Kenrick looked at me expectantly, as if I should have already been moving.
“I…what do I do when I’m out?”
“You dodge any soldiers and go back to Harthon.” He said it like it was obvious.
“But I don’t knowhowto get back to Harthon. I don’t even know where I am. What direction do I go in?”
“So you know the path into the completely inaccessible Domus, but you don’t know the way back to Fourth?” he asked with equal parts derision and disbelief.
No, I actually don’t know either.“I’m unfamiliar with Koerlyn’s lands.”
Kenrick looked to the sky, shaking his head. “Go straight away from the wall. You’ll come to a river. Follow it downstream and you’ll land in Fourth. Maybe you can even take a ride in it, considering your love for rapids.” He smirked as he called back memories of another escape, this one fromhim.
Never would I have thought he’d be my accomplice in a far more important flight.
Just then, the rustle of moving armor brushed through the air, a mere whisper of sound. Kenrick slammed his arm into my sternum, flattening me against the wall as he peered around the corner. “Fuck,” he swore under his breath. “Idiots were supposed to be at the front gates.”
So he did, in fact, know where Koerlyn’s men were supposed to be. That wasn’t something a common soldier would know.
“How many?” I whispered.
His hand slapped against my mouth in answer.
The moment these people passed the corner of this house, they would see us.
If we’re caught, I’ll be saving my own ass and handing yours over toKoerlyn with a smile.His threat echoed through my mind in stark clarity. I went to push off the wall, intending to circle back around and find another way, but his palm shoved my head back into the stone. I tugged on his wrist in desperation, but his limb didn’t move, nor did his body as he continued to watch whoever approached. Struggling was my only choice, but that would only draw attention to us.
Was hetryingto get us caught?
Maybe he’d lied to me earlier about his intentions.
Unable to do anything but wait and see what he planned, I fought to silence my breathing as footsteps drew near. Finally, he removed his hand. Giving me a stern look, he stuck a pointed, angry finger in my face. His message was clear.Stay put.
Only if you’re not about to turn me in.
Two slim, miniature blades appeared in his hands, more like razors than daggers. Then he rushed out of the shadows with the kind of force and stealth I’d only ever seen in Harthon. Not one of the three men even had a chance to utter a sound. One was already falling to the ground when he stuck a blade into the neck of another. Without pause, he spun and wrapped the third in a headlock, brutally crushing his windpipe as his legs flailed. Five seconds later, it was done.
I was processing the fact that he’d just killed for me instead of turning me in when he stalked over and hauled me up by my tunic.
His breaths were even and slow as he growled, “The front gates are heavily defended. Only go that way if you want to die. Run away from here, and get your ass to Harthon.”
I yanked my tunic free and gave him one final look.
He wasn’t kind. He was only helping me for Harthon. But, still, he’d risked his own neck for me, had just left bodies in his wake. Without him, I would still be tied to that bed, a tool for Koerlyn to abuse. “Thank you.”
The scowl on his face told me he was profoundly uncomfortable with the gratitude.
I smiled and dashed for the wall, diving into the tight tunnel and dragging myself through.
Chapter 31
Koerlyn may not have had many soldiers along the wall where I escaped, but they were damn near everywhere now.
The first hours of my flight had been smooth and uneventful. The few guards who’d strayed from the front gates were simple to evade, and the wide, calm river was easy enough to follow. But since the sun had risen, casting the woods in a dreary light, I’d already dodged four small troops and heard a fifth amongst the bare trees. The activity was likely a sign that I was getting closer to the border.
And it also prevented me from moving quickly—something that was rather inconvenient considering Koerlyn had likely discovered my absence by now. He would no doubt be hunting me, and if he had dogs or good trackers, it would be easy to find my trail. Trapping animals had made me stealthy in terms of silence, but I’d never learned how to cover my tracks.
I needed to speed up.
