off, water already dripping from her arms.
"Maybe we should try to catch a fish for dinner," Yona said, her teeth chattering.
Lien flicked her eyes at the princess and rapidly shook her head. "We'd have to go farther out into the water, and somehow I feel like that's asking for trouble."
"You might be right," Yona said. She straightened up and ran her hands over her arms, shedding more water. "I'll be grateful for that winter cloak tonight."
Lien smiled. Everyone would be happier for the winter clothes the farther north they went. It would still be deep winter in the Kai Empire, and there would be snow banks in some places as high as Hak's head. She pulled her feet out of the water and wringed her hair out one last time.
Something rustled in the bushes, and Yona and Lien shared a look. "Shin-Ah?" Yona asked hesitantly, but Lien knew Shin-Ah wouldn't come that close while they were still bathing.
When she didn't get an answer, Yona took a few steps out farther into the water and Lien slid off her rock, one hand igniting in the dim twilight.
Yona put her hands on her hips. "Hello?" Her sword was within arm's reach; she and Lien had taken their weapons with them into the water, just in case, and set them on a boulder.
"Shin-Ah!" Lien called, just in case someone had hurt him and gotten past him.
A slender, graceful brown-furred leg appeared out from the bush right before a set of magnificent antlers. The deer froze and stared at the two of them, and they both stared back, neither of them moving. Lien put out the fire curling around her hands. The stag was beautiful. If either of them moved, it would definitely bolt.
Something crashed through the woods behind the deer, and it leapt into the air, landing in the water awkwardly as Shin-Ah burst out from the underbrush, sword raised. The deer splashed toward Yona and Lien. Both girls yelled at the deer suddenly coming at them, and it spun wildly at the sound, water flying everywhere. On the shore, Shin-Ah had stopped coming forward.
The deer kicked up his back legs and darted away, and Shin-Ah fell back into the bushes, sword flashing in the dying sunlight. Lien slipped behind a boulder, grabbing Yona's arm and dragging her along.
"Are you all right?" Lien said, raising her voice and peeking out from behind the boulder.
"I…heard you call."
"Yes, sorry, I thought—we heard the deer and didn't know what it was and I was worried," Lien said, her cheeks growing red again. "But we're fine."
"Oh. Good. I. Yes." Shin-Ah sounded like he would like to bury himself in the dirt. "I'll go back to the path."
"We'll be there in a minute," Lien said.
"Sorry, Shin-Ah," Yona added.
"It—I—it's fine…"
Once the sound of Shin-Ah making his way through the woods faded, Yona and Lien both leaned against the boulder and Yona let out a soft laugh. "I don't know who was more startled, the stag or Shin-Ah."
Lien rubbed at her red cheeks. "I'd say Shin-Ah."
