Ruru glanced at Kiera, who was staring out the window. “I’ll make sure no one knows we’re there. Then I’ll take the wagon and horses back.”
“Good, good. Now?—”
“What if I get caught?” Kiera asked. She faced me, her chin lifted in a show of fearlessness I didn’t believe. “What if I don’t make it back to the warehouse?”
The air seemed to still, as if everyone in the room was holding their breath.
“You won’t get caught,” I told her. Then, more softly, “But I will come for you. If you’re not in the warehouse by dawn, I’ll find you.”
The scarf shifted around her throat as she swallowed. She tugged on it and went back to staring out the window.
Not long after, she and Ruru went to bed, shutting the door behind them.
Maz gathered up his darts and whistler and stowed them in his pack while I stretched out on my cot and closed my eyes.
“You should tell her,” he grumbled.
I didn’t open my eyes. “Tell her what?”
“Come off it, Aiden. Tell her how you feel. That you want her to stay.”
My eyes snapped open, and I glared at him. “Quiet,” I hissed, glancing at the door.
Maz shook his head and sat down on his cot. He lowered his voice to his version of a whisper, which was really just a lower rumble. “Tell her before it’s too late. You have enough regrets, brother.”
My fingers curled into fists. “I’ll tell you what I told her. I willnotbe the reason she dies. If she stays?—”
“You don’t know what’s going to happen.”
I shot upright. “No, I don’t, Mazkull. But I can’t—I won’t—” I stopped, the words for what I feared getting lost in a storm of memories.
His face fell as he stared at his boots.
“There’s already so much at stake,” I whispered. “Don’t ask me to add another life to that burden.”
After several long moments, Maz nodded, but his eyes pierced me across the room. “You’ve given up everything but your life for this, Aiden. I just want you to have something to liveforwhen this is all over.”
With that, he laid down and fell asleep.
I sat in the dark, my mind spinning.
Could I ask her to stay? She seemed to love Maz and Ruru. She seemed to feel... something for me. But would that be enough?
No. No, it would be selfish to ask her to stay for me. To put her in further danger.
I had to protect her. And to do that, I had to let her go.
Chapter 22
Kiera
The knives wereslippery in my hands.
Blood and sweat dripped down my arms. How many times had he nicked me?
“Again,” Renwell’s voice floated to me through a haze of pain, exhaustion, and fear.
I heaved myself to my feet, trying to hide my wince. The silky blindfold covered half my face, but he would still see me weakening.
