On the bridge, Aiden cranked up the barrier, then leaped onto the raft as we passed through.
He looked strange in a soldier’s uniform, almost like the night of our heist when he’d dressed as one of Asher’s guards.
We’d worn so many disguises, yet I always knew who he was underneath. Just as he knew me. More and more, until nothing could hide us from each other.
We paddled away from the smoldering tents and empty bridge. Away from the lone body in the cold grass. The husk of a defeated enemy.
“How did you survive the swim?” Ruru asked, glancing at Nikella as he pushed the raft away from the riverbank.
Her shoulders tightened. “When I was a young girl, I learned to hold my breath for a very long time.”
My little Nik would never drown.
My lip curled.I hoped the Four would throw his soul into the Abyss, where it belonged.
We paddled as long as we could and slept in shifts, trying our hardest to reach Calimber in time. The journey was much more bearable without the shackles. But the added fear of being discovered almost outweighed it.
A patrol passed us, heading west, and we crouched down to hide our unshackled legs. They shouted to Aiden, who shouted back, using similar replies to what Shayn had.
They were eager to report to Korvin, bloodthirsty grins lighting up their faces. Little did they know of the carnage they were going to find.
We saw the smoke spirals of a dozen fires at dawn. Then the mass of tents and blockades came into view. The river picked up speed, rushing us toward the cliff and the waterfall that spilled over it into the Niviath Sea.
I barely had a moment to breathe before our raft raced up to the dock. Soldiers hooked it with their long poles, pulling us in, while Aiden tied us to the mooring posts.
Calimber. Gods, we’d made it. Soldiers and prisoners bustled everywhere. Horses tramped through the mud, pulling carts and carrying riders. Men ran through shouted drills with their swords and spears in the field next to the river.
How in the deep, dark, wandering hell were we supposed to defeat all this?
My legs shook as Aiden stepped onto the dock. A thin man with wild gray hair hurried up to him with a ledger.
“Twaryn, load 713?” he snapped, already scribbling something down.
“Yes,” Aiden answered immediately and with much more calm than I felt.
“You’ll have to use your own prisoners to unload and chop the wood. We’re short,” the man spat, as if this were Aiden’s fault.
Aiden frowned. “Didn’t the Shadow-Wolves arrive with more prisoners?”
“Clearly not, otherwise I wouldn’t be asking you,” he sneered and hurried off, barking at someone else.
My heart sank to my toes. They weren’t here. Skelly, Jek, Yarina, Sigrid...
I glanced at Maz. His face was whiter than bone as he stared at the distant, empty horizon.
We were alone.
Chapter 46
Kiera
We carriedour logs to the chopping station.
Dozens of prisoners and soldiers crowded around, sawing and carving wood into distinct shapes. Like the bones of a ship.
A hulking soldier bellowed. “You there! Stop!”
We halted as one and turned. Aiden stepped forward, his expression annoyed. “What is it now? We have a schedule to keep.”
