So I pressed the stone into her hand. It was all I could do for her.
“It’s okay,” she said. “They won’t suspect me. I’m a mage. They know I can’t fight.”
“What will you tell them?” I asked.
But Auriel’s eyes widened as he nodded slowly at Branwyn. “The truth,” he said. “Tell them it was me. The soturion on the run with Lyr. I’m already wanted—this won’t change things. But it’ll give you protection. Turn me in. Say you hid up here out of fear—that I came by looking for a place to hide, but you recognized my description. And you refused me.”
“Auriel.” Branwyn’s face fell.
“Do it,” I said. “And please, tell Sean not to hurt Rhyan. Trust me.”
“I will.”
“And Branwyn,” I wrapped my arms around her, “be careful.”
“You, too,” she said, and opened the door to her balcony.
“Come on,” Auriel said.
The front door burst open.
“Now!” Auriel hissed.
We raced onto the balcony, and Auriel leapt without a thought, his boots landing softly in the backyard.
My breath hitched, looking over the balustrade. I was still afraid of falling—especially after the last time I was in the sky. But Auriel held out his arms. “Meka!Jump! I’ll catch you.” I pushed one leg over the banister, and then the other.
There were yells now coming from the house. Tears burned behind my eyes. I jumped.
I landed in Auriel’s arms a second later.
But before I could scramble to my feet, he took off, racing to the neighbor’s house, knocking on the back door and rushing inside.
“Red Gryphon!” he shouted.
A soturion who looked to be about Sean’s age rushed to meet us. “Red Gryphon?” he asked, his Glemarian accent thick.
“Yes. Sean’s gone. Branwyn’s alone—she sacrificed herself so we could get away, so we could sound the alarm. We killed five wolves. But there’s more. She needs help. Now!”
The soturion nodded. “I’m on my way. I’ll warn the others.”
“Thanks,” Auriel said, and in a flash we were back outside.
I was still in his arms.
“Let me down,” I said. “I can run.”
Auriel released me, but his hand wrapped around mine, our fingers entwined.
I didn’t know if Auriel had memorized Sean’s route in reverse, or Sean and him had spent time going over it while I was recovering. I started to suspect the latter as we raced into backyards, jumping in through windows, and climbing back out. All the while Auriel shouted “Red Gryphon” in each new home. It made me think that Sean had lied to me. A little. He’d made up his decision the moment he’d heard the news. He was always going to go after Rhyan. And he was preparing Auriel, giving him a way for us to escape when he was gone.
My heart was racing when we reached the final house. We were back at the waterway, about to cross into the forest.
I looked back, and my stomach sank. The street was full of soturi. They were spreading out, going one by one to each house, pulling people outside, their swords out and ready to attack.
If we hadn’t taken Sean’s route we’d have been caught by now.
“There’s a port at the edge of the forest, right?” Auriel asked, racing forward. “I’ve been studying the modern maps.”
