Chapter Twenty-Nine

Poppy begins the journey riding before Hawke, initially tense but gradually relaxing as the hard pace forces their bodies close. Hawke’s steadying arm and teasing comments contrast with Poppy’s awareness that their closeness is forbidden for a Maiden, and that everything will change once they reach the capital.

As they cross the desolate Barren Plains, Airrick explains the growing threat of barrats, once-scavengers now emboldened by abandoned farms. Hawke admits Luddie scans for them, underscoring the hazards of open country. Hawke then has Poppy check a saddlebag, revealing he packed Lady Willa Colyns’s scandalous diary, prompting embarrassed banter that softens the tension between them.

They race dusk toward the Blood Forest. When the red canopy finally appears, Poppy is both horrified and mesmerized. Against Hawke’s warning, she looks down and sees sun-bleached animal and human bones scattered across the rocky ground, a reminder of Craven and travelers lost here.

Under the crimson leaves, the air turns unnaturally cold and dark. The path shows grass but no fallen leaves, a detail Phillips calls unnatural, heightening the group’s unease. The escort rides in wary silence, eyes scanning the shadows as night takes hold.

With the horses tiring, Hawke halts the group and declares they will camp inside the Blood Forest. Despite Poppy’s fear and the threat of Craven, the decision is necessary for the animals’ rest, leaving the party to face the night in the ominous, living red gloom.