“Let me go.” Alex rasped out, through gritted teeth.
“No.”
“Gods damn it, let me go!” Bucking against his hold, she was surprised by his strength.
“No. Not until you’re ready to talk civilly, stop attacking me, and keep your voice down. Unless you want this room flooded with guards.”
The fight went out of her. This wasn’t how she hadwanted this to go, even if she had known deep down that it would end this way.
Tristan must have taken her stillness as acceptance and let out a breath. “I have something for you.”
Alex started to speak but he held up a finger, surprised with herself when she didn’t continue. Letting go of her with one hand, he reached into his top nightstand drawer and pulled out a small envelope, holding it out to her.
“This was delivered to me shortly after we got word of Queen Rivka’s disappearance. My only direction was to see that you, and you alone, received it.”
Alex snatched the letter from him, turning it over in her hands. The seal was broken, but Rivka’s swirling handwriting adorned the front. Gently pulling the note from inside, Alex unfolded it. She instantly recognized it as the missing page from her book. Rivka’s handwriting scrawled across the page…
What did it mean? Sacrifices? Trust? Faith? I HAD trusted her, and what had it gotten me? And she wants me to “have faith in this.” Have faith in what? In her? In the book? Faith in HIM? Not damned likely. Why leave the note with no information? This tells me nothing.
A pressure built in her throat, the pain and loss brightened and constricted. Growling in frustration, she pushed past Tristan, pacing the lengthof his room.
“What is this supposed to mean? Where are they, Tristan? Please tell me that you knowsomething!”
Tristan watched as she paced, firing questions at him but not giving him a chance to get a word in edgewise. Her gut told her that he knew. She wasn’t entirely sure of what had really happened between him and Rivka. How long they’d been together, if they even were. Rivka hadn’t told her. Did she expect him to tell her? Was that why she was there?
“Alexandria.” He spoke softly, scattering her thoughts.
She stopped her pacing, turning to face him. Her anguish evident in her every move.
“I know why you’re here and I know that you are angry with me. I cannot tell you where your queen or her king consort have gone. I have not seen either of them since the Treaty Ball.”
Alex didn’t know whether to believe him or not but she honestly didn’t have much choice. The note still clutched in her hand had suggested it, but she was having trouble seeing through her hatred of him, through the jealousy and pain of betrayal.
“But there is more you need to know.” Tristan looked hesitant as he spoke.
Suddenly, a loud commotion rang throughout the palace. They knew she was there. Time to go. Alex ran. “Wait!” Tristan called after her but there was no way she was letting him get her captured. She had to get out of there quickly. Without a parting glance at Tristan, she darted through the palace corridors, her boots skimming the polished marble as the shouts of the guards echoed behind her.
Alex twisted through side corridors, down the two flights of stairs she had come up, thankful that the guards had been at the opposite end of the hall, though she was sure she’d been seen. Her breath was sharp in her chest. Thank Fari, she could see the garderobe ahead of her.
Shit. My satchel!She had left it upstairs, forgotten in their scuffle. There was no way she could leave without her pack now that it was all the supplies she had left. With little time to spare, she ducked inside and snatched her pack from where she had left it and burst out the back door.
She vaulted over the low walls concealing the door, melding into the shadows, cursing the wretched dress that she had on. It was only slowing her down. For the moment though, she was free, hidden in the hush of the vacant courtyard.
But the reprieve didn’t last. Guards slammed out of the exit. They hadn’t yet called to close the main gate; she could still get free. Quietly thanking the rigorous training regime she kept, her legs kept the quick pace easily as she neared the gate.
Dressed as she was, she hoped that the guards were back far enough that none of them would recognize her, although the braid was kind of a giveaway.Shit.The guards on either side of the gate were lazily dozing in the early morning light. She was through and running, straight towards the town before they had their blades in their hands, hoping to lose the ones following her amongst the citizens.
A sharp cry rang out as she slipped into the crowded market. Guards pushed through stalls, overturning displays of jewelry and racks of silk scarves.Damn, they were persistent!Alex kept her head low, weaving between startled merchants, on her way to the edge of the city toward the supply wagons that would soon depart.
She skidded to a halt; the damn wagons were swarmed with guards. They were stopping every single one to check its contents. Looking for her, no doubt. Sliding behind a stall, Alex dropped her pack, digging out her leathers. She quickly changed clothes, discarding the attendant's dress and ripping down her braid, letting her hair loose. Donning the pack again, she started walking, tempering her speed, keeping an attentivewatch all around, edging the outskirts of the remaining supply wagons.
She had to figure out what she was going to do next. Tristan had been no help. She couldn’t join her battalion, as they were already sailing to the Morrows after the stolen ship. There really was only one person she could think of that could help her, who she could truly trust, who might have the answers she urgently needed, but damn if she wasn’t dreading the journey to get to him.
A yell rose from behind her. Daring a glance, Alex saw a guard break through the crowd of merchants, running in her direction. She bolted again, abandoning stealth for speed, heart pounding as she crossed the boundary into the forest. The trees swallowed her up, thick with pine and mist. The city faded behind her. The guards' shouts fell away as she ran.
So much for taking a ship.Alex was undeniably good at sneaking in and out of anywhere as long as no one knew she was coming, but at this point the dock would be crawling with guards and every ship would be held and searched.
Resigned to the only choice she had left, she would have to hike all the way down the west side of the Seoid Mountains to the Kalmia Province, on her way to Brynn. It was going to be a long, frigid journey. She would need to gather more supplies, as she had lost her satchel. She had a few things in her pack but it wouldn’t last her the full trip. Slowing to a walk, Alex glanced skyward. The crisp, wet smell of snow was in the air.Kiel save me, please let this weather hold until I’m off this Gods damned mountain.
