Rhane drew a line across the bark of a rain-washed cedar tree, the stick scratching deep before breaking in his hand. He has kept mark of the paths he'd passed to avoid walking in circles.
Letting out a long breath, Rhane leaned against the marked trunk, his body heavy with fatigue. The climb had tested more than his endurance, it tested his reason for being there at all.
All the while he climbed the mountian, Rhane couldn't shake off his conversation with Hart. As he had suspected someone had brought Hart to join the tournament, but Rhane's first guess was Nikolai. But it was Jenna's father all along. The man must have hated Rhane so much that he'd rather die than hand Jenna over to him.
'To think the one who sent the letter asked me to withdraw and return home, last night.'
These words repeated in Rhane's mind each step he took, and even now that he tried to rest.
