“It’s a risk,” Anders agreed. “The wolves are on edge—the whole city is. But it’s all we can do.”
Theo nodded slowly. “Mikkel and I will cover as long as we possibly can,” he said. “We might make it through to breakfast tomorrow, you never know.”
“We’ll try,” Mikkel promised. “The longer we can buy you, the longer before anyone tries to come after you, or they alert their spies in the city to look for you.”
“Are we agreed?” Lisabet asked. One by one, everyone nodded. “Then let’s not waste any time,” she said. “Sooner there, sooner we can get started.”
“Can’t be that much colder in Holbard than it is here,” Ellukka said, trying to sound cheerful. But everyone was feeling it, even the wolves. Despite Hayn’s stalling, the Snowstone was in full effect now—one of the other wolves Hayn had told them about must have found the augmenter she needed. Which meant Sigrid’s attack was only a matter of time.
Anders couldn’t help wondering if Sigrid wanted to get Lisabet back when she eventually attacked the dragons, or whether she wanted to exile her. He was sure Lisabet was wondering the same thing, but her expression was resolute as they gathered up what they needed and crept out of Drekhelm, and farther down the mountain. This time they used the harnesses, which meant they could afford to pack warm cloaks for all four of them to sleep in, food, and better disguises. Still, it was a risky business.
Rayna launched off the side of the mountain, and Anders barely noticed the view beneath them as he pulled his cloak around him to keep away the wind, staying down low to her body for shelter. He went over every scenario he could imagine as they flew, turning each one over and over, trying to plan for different disasters. In the end, he knew something would still happen that they hadn’t expected.
The sun was setting by the time they neared Holbard, but there was still enough light that they needed to land a fair ways outside the city and go in on foot. They stowed the harnesses and some of their supplies in a clump of bushes that would mostly keep any rain off, and they were on their way.
If anything, there were even more guards around the edge of Holbard than there had been before. This time, at least, the children were prepared. They had good cloaks and hoods, Lisabet had a staff for her old-lady act, Anders had a bag wrapped around his front that looked like he had a baby in a sling—since everyone knew the wanted children didn’t have any babies with them—and Rayna had joined Lisabet, streaking her black curls gray with a handful of flour.
They all kept their heads down as they made their way past the wolves up on the boxes and the wanted posters with their faces on them, then ducked into the same alleyway they had used last time. One at a time Anders helped boost the others up onto the familiar rooftops, then climbed up after them, and they set off. Their goal this time was Ulfar Academy.
Ulfar was a little north of the center of the city, and they’d come in through the west gate again, so there was quite a lot of ground to cover, but they made excellent time. They had to climb down only a few times, when they couldn’t find planks to cross from one set of buildings to another. Each time they hurried across the street, heads down, and Anders realized they were matching everyone around them. The cold weather and the guards on every street corner had subdued all the citizens of Holbard.
Dark was falling rapidly, and Lisabet shifted to wolf form to listen better—and smell carefully—for any of the Wolf Guard that might be patrolling the rooftops. She was sure there were still some at the Wily Wolf, which was the highest point in the city, and they spotted a few other patrols in the distance, carefully detouring around them.
Eventually they reached Ulfar, and Anders carefully helped Ellukka climb down into an alleyway across the street from the Academy and the barracks’ huge gates. “Ready?” he said quietly.
“Ready,” she said, her nerves showing. It was one thing to make friends with two wolves. It was quite another to march up to the gates of their headquarters and ask to be let in. “Wish me luck.”
He watched from the shadows as she flipped her plaits over her shoulders and walked across to the gate like she owned the place. She spoke with the two guards at length, occasionally pointing to the northwest, in the direction of Sakarias’s family’s village. There was a lot of emphatic nodding, and quite a lot of gesturing. And eventually one of them held out his hand.
Ellukka gave him the letter—Lisabet had sealed it with wax, which was a little too fancy for a village like Sakarias’s, but worth the risk, they thought, as the adult wolves probably wouldn’t break a private seal before giving it to him. And then she turned and left, one of the wolves tucking the letter inside his coat behind her.
“Done,” she said as she reached Anders, far enough into the shadows that the guards couldn’t see them. They climbed up to the rooftop where the others were waiting. “I tried to get them to fetch him,” Ellukka said, “but they seemed kind of paranoid right now.”
“Wonder why,” Lisabet said, with a faint smile. “They’ll give it to him?”
Ellukka nodded. “And they said if there’s a return letter, come back after breakfast tomorrow and they’ll have it for me. He’s not allowed out since it’s not a rest day. Security’s tight.”
“Then I guess we settle in for the night,” said Rayna. “Can’t sleep at the Wily Wolf, so let’s find a stable or something and get warm, have something to eat. We’ll know if they’re going to help us tomorrow morning.”
They picked their way across the rooftops to one of Anders and Rayna’s old haunts, though they’d never stayed the night there when they could go to the Wolf instead. The four of them climbed in through the window of a loft belonging to another inn and made themselves comfortable among the piles of hay.
“Nobody will find us here?” Ellukka asked, passing out cheese sandwiches she’d stolen from lunch.
“Not as long as we’re out early in the morning,” said Rayna. “I checked downstairs, they have plenty of hay if any guests with hungry horses show up during the night.”
They ate and lay down to sleep, but nobody had much luck drifting off. Anders lay awake for a while, his mind racing with all the things that could go wrong, and listened to the others’ breathing.
Eventually Rayna spoke. “Do you think they’ll help you?”
“Do you think theycan?” Ellukka added.
That was the question, Anders realized, that they had to answer on a much larger scale. So much had happened on both sides—so many years and layers of misunderstandings, and of truly harmful words and deeds. Even before the deaths of his parents, things had been tense between Drekhelm and Ulfar.
Ultimately, could either side forgive a grudge they could barely remember the start of?
“They’re our friends,” Lisabet said quietly. “I’d always have said nothing could come between us, but... it was a very big thing.”
Anders was about to reply, though he hardly knew what he was going to say, when Rayna cut him off. “Anders,” she whispered, suddenly very still. “Do you see that up there in the window? Don’t move.”
