Eventually, the silence is too much for me to bear. I shiver despite the warmth in the air. I don’t want to be snippy, but I’m still too tense and my voice comes out sharper than I intend. “I’m shocked you didn’t have a full staff waiting.”
He glances over. “I try not to put my staff at risk, Callyn. They have no part in this.”
That steals some of my ire. “Sorry. I’m just worried someone is going to come after us.”
“They will,” he says gravely. “Eventually.”
I let out a breath and gesture at the trotting horses. “Shouldn’t we be . . . I don’t know . . .galloping?”
“Galloping with a carriage would draw more attention at this hour.” Despite the words, he chirps to the horses and gives the reins a twitch, and the animals immediately lengthen their stride. “It’s also pitch-dark, and I’d rather not slam into a tree while the queen is in my care.”
I shiver again. There are always too many things to worry about.
“Do you really think scravers might come after us?” I say.
“Yes.”
He says it without hesitation, and I glance over. “You’re full of reassurance tonight,” I say dryly.
When Alek says nothing, I frown, studying him. His expression is drawn and tired, but there’s a tension that I haven’t seen before. “Did anything else happen?” I say carefully. “With Xovaar?”
He shakes his head a little, and thenheis the one who shudders. “All I wanted was to eradicate magic from Syhl Shallow. I wanted to protect the queen.” He hesitates. “I wanted to protectyou.”
I swallow, not sure what to say.
He doesn’t give me a chance anyway. He glances over. “Now it seems I’ve brought danger right to our door.”
“You’re helping us escape,” I say.
He huffs a laugh. “That remains to be seen.”
“Are we returning to your House?” I say. “How do you plan to keep the queen hidden?”
He looks over in surprise. “MyHouse? No. Of course not. That’s the first place Karyl would seek me out. If the queen were to vanish, the guards would begin by questioning all of the Royal Houses— and so would the Truthbringers.”
I turn that around in my head for a minute, and I hate that my immediate realization is cynical. My eyes narrow, because I suddenly can’t stop thinking about the queen’s wariness when she appearedthrough the hearth with little Sinna. All of a sudden, I’m worried that he’s tricked me again. “This isn’t just a convenient way to get me and the queen out of the way so you and the Truthbringers can claim the throne, is it?”
Alek glances over— but again, he says nothing. It’s too dark for me to read much of his expression, so I have no idea what kind of impact those words are having.
After a moment, he sighs. “Callyn, I spend hours alone with the queen on a regular basis. If I wanted to get herout of the way, I could’ve done it a lot more easily thanthis.” The horses have begun to slow, so he gives another twitch of the rein. His voice quiets. “The same goes for you.”
As usual, he’s right. Yet I still sit here every time, unsure if I can trust him.
“Fine,” I say. “Then where are we going?”
“I’m taking you across the border,” he says. “Into Emberfall.”
I almost choke on my breath. “Emberfall!” I hiss. “Does the queen know?”
“I have no idea,” he says. “But we need to flee, and if you all have magic, you’ll be better protected if you’re with the king.”
“But the queen sent for the king!” I say. “What if he’s already gone—”
“Her courier is dead.” Alek’s eyes are so dark. A note in his voice makes my heart give a clench. Even in the shadows, I can see the dusting of red that’s grown to coat his jaw. His eyes look a bit hollow, too.
“Dead,” I echo, my voice a bare whisper.
“Yes,” he murmurs. His gaze hasn’t left mine, and I see the worry there. “Ambushed, according to Karyl. The king isn’t coming. So I intend to take you to him.”
