“I used to do that with Jax,” Callyn says, and her tone is musing in a way that tells me she’s lost in memories, too. “We’d curl up in the corner of the bakery when it was cold, or sit around his forge during the summer months when he was busy. Nora used to beg us to read the kissing scenes out loud.” She pauses, then looks at me in the shadows. “It’s so odd to think that we were probably all doing the same thing at the same time. You living your life in the Crystal City, and me living mine in Briarlock.”
I’m struck by that. Overhead, Igaa soars across the moon, plunging the path into darkness again. A cold breeze whips between the trees, a relief and an assault simultaneously.
Callyn shivers and presses closer. It’ll likely be too hot in a moment, but for right now, I don’t mind at all.
But then she says, “You can’t drive all night.”
She’s probably right. I feel ready to pitch sideways off this seat rightnow. “I can try,” I say.
“Well, the rest of us can’trideall night,” she says. “Sinna is going to need to stop to eat before long.”
“Indeed. And the palace guard will likely be after us by then.”
She shivers again, but this time I know it’s not the cold. “We should find an inn. Or a tavern. Or—”
“If you think I am willing to take the queen of Syhl Shallow into a tavern unguarded while a half- deadscraverbleeds all over my carriage, you are sadly mistaken. I was prepared to protectyou— not a carriage full of liabilities.”
A voice comes to us through the air, and this time it’s not Igaa.
— I am not bleeding all over your carriage, human. And I did not ask for your help.
— I did,Igaa calls from above.—They are taking us to Tycho.
“I’ll just drive straight through without stopping,” I say. “Four days shouldn’t be a problem at all.”
— Good,Igaa says, ignoring my sarcasm.
I sigh and drag a hand back through my hair. Callyn is right— we can’t ride like this forever. We’ll have to stop before long.
I look over at her, trying to ignore the fact that she’s still leaning against me. “Our best bet is to go to ground after daybreak and travel at night,” I say. “But we need to put more distance between ourselves and the palace— or we need a way to send guards in the opposite direction. They’ll be able to cover a lot of ground between here and the border. We need somewhere to hide.”
Callyn sighs. “With a four- year- old, no less.”
Just as she says it, thunder rolls in the distance.
Perfect, I think.Just what we need.At least a rainstorm will obstruct our tracks and make any search effort difficult.
We fall silent again, both thinking. I know Tycho had safe houses along his route as King’s Courier, but I don’t know them all— and I have no idea if they were trulysafe. We definitely can’t take a carriage over the mountain, so we’re going to have to stay relatively close to the main road— which will also mean riding through the guard station, again with a queen and scraver in my carriage. If they demand to search my things, we’ll be caught for sure. There’s another mountain pass farther west that’s not well guarded, but thatwould add ten miles to our journey and keep us on this side of the border.
Another peal of thunder rumbles across the sky, and I sigh heavily, then rub at my eyes.
I’m so tired. There’s so much at risk.
And there’s nowhere to go.
“How much farther can you drive this carriage?” Callyn says, her voice low.
“Apparently I’m supposed to drive it all the way to Ironrose Castle.”
“Alek. Truly.”
I think of the truths I just shared, how it seemed to dissolve the tension between us. I look over and make my voice equally quiet. “A few hours, maybe.” I hesitate. “Why?”
Callyn looks over, biting her lip. “Well . . . there’s one place we could go.”
CHAPTER 24
TYCHO
