I was surprised how easily we both scaled the wall and were atop the battlements. Up here, we were more exposed, but we crawled across the arch out of sight of those below. We rounded the corner that would lead to the outer wall and came face to face with a stunned guard.
Faolan had his hands up, muttering something before I could react. And the guard quickly slumped over without Faolan even having to touch him.
“Is he dead?” I choked.
Faolan shook his head. “Just passed out. I cut off his air for a moment.”
“Another item we can add to our ‘talk later’ list,” I mumbled.
“Come.” He held out his hand, and within a moment, we were climbing unseen down the outside of the fort.
We ran through the pasture surrounding the fort towards some dense woods without speaking. We were completely vulnerable, but decided that we’d be able to get away easier, albeit slower, without a massive dragon launching from the fort.
I laughed as soon as we were under the cover of the trees. We weren’t in the clear, but we were so close. It would be easy to lose a pursuit in the forest.If one came, but no alarm had yet sounded.
I didn’t know how long we ran for, but finally, we came to a stream. “Which way?”
He looked up at the twin suns, and the visible planets littering the quickly dimming sky. “West. We need to head towards the Middle Sea.”
“Do you think that’s wise?”
He paused and studied me for a few moments. “What do you mean?”
“We must have been spotted before we got on the River of Sorrow. They saw us near the sea and followed us, don’t you think?”
“You have a point. So we need to stay away from cities, coasts, and priests. Anything else?”
I shrugged. “We don’t know who our enemies are. Or where we’ll be safe.”
“I know places along the way,” he said, like it pained him to do so. He nodded West, and we followed the river until just before full dark. “We should rest for the night here.”
I grimaced. “I don’t want to spend the night in the forest.”
“What else do you propose? We have nothing with us, and no idea of where we are.”
I reached into the neckline of my tunic and produced the pouch of gold we shared before we were captured. “I have gold, you have wings, I’m sure we can find somewhere.”
His eyes shuttered closed and he let out a small groan. “Fine. Just put the gold in your damn pocket like a normal fae, will you?”
I chuckled and ignored him, settling it back between my breasts where it would be safest.“Do you think we’ve put enough distance between us and them for me to fly?” I looked over my shoulder like they’d pop out at any moment.
“I think so. They have leagues and leagues in every direction to search, and we haven’t heard them at all. But we should wait until it’s completely dark, less chance of being spotted.” His logic was sound, but I still didn’t trust it.
My skin crawled. “I know, but I can feel them.”
“Is this another undisclosed magic skill you possess?”
“No. It’s just a feeling.”
“Let me know if it gets worse.”
“I will.” I glanced around before going to the stream for a drink.
He followed but gave me space, and we both took a much-needed breather. “These berries are edible.” He picked his way across the mostly shallow water, and I followed, the water reaching my knees while it only barely reached mid-calf on him.
Big bastard.
We picked and ate berries side by side.
