I turned back around, mumbling to myself about idiots and idiot demands. The guys used what little wisdom they had and didn’t comment.
We all had our hoods on, cloaks covering ourselves and our bags and any weapons on our backs. If you saw us on the street you would think we were travelers, which was perfect. I didn’t want anyone recognizing any of us and able to say they saw us leaving. It would be better if they all thought we disappeared out of thin air.
As soon as we got close to the large outer gate, we waited around the corner, watching for the perfect opportunity to sneak by. Soon a farmer was coming in from an early morning harvest, taking up a large part of the lane and because of the guard shift change, there was only one guard.
I motioned for the boys to follow me as I kept to the shadows. I got up next to the large wooden wagon and slipped through the other side. Rykon, Zayden and Ajax followed my steps exactly, making sure not to step on the rocks or slide in the dirt, not making any noise to tip off the guards. I was impressed by their dedication to keeping quiet and to follow my lead.
As soon as we crossed the gates, Zayden opened his mouth to speak, but I put my finger to my lips and pointed to the forest. It would be best if we kept quiet until we were under cover.
We silently walked through the grass and fields until we got to the forest line farthest away from the main road out of the city. As soon as we were under the cover of trees, Zayden leaned against a tree, complaining, “And why are we not taking horses?”
“Horses draw attention. They also need to be fed and watered. That all takes time away from the journey. We also can’t take the horses with us over the steep mountain side, so it’s not worth the time, energy or money.” I rattled off as I found a rock that was smooth enough for me to set out the map, Ajax trailing behind me.
“Steep mountain side? Where are we going?” Ajax barked out on my heels, like an impatient little dog. I was tempted to turn around and smack his nose, but I finally found a workable flattish rock, so I ignored him. Unfolding and setting down the map, hands running over the delicate parchment to flatten it out. I was curious to see if Vance’s idea of the best route met with my thoughts.
I could hear their feet shuffling around me. Ajax’s soft and light footsteps, avoiding leaves and branches that could cause noise, coming up to the left side. Rykon, with his sure and smooth steps, like he was gliding across the forest floor, coming up to my right side. I was expecting Zayden to be across from me, but I heard his loud confident steps settle in behind me, his breath brushing across my neck, fingers trailing down my back lightly as he peered over my shoulder.
“Is that the route you want us to take?” As soon as the first words crossed his lips, I felt a chill run down my spine. The urge to lie back on him came in hot and fast, reminding me how close I came to giving into him last night. How his eyes looked at me in my doorway, asking to stay the night, like I was his last salvation. I wanted to give it to him. My body was taking over in small doses, kicking my pesky brain out, liking the attention he was giving it.
I took in a shuttered breath, reminding myself that I was the one in control. I am the one making the choices. The calculating side of me calmed my nerves and demanded my body to cool down.
“Zayden.” His name came out in warning. I could hear his sigh of disappointment as his feet turned. I see both Ajax and Rykon’s faces snap up from the map and look at me.
Ajax’s eyes filled with instant fury so fast, his arm shot out as he roughly grabbed Zayden and yanked him around before Zayden even had a chance to take his first step.
“What the fuck? Get off me!” Zayden cried, as Ajax put him across from me, and pointed at him, “Watch it, Cypress! I’m this close,” his finger and thumb only a few centimeters apart, “to knocking you the fuck out and laying your unconscious body on the road!”
Zayden, being Zayden, just couldn’t let that go. “Oh, so you think about my body? Do I need to charge you for what your mind has been dreaming?” He wiggles his brows at him and I think that was what tipped Ajax over as he raised his fist, ready to follow through on his threat.
“Enough!” I called out before anyone could do any actual damage. They both eyed me at my harsh tone. Seeing I wasn’t fucking around, they backed off.
“I’m looking really good about now.” Rykon’s smug voice called with laughter. The two glared at him, but knew he was correct.
I focused back onto the map, seeing that Vance picked a route that I would’ve mostly taken except for the mountain cliffs.
“Here is where we are.” I pointed to our spot on the map and trailer, my finger tracing against the line that followed the border of the fae lands and ours. “I agree with this. We need to follow the borderline, as it is the fastest way to the mountains.”
“Wait? If this map is correct, you want us to go into the badlands?!” Ajax’s shock confused me before I remembered that I only told Rykon about the actual nature of this trip.
I took a deep breath and looked Ajax and Zayden in the eyes. “Yes. After Vance confirmed his father is not the rightful ruler, he learned about a magical book that could tell us if and where a descendant of the rightful ruler is.”
“Right. And the pretty boy is fine with just handing over the kingdom to this person.” He huffed out a laugh, and that just pissed me off, but I knew fighting with him wouldn’t do any good, so I played it cool.
“Yes, that’s exactly it.” All three of them looked at me skeptically. “I brought that up as well, and he said that he wanted what’s best for Onisea, even if that’s without him in leadership.”
When they still looked at me like I was the naïve one, I followed with, “Yes. In his mind he has convinced himself that they could take him on as an advisor, but he is willing to settle on being a professor at the university he was hoping he could convince them to build.”
Zayden was the first one that cracked up. “Oh, man, he is like a genuine good one, isn’t he?”
Rykon nodded with his arms crossed as he mumbled, “The worst part is I can see him saying that and meaning it.”
Ajax said nothing, but I saw the smallest bit of respect flash across his face before he shoved it away and put it back on his angry assassin face.
“There’s more.” They all looked back at me again and I rushed the rest out, “In order to get this magical book we need to cross the shrieking mountains, go through the badlands, to a lighthouse on a cliff and prove to some person named The Librarian that we are worthy enough for the information we seek.”
“How the fuck are we going to do that?” Ajax shrieked, his angry face morphed into wide-eyed disbelief.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m sure we will think it through. That’s why I have you three, after all.” I motioned towards them with the flick of my fingers. Everyone stayed quiet for a few minutes, thinking over what I just told them and I’m sure they were wondering if this was all worth it. I was prepared to tell them they could easily go back into their cells if they preferred.
