135 Trust

"Let's go," Snowcloud said. "The others have set up a new camp, about an hour from here. While we walk, you can finally tell me what happened." She gave him a calm glance, then added, "It certainly took you long enough."

"You knew?" Arran asked, startled.

Snowcloud let out a weak laugh. "We've been training together for weeks. You think I failed to notice how your injuries healed in hours?" She shook her head. "Of course I knew something happened. I just didn't know what."

"Why didn't you say something before?"

"I trusted that you would tell me if it became necessary," Snowcloud replied flatly. "And it seems I was right."

It was not an answer Arran expected, and briefly, he found himself at a loss for words.

For years, he had anxiously guarded his secrets from all those he met, learning to always have lies at the ready for those questions he could not answer. But now, Snowcloud had simply said that she trusted him enough not to pry into his affairs.