“A charmer’s trick.” Algar winks yet again. “Took me years to master.” That explains the lady guard giving him muting elixirs in prison.
“Why would you put your life on the line by going with us to The Shallows?” Thane demands.
“Everyone knows there are treasures in and around Elphar that are enough to make a man and his next five generations rich. With even a handful of it, I’ll be set for life.”
“That sounds desperate.” Thane cocks a suspicious eyebrow. “What kind of trouble are you in?”
“None at all!” Algar counters, but I notice the lilt in his voice. “Well, I do owe a few debts, and one of them I do have to pay within the next two weeks, or I’ll be thrown into prison again, but other than that, I’m all good.” He flashes a confident smile.
Thane sighs. After a few seconds, he says, “You’ll get yourself killed, Algar.”
“Let me worry about that.”
Thane shakes his head. “If you die, I refuse to live with the guilt of your blood on my hands.”
Algar gives him an almost devious smile. “Of course not, old friend. My blood, my fate. So, what do you say? May I join you on this quest of death?”
Thane grips Pearl’s reins and guides her farther away. “It’s your life.”
“Hold on. Where are you going?” Algar calls.
“Around the perimeter of Ruvain. She doesn’t have papers to pass, and a woman can’t just waltz through.”
“Hmm. Good point. Those Ruvain bastards.” Algar scratches his chin.
“Hey, what do you mean?” I’m annoyed I don’t understand what they’re talking about.
“They get a whiff of a new woman’s scent, and they’re like hounds,” Algar clarifies. “They’ll sniff you out, tie you up, and have their way with you. They’re ruthless bastards.”
My throat thickens with dread.
“Regardless, going around the perimeter will take far too long,” Algar goes on, marching toward Thane. “I assume you’re trying to reach Gadonia, and lucky for you, I know a quicker route.”
Thane comes to a stop. “Is it asaferoute?”
Another one of those mischievous smiles sweeps across his face. “Define safe.”
Zephra makes that laughing noise again. Only this time it sounds like an evil little cackle.
I have a bad feeling about this.
Chapter 13
“You’re a fool, Algar.” Thane grimaces as he peers through a gap in a thick wall of bushes.
I look, too, taking note of the dark stone streets and thousands of shacks and houses. At the far end of the street nearest to the wall is the king of Ruvain’s castle, made of black marble with a cracked gray sundial attached. The tips of the castle stretch high, like thick spears ready to murder anything flying past.
While Meriva has light and hope, Ruvain is bathed in gloom and misery.
“How is this route any safer?” Thane demands, whipping around to face Algar, who is on the other side of me.
“Trust me, it is,” Algar returns with a confident tone. “All we have to do is go behind that long row of buildings there, past the pillars, and make it to the tunnels. It’s a little gross down there, and it may take a while, but it’ll lead us to the other side of Ruvain’s perimeter, and we’ll be in Gadonia in no time. That way, no one is checking for passes, and pretty women aren’t getting kidnapped, raped, and killed.”
I groan. “Can youpleasestop saying stuff like that?”
“Sorry—but it’s true.”
Oh my Orvena.
