Reva planted her hands on the tops of her thighs and huffed out a big breath. “Not much farther.”
I didn’t know how she could tell. Everything was dark and quiet. We’d lifted ourselves up into a decent-sized alcove but besides some bioluminescent mushrooms, the area was hard to see in. Grove patted her hair down and we were off again.
The cavernstwisted and turned and soon I wondered if we were going in circles or if we were actually making progress. Dirt rained down on us a few times and the caverns sook but there were no more sounds besides our labored breathing. Aches were starting to set in but I pushed forward and ignored them to the best of my ability.
After what felt like an eternity crawling through the darkness, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I noticed light cutting through ahead. Was I seeing things?
When Grove let out a triumphant sound behind me, I knew what I was seeing was real and I couldn’t help but grin. We raced toward the light as quickly as we could before we skidded to a halt. Grove gripped her blades tightly as she stepped around me and into the massive opening. We practically held our breath as we waited for her to return with a sly smile. Reva wasted no time and flew into the light. Had we really been traveling that long? Had all of this gone into the morning?
As soon as I broke through the opening, the sound of the ocean hit me full force and I realized the bright light was the moon reflecting off of the turbulent ocean. But none of that mattered when Ash launched herself at me and folded me into a tight hug. No wonder Grove had looked so satisfied when she’d nodded the coast was clear. Leo and a few other men werestanding with Grove getting a run down on what was happening back in the keep.
Leo ran his hand down his thick red beard. “It all happened so quickly. They didn’t find our hiding places, they didn’t find our exits or entrances, they blew literal holes in the walls and in the ground. The first explosion seemed strange, almost dream-like and then the monsters started pouring in.” His sad eyes flicked to me. “We are thankful you were able to make it out alive, Your Highness. We thought for sure they’d snuck you out before the attacks happened.”
My cheeks flamed as I thought of the reason I’d disappeared from the party. Before I could stop myself, I asked, “Where’s Ryven?”
A man with light brown hair stepped forward. He bowed deeply at the waist before he addressed me. “Your Highness, he was right on our heels but turned back to help others. Him and Alric both.”
I nodded once and hoped the coloring on my face was hidden by the darkness around us. “Thank you.”
“Do we have a plan?” Reva sheathed her sword but I could see the distrust on her face. She didn’t know all the soldiers that escaped with Leo and she didn’t trust them, which was fine by me. We needed to be on our guard moving forward. I had my suspicions that Anya was the reason the attack happened but I was sure she hadn’t acted alone.
Leo nodded before turning to his men. “Set up camp and rest, we will have a long journey ahead of us.”
The giant inclined his head to the side and we followed him out of the cave’s mouth and onto the sandy beach. The snowfall that’d been happening everywhere else didn’t seem to be sticking here. The wind was chilly but there weren’t any snow flurries in the sky and the stars were bright and clear. It was a small mercy. Leo crouched and ran a lazy finger through thesand. He traced a few symbols and shapes before he looked back at us.
“We need to wait for Ryven and Alric to get back, but if they don’t make it by morning, we will have to leave without them. They were hoping to get more people out but unfortunately, I don’t think they will make it here. The only people who knew about this escape route were me, Alric, Ryven, and The Three. There was no point in anyone else knowing. It was too dangerous. Most of the ones that make it out alive will go through the main entrance and they will seek refuge in the nearest town if they aren’t slaughtered.” He chewed on his bottom lip for a second as he ran his hand over what he’d drawn in the sand. “We can’t afford to stay here for much longer, I don’t even want to make camp. A fire will attract others and we don’t have good enough numbers to fight right now. Most of us are exhausted or drunk. We need to lay low.”
Reva nodded her head as she ran her hands down her cheeks. “We will wait for a little bit for Alric and Ryven. If they don’t show we will have to leave without them. They know we would go back to the Last Fortress.”
“Right,” Leo let out a deep sigh. “I don’t want to go without them but there is a chance they didn’t make it. We can’t wait forever.”
A lump the size of a boulder lodged into my throat. Why hadn’t I thought of that? Of course. There was a chance they didn’t make it. The man I was falling in love with and my best friend. I couldn’t lose them both but there was a high chance that I could. Nothing was promised in war. Nothing was promised in this life.
“Would you like to add anything, My Queen?” Leo asked, almost reverently.
I shook my head, no longer able to talk. The thought of losing those two was too much to bear. What was I supposed to addanyway? I wasn’t a commander, I was still trying to figure out politics, and my magic was still kind of finicky. I wasn’t anything special. I was just a random person the gods had chosen to carry out their plans and they hadn’t exactly given me any direction on it either. I was just as lost as anyone else except now I could make plants grow.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
JUNIPER
Two hours passed with nothing. No sight of Ryven or Alric. The lump in my throat only seemed to grow as I hunched down next to my three friends. The winds picked up and made it next to impossible to stay warm. Eventually, we retreated back into the mouth of the cave. It helped a little with the spray from the ocean and the biting cold wind, but it did nothing to help my growing anxiety. We didn’t speak, we didn’t plan, we simply existed together because we each knew that this could be it. There was no telling what was waiting for us out in The Wastes or even in the Last Fortress. The magic could deny me entry. It could destroy us all for coming back before I was ready. Would I ever be ready? Was this the heartbreak and war I needed to experience in order to be accepted by the gods?
Exhaustion pulled heavy on my body and I didn’t know how I kept myself awake leaning against Ash. But I was thankful I had when the cavern shook and shouting echoed from inside the darkness. The ground rumbled beneath our feet as we jumped to attention. It took a few minutes to understand what the screaming was.
“Run!!!” It sounded somewhat like Alric, but I didn’t allow myself to get my hopes up. Instead, we stumbled from the cavemouth and the girls raised their weapons. When The Spy Master cleared the cave mouth, I felt so much relief I thought I would pass out.
Until I noticed the blood running down his temples and the sheer panic in his eyes. Blood rushed to my ears at the fear and terror in his eyes. What else was he saying? I couldn’t hear anything over the rumbling of the earth and my own anxiety.
Reva wrapped her fingers around my wrist and stumbled backwards a few steps before she hauled me up and began to run. Right before our eyes, the ground was caving in. At first, it was random spots and then as I turned back to look over my shoulder, I realized it was all coming from the direction Alric was running from…. And now Ryven. He dove through the mouth of the cave, looking completely untouched. The fear on his face fell away when our eyes made contact. He stumbled a step and his shoulders drooped like all he’d cared about was making sure I’d made it.
I shook my head frantically. “No, keep running!!!”
Alric looked back at the same time the sandy floor gave out underneath the most important man in my life.
He mouthed something I wasn’t sure I understood. “I can die happy now.” And my heart sank. He wasn’t going to run for his life?
“Don’t be stupid!” I screamed back at him.
