“But out of lykin territory.”
“Into a no-man’s-land where no king rules that would stop Conri’s pursuit of us.” Her words are grave and exhaustion has me almost snapping at her for the pessimism. But I know she’s right. And the worry comes from a good place.
“We aren’t safe until we’re behind the wall of the elves,” I agree.
“Ifthe elves agree to help us.” She leans heavier against me.
“They will,” I insist.
“How can you be so confident?”
I shift my grip on Evander, worried that my instinct on the matter will make me sound foolish. “Their queen, she’s a witch like me—a human in a world that wasn’t made for her. And the Elf King is from the line of first kings in this world, is he not?” I try to remember everything I’ve learned of Midscape over the past months.
“He is. His forefathers made both the Veil and, later, the Fade,” Aurora admits.
“Then he’ll know your importance. He won’t turn his back on helping you.” It’s the same reasoning Evander gave me weeks ago when we were last in the woods. The logic our entire escape is pinned upon.
Aurora rests her cheek against my shoulder with a small sigh. “I am glad we met, Faelyn. I forgot what it was like to be so optimistic.”
“No, you didn’t.” I categorically object to her sentiment. “You were the one to escape first. That meant you believed there couldbe a better future. You had hope. And what is hope if not the natural conclusion of optimism?”
She just hums, rather than wording a response.
A smile cracks my lips as the town comes into view through the trees. But the expression immediately drops as a shadow moves in front of the buildings. Then several more.
Evander stops and snarls.
The figures were wolflike, but some change into men and women. There are ten of them. But I suspect there are many, many more than that in the woods around us.
“Hope?” Conri’s voice carries through the forest that suddenly seems to hold its breath. He steps forward, emerging from shadow and into a beam of sunlight that makes his usually softer features seem harsh. Angled. Dangerous. He holds out his arms. “Behold, your king, your hope. The best you can hope for is that he is merciful.” Even though we’re too far for me to see the details of his face, Conri angles his head slightly. I know he’s looking down at me, his mouth twisted in disgust. I can feel it. “So, if I were you, I’d start begging. Now.”
CHAPTER 44
There are two options:Plead or Run.
Evander makes the choice.
He surges forward and the trees blur around us. I grip his fur as Aurora and I are nearly thrown off in the rush. Aurora’s arms squeeze my waist, causing me to hold on even tighter. I’m sure I’m hurting him, but I can’t ease my grip. If I do, we’re liable to be thrown. He’s already snarling and barking—practically roaring—as he charges toward the men and women in the town.
“Fine. The hard way, then.” Conri rolls his shoulders and lunges, changing into his wolf form as well. The other lykin that never abandoned their beastly forms charge in.
“Evander!” I can’t help but shout, though I don’t know what I’m asking him to do. The opportunity to try and make excuses—to spin this in our favor—left the moment he decided to run for the edge of the lykin’s territory. But what is he thinking we’re going to do? We’re not safe just because we’re out of lykin territory. With no king or queen controlling it, Conri will still give chase. We’re not safe until we’re in the land of the elves, and that could be an entire day, perhaps two.
Horror descends upon me with a sickening chill.This is futile.
“Faelyn!” Aurora shouts as well. I feel her head move, looking at the wolves closing in all around in a panic.
I have to do something. I release Evander’s fur to take Aurora’s hand, asking without words, apologizing with a squeeze. I’m going to need her power once more. The spirit was summoned too recently.
“Brundil!” I have no command. No etiquette or specific desire. But the spirit of earth comes anyway, manifesting as action, rather than a humanoid form, no doubt saving her power. The ground cracks and rumbles around us, stretching open save for a bridge of stone that Evander runs along. A bridge that connects us to the town.
Conri scrambles along with his knights, trying to find purchase on the slipping moss and soil. Leaves and dead underbrush sink like a waterfall, carrying the lykin with the tide. Many don’t make it out, falling into the yawning abyss that has opened wide enough to consume whole trees. But Conri is able to scramble up. The wolf king bounces off those falling trees to solid land, angling himself toward us as we plunge into the ruins of the town.
There’s no water around. I try and fumble for my bag. I can get Folost and then?—
Evander dodges. A wolf comes from the left, snarling and snapping. The movement has me reaching for his fur once more so I’m not thrown. At the cost of…
“Folost!” I scream, looking behind me at the brick shard that bounces among the grasses. It sparks, igniting a small fire, but does little more than that.
