The words hit her like a familiar friend, like she had heard them before, but there was no time for further thought. They rounded the corner, leaving the booth owners behind. Airess followed Taryn as he navigated through the streets. Their footsteps skittered against the pebblestones, making an abrupt stop in front of a collection of stables.
He turned to her. “Give me your clothes. Can you ride?”
Taryn hastily took her bundle of clothes and opened the nearest stall.Barely, she thought,the last time I rode was when I was ten.
But instead, she said, “I can ride well enough.”
Taryn brought out a dark-colored horse by the lead and petted its mane, then stuffed the clothing into the satchel attached to the horse’s saddle. He scanned the stalls and brought out another horse, white as snow. He tightened the straps on its saddle before holding out a hand, motioning her towards the horse and hoisting her up.
He gripped her hips to help her up. She swore the heat from them burned through her clothing. Airess took in a breath.He was just helping, that was all. Taryn mounted his own horse and grabbed the reins.
“Follow me and bolt for the woods,” he said casually as he turned his horse out of the stable. She looked down at her own horse and grabbed the leather reins, the feeling familiar yet foreign. Amidst all the rush and chaos, a smile lit up her face.
She nudged the horse to follow Taryn. “What if we are followed –”
“Halt! Don’t make another move!” bellowed a voice. The town’s guardsmen stood in a group across from them, weapons in their hands. They were more of a rinky-dink version of the Luciena guard, wearing shoddy metal breastplates and swords strapped to their hips.
“Go ahead,” Taryn said, inclining his head to the woods. “I’ll handle this.”
Taryn dismounted, drawing out the broadswords strapped to his back and approached the guards with ease. Her heart thrummed, not sure how he was going to take on five guards at once. Two of the males charged forward recklessly, swinging their swords. Taryn deflected each hit like clockwork, as if each step were a melody in a song he had memorized long ago.
Taryn refrained from spilling blood, striking the guards with the pommel of his blade against the side of the head, knocking two of them unconscious.
Airess would have stayed to witness the rest of the fight if one of the males hadn’t turned his attention to her, a greedy smile on his face as he quickly advanced towards her. She tapped the side of her horse with her boot, urging the horse to move. They accelerated into a gallop and headed straight into the woods. The commotion behind her faded as Taryn knocked the last guard to the ground.
This confused her. If he was able to wield air and water, why had he bothered to fight them hand to hand?
Before long, Taryn was bolting on his horse, now only a few feet behind her. With him in range, she faced forward as they rode into the forest. Airess’ cloak hood fell back, her unbound hair whipping free behind her. The rushing breeze blasted every inch of her skin.
By this time, she was grinning from ear to ear, drunk on adrenaline. Taryn caught up to her, riding alongside her as the town disappeared in the distance. Airess glanced at him and saw that he too was grinning, his sharp canines prominently on display. She’d better get used to that now that she was to accompany him.
Taryn glanced towards her with mischief in his eyes before facing forward again. She let him ride ahead of her as recognition hit her like a brick–realizing why the words of the booth owner yelling at them felt so familiar, like she had experienced it before.
“Hey! Get back here!”
Her jaw fell open as she rode forward, finally making the connection. It was because, in a way, shehadseen this before. She had seen it… in the dreamworld.
“Follow me and run!”
She heard those same words the night before the engagement ball when she dreamwalked into that foreign town nestled by the sea, watching those juveniles steal from that old male.
Airess realized in that moment that not only did she dreamwalk into another continent, but she had dreamwalked into someone’smemory.
Taryn’s memory.
Chapter 14
After The Division, time forever stood still.
— The book of Tevye
Airess
“You certainly knew what you were doing back there.” Airess side-eyed Taryn as their horses walked side by side in the woods. They had ridden for several hours, partaking in some small talk that led to a silence as they avoided large groups loitering amongst the trail. Eventually, they veered off path and traveled directly into the tree line.
“You stole like it was muscle memory. Dare I say, Taryn, you must be the thieving criminal the Luciens have painted you and the Guild out to be.”
Taryn looked forward, silver eyes alert as he scanned through the trees as they rode. Airess had learned that his Fae senses were a huge boon–Taryn was able to see, hear, or smell other folk before she could. It was why they had avoided unwanted company thus far.
