Song: https://youtu.be/3zZUUZR6wrI

"How's your foot?" I asked, as we walked, and Barrett looked at it.

"Better than it was. But we should probably focus on getting further from town at the moment." He told me, looking forward again. I nodded before following his gaze along the road. "By the way, how did you know that Elwen would be talking to Lord Dominic? Did you have a dream?" He asked and I looked down at my hands, which were fidgeting with my skirt.

"Well, yes, and no. I did have a dream, but it wasn't about Elwen. It was that same dream from before..only, different. I was trying to forget about it. So I was planning to go talk to Elwen."

"Why were you going to talk to him? You haven't told him about your dreams have you?" He asked and I found myself rolling my eyes.

"Barrett. I'm clumsy in thought, and without context most of the time, but I'm not stupid. I didn't tell him I was a seer if that's what you mean. I wasn't going to talk to him about the dream anyhow. I didn't think he would still be there, but when I went back to the tavern, he was talking to Lord Dominic." I folded my arms. Glancing over at him. "That being said, I still don't think he meant to rat us out. He didn't really know anything." I said softly, shaking my head.

"That attitude of yours is going to get you killed, Mon." He said in exasperation, picking up the pace. But doing so made him limp. I blinked after him for a minute before jogging to catch up.

"Mon?"

"What?"

"You called me Mon." I smiled a little as Barrett realized what he had said and huffed, looking away from me.

"What? Do you not want to be called that?"

"Oh, I don't mind." I assured him, looking forward again. I liked the nickname. We walked for a while longer as my thoughts began to wander.

It was confusing how he seemed to jump back and forth between being nice and being cranky. I wished I'd seen more of him through my dreams. Perhaps then I'd understand why he was acting like this. Then again, it might be because he didn't want to get caught. If I had told Elwen about him, I doubt even Elwen would have passed up the chance to gain some bounty.

"What did you tell Elwen?" Barrett asked suddenly, and I grew confused.

"What do you mean? I said I didn't tell him anything about my dreams being visions of the future. I didn't even tell him your name when you came up in conversation."

"That's appreciated, but I'm not asking what you didn't tell him, I'm asking what you did tell him. Even if you don't think much of your own words, he might have picked up on something you didn't."

Frowning, I held my chin as I thought back to our conversations. I really had tried not to tell him anything personal. "We talked about one of my dreams once. But I didn't give him many details. He thought it was just a weird dream, or maybe a sign of something. But I didn't add anything on that. Then, the last time I talked to him, we just talked about dancing." I shrugged softly, feeling a bit saddened at the memory, now that he'd potentially told the Marquis about us. But I clung to the fact that he really didn't know much about us. If Lord Dominic found out anything about us, it really shouldn't be anything harmful.

"Are you sure that's everything you told him?" Barrett asked, looking me in the eye. I felt a shiver climb up my back at his gaze, and something pricked the back of my memory.

"We talked about my grandfather."

"What?!"

I flinched at the sudden increase in volume. "All I said was that he was a good dancer." I tried to calm him, but Barrett had stopped walking, grabbing me by the shoulders and making me face him.

"Did you say his name? Did you tell Elwen your grandfather's name?" He asked and I bit my lip, thinking back.

"I..I did. Why? What harm is there in him knowing my grandfather's name?" I frowned as Barrett let go of me, grasping clumps of his hair in his hands.

"Mon...The last seer that was known in Astra was William Carfath. He's the one who brought the current King's family to power." He told me, making me swallow nervously.

"T-that doesn't mean anything, William is a fairly common name." I told him, but Barrett rose a brow at me before dropping his hands to his sides.

"Perhaps where you come from. But around here, it's not so common. Sure there are those who named their children after him, but those children would be old enough to be parents, or still children now. It's possible you had a grandfather named WIlliam who wasn't a seer. But those odds are not great, especially since he suddenly disappeared like the seers before him. Now all of a sudden, you show up?"

I blinked at Barrett with a conglomeration of emotions washing over me like a turbulent sea. My grandfather was a well known seer? He was also not the first? Was this a dark family secret of some sort? How did I not know about any of it? How did Barrett know about it? Was it that well known throughout Astra?

Pushing my hair clear of my face, I had to turn away from him, walking a few steps into the road. "Does..that mean, Lord Dominic might know I'm a seer?" I whispered aloud. If that were the case, it wasn't good. Bad guys always liked seeing into the future, and I practically painted a giant banner over my head with a target on it.

"Do you see now why I didn't want you talking to random strangers? The friendliest of people are usually rats." He told me as I chewed at my bottom lip.

"I didn't hear their conversation, but when Lord Dominic was leaving, he didn't mention anything about a seer to the man he was talking to." I said, trying to cling to a fading hope. I didn't want that man coming for me. He was terrifying!

"Right, because he would totally spread the word about a new seer coming to Astra." His sarcasm was not helpful as I tried to stay calm.

"Ok, I messed up. I get it. What do we do?" I asked, turning back to him with a frown.

Barrett gestured down the road. "Keep running, and hope he doesn't catch up."

"What about the nobleman?"

He paused for a second, registering my words. "What?"

"The nobleman, in my dreams. Lord Dominic is going to murder him. We can't let that happen."

"We very much can." Barrett nodded before starting down the road again. I gaped at him before following after.

"You can't be serious. You said it yourself, Lord Dominic would only gain more power from doing that, why would you let him get more than what he already has?"

"Let me be frank, Monica. I don't care for Nobles. They only cause more harm than good. I'm sure your grandfather chose a real winner of a king, but goodness isn't passed down by blood." He told me, still walking away. I felt my jaw tighten as I glared at him, still following after.

"What if this is the reason I came here? I can't just let this happen, Barrett. Not when I know about it, I can stop it."

"How exactly, are you going to stop the assassination of a nobleman? Jump in the way?" He snorted, but I folded my arms.

"It worked for you, didn't it?"

Barrett stopped, turning back to me with an expression of disbelief. "What do you even get out of this? Trying to help has only gotten you thrown in a cellar, or hurt. Do you really think it's worth dying for a stupid noble?"

"Then why am I having these dreams, Barrett?" I asked, closing the distance between us. "Why was I led to you? Why else would I be here, with you, right now, in a place and time when I can stop something bad from happening?"

He stared at me before leaning closer, whispering to me. "How do you know it's a bad thing that's going to happen?"

"Murder is never a good thing, Barrett."

"Depends whose side you're on."

"You're not on Dominic's side!"

"I'm not on the noble's side either. Therefore, it's not good, or bad for me." He said before turning to head back up the path.

I stared after him, breathing fast. My face was hot, but not like before. Not like when I was flustered over his looks, or the sound of his voice. No, his words struck at something in me, and not in a good way.

Silently, I followed after him, trying to calm my temper before I lost it. I needed Barrett's help, there was no way I'd be able to protect the noble from Dominic on my own. If I did jump in the way, Lord Dominic would most likely just fire again once I fell down. Could I take more than one arrow? Would he have more than one person aiming at the nobleman? I had no idea.

Not to mention, the intended target was headed straight for the marquis's house. I didn't know where the marquis lived and without Barrett's help, I'd be much more likely to get lost in the woods and die. But Barrett would never consider going near Lord Dominic's home. He had made that quite clear.

I sighed long and heavy as the trees off to the right parted, showing a valley. It was unexpected, but I didn't mind the sun that was now shining on us. Looking over the valley, I admired the beauty of the trees that were still alive. There was also a path below us, running parallel to us, but that path seemed to curve in a large arch, whereas our path headed in a serpentine style along the edge of a cliff face high above.

Something moved on the path below, catching my eye as I walked. It was a carriage, or two, no three, four..many more. It was a whole caravan. The same caravan from my dream. The carriages were dull in color, and I could spot soldiers walking next to the vehicles in a way of protecting it.

Gasping softly, I took a step towards them when suddenly, I felt something grasp my wrist and yank me down. I hit the dirt with a grunt before looking over at Barrett, who had forced me to the ground.

"What was that for?!" I hissed. It was obvious he was trying to hide, but did he have to be so rough with me?

"Do you want to get spotted?" He snipped back at me, and I bit my tongue to keep from saying anything. Because if I were honest, a part of me did.

How close? How close are you getting to punching Barrett at this point? I mean, I'd say I'd be pretty frustrated with him at this point.

Hope you guys are still enjoying this book. And let me know, what's your favorite weapon, in reading, for use, whatever. What's your preference?

Have a safe evening,

G'Night Stars