Chapter 7
Jabari finished tying on his travel boots and jumped to his feet. He picked up his traveling sack, settling the familiar weight onto his back, and slung his bow and arrows across his chest so they rested over one shoulder. It was the day after the palace dinner and they were ready to leave again. Jabari hoped there wouldn't be any additional announcements from the Othra.
He took a moment to look into his mirror. No matter how many times he set the thing in the hallway for the palace servants to take away, he always came back to find it on its place on the wall. He grinned at his reflection, feeling lighter than air. The road waited. He could leave the palace and the smothering sense of moving slowly, as though through water, that he felt here.
He loved Azariyah, his city; a be
