Chapter 36: Danny

Jet led me into the woods, far enough in that no one would hear us. We walked there in silence, Jet unwilling to even give me a hint of what we were going to talk about. Suddenly, he stopped, causing me to almost walk into him. Luckily, I stopped myself before I did. That would have been awkward.

"Do you have any idea why Liz gets touchy when we talk about finding the princess?" Jet asked with an almost accusing tone.

"No, she hasn't told me anything," I said, feeling my face fall as I did. I didn't mean to act sad and depressed, but I was. That was probably the one secret about herself that Liz hadn't told me.

Jet could tell that I meant it. I could see it in his eyes. The resignation that he would probably never know the truth unless Liz finally decided to tell us the truth. Which was very unlikely, as she had kept this secret from the others for years. There didn't seem to be a reason to tell them now when she could have a long time ago.

"What do you think it is?" Jet asked, desperation in his voice. Honestly, it scared me how worked up he was about this.

"Why do you need to know?" I asked in a calming voice. Not scary calm, or angry calm. Just calm. Jet got a blank, searching look on his face. "If it was necessary information, Liz would have told you by now."

I started to walk away, leaving Jet to his thoughts. I don't know why I said what I did, because I was just as curious as he was. But I knew it was the right thing to do. If Liz wasn't ready to tell us, then we shouldn't push her for an answer.

I walked in the direction that I thought camp was when I realized that I had no idea where I was going. And I had no idea how to get back to Jet, or if he was even where I left him. I started to panic, paralyzed with fear. This was honestly the one thing I hated about the woods. Everything looked the same, and it was so easy to get lost. I had known a fair few soldiers who had gotten in the woods when I had been in the army.

I had no idea what I was going to do. If I kept walking, I had a much greater chance of getting even more lost than finding the camp. But if I stayed here, it was still unlikely that I would be found.

That's when I remembered what I had done the day before. I had felt Liz's conscience, and used it to find my way to the cave. I searched my mind for her presence and found it a few moments later.

That shocked me a little, because Liz had supposedly cut the connection between us after our trip to the castle. I decided to question her about it later, just happy that I had a way to get back.

I tuned into her conscience, not really sure what I was doing. Danny? I heard Liz ask in my head. I smiled, glad that my plan had worked. What are you doing? And how did you get in my head? Her voice started to sound accusing during the last question, but just curious for the first.

Um, I kind of got lost in the woods, and I remembered how I found my way to the cave the other night. I could feel her confusion through the link, which was alarming. I hadn't thought that possible.

What do you mean, you remembered how you found the cave? Her tone wasn't accusing, just slightly suspicious. And she had the right to be. I had completely forgotten to tell her about that.

I was trying to find my way to the cave, and I could feel your presence in my mind. It led me to the cave. Otherwise, I would never have found it. Again, I could feel her confusion.

But I cut the connection. You shouldn't be able to feel my mind without searching the area for it, which, trust me, you would know if you did. I smiled at that last line. Even when she was flustered, Liz still found little ways to make me smile. One of the reasons I lo…liked her.

Well, try it again. If you can't find your way back, just send some lightning in the air. One of us will come and find you. She sounded troubled, still trying to figure out the information that I had given her.

Okay, be back shortly. Hopefully. I could feel her smile through the link, but then she cut the connection. I could still feel her in my mind, which was, in my opinion, a good sign. I started walking again, but felt her presence get weaker. I turned around, and it grew stronger again.

I smiled, glad that it was working. I made my way in that direction for a while, adjusting myself whenever the connection grew fainter. In about fifteen minutes, I had found my way back to the clearing.

Jet must have found his way back before I did, because he was sitting around a fire, talking with Liz and Zephyr. Liz must have made up with him, because they were acting like nothing had happened. Like Zephyr hadn't pushed her too far. Like they were old friends.

I guess that this made me jealous because I could feel my hands start to tingle. I looked down and saw sparks flying from my fingertips. I balled my hands into fists, hoping no one else had noticed.

I walked towards Liz and sat down. That was when I was finally noticed. "Danny! Did it work?" Liz asked, surprise evident on her face. I guess she hadn't expected it to work.

"Yeah," I said, nodding. Liz grew a troubled expression, and then started staring into the fire. I started looking at fire, too, when I noticed Zephyr staring at me. When I finally looked him in the eye, he just nodded, trying to see if we were cool. We most definitely were not cool, but I nodded back, anyway.

I had to at least try to be friends with him. For Liz's sake.

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