Her face reddened, a flush of frustration mixed with anger. “I never wanted that. I never wantedanyof it —” She bit her lip, stopping herself from spiraling off on a tangent. “You’re quick to judge, assuming I partake in prejudices I mostcertainlydo not. You would be eating your words if you knew the things I have gone through.”
That shut him up. Taryn didn’t even deign to respond. She didn’t need a response. Airess was glad he finally stopped talking.
They rode in silence for the next hour. Dawn fell upon them, the sky tinged a shade of dark pink as the sun began to rise. She fought to keep her eyes open, having now been awake for twenty four hours.
Her mouth and throat felt dry. Airess pressed her chapped lips together, realizing she hadn’t drunk water in quite some time. It had to have been hours before the ball that she drank water last. The last thing she consumed was a hearty glass of wine.
“Do you have any water?”
“I’m out,” he said curtly.
“Well, where can we get some?”
Taryn laughed. He actuallylaughed.She heard his clothes shifting as he shook his head. “You’ll have to try harder than that.”
He was insufferable. Did he always think the worst?
“If you’re going to take me against my will, compel my body to comply, the least you could do is provide some water. Evenprison guardsunderstand that principle.”
Silence. Then, Taryn guided the reins to the side.
“Fine,” he snapped. “Put your hood up and don’t make any sudden movements. If you think I can’t catch you if you try to escape, you’re wrong.”
“Whatever you say,” Airess retorted, her words dripping with sarcasm. Taryn scoffed in reply.
She gladly put her hood up and began to devise an escape plan. Airess had no desire to be recognized any less than he did. She would have to think quickly, use her wits against him. Surely, other folk would be around if they found a public well.
They came onto the main road. Eventually, a small town came into view—little homes scattered across flat grassland with a strip of buildings at its center. She kept her head low, making sure to hide her features as she saw locals bustling around, preparing for the day. The sun was nearly risen.
They approached the well behind a string of small buildings. To her dismay, it was void of any patrons but themselves. She would have to get away from him and draw attention to herself. Airess counted the steps it would take to walk through the alley and into the main road just beyond the well.
Airess let Taryn dismount first, and when he turned his back, she dismounted as well. He whipped around towards her, dark brows drawn together.
“What are you doing?”
She looked at him innocently. “What? Am I not allowed to stretch my legs?”
Taryn grumbled a response under his breath and began to retrieve a bucket for the water. She looked around—everyday simpletons going about their lives in this small, quaint town. She smiled softly at the different lives she beheld. A boy in the distance leading a horse out from a stable, a mother just a few feet away from him pinning clothing to a line. It was the little things that were often taken for granted.
Did they realize how beautiful their life was to be their own?
Airess looked back to Taryn, busy with fetching the water. She inched forward slowly, each step light as she neared the corner of the building. Just a few more steps, and she could turn the corner and bolt down the street. Before doing so, she peered out, and her heart sank at what she saw.
A group of Lucien guards clad in golden armor stood ten feet away, in conversation with a few of the townspeople, their backs facing hers. The guard held up a poster, the back of the paper facing her so she could not see its contents. She contemplated on what would be worse, being brought to the Mrkynian Guild or being taken back to the Luciena capitol. She shuddered at the thought.
Just as a guard turned around, a hand seized her wrist and pulled her backwards. Taryn grabbed her other wrist and pulled her to him, their fronts touching, her face inches from his. Taryn glowered at her, his tall frame hunching over her, tilting his head to look down at her with a look of scorn. “Do notmake a sound.”
She stilled, realizing how much her curiosity could cost them. Airess heard the heavy footfalls of the soldier walking by, coming so close, all the soldier had to do was look around the corner and he would see them.
Airess took in Taryn’s features in the morning light to distract herself. His one earring dangled with the movement of his head. Airess almost didn’t see it, his wind blown tendrils curling around the sides of his face and ears.
Taryn’s mouth twisted into a smirk, his sultry eyes gazing down on her. Her stomach tightened. Airess dropped her eyes, heat crawling up her neck as she realized she had been staring. Her gaze landed on his hands softly gripping her wrists to hold her in place.
Airess noted red ink peaking out, a hint of a tattoo circling his wrist from under his cloak sleeve. The ring he wore on his pointer finger glinted in the sunlight, as if the universe was trying to tell her something, whispering a solution through the wind that blew her hair.
Finally, the soldier’s steps faded as they walked by. Taryn released her, dropping his hands and brushing past her.
“Get on the horse. We are leaving,” hesnapped, nostrils flared.
