I fight the urge to reach behind my hair and brush my fingertips across the metal talisman embedded there. If I lie, he can easily learn the truth. Just a glimpse of the back of my neck would reveal it.
I glance at the kitchen door. The innkeeper is nowhere in sight, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t listening through the thin wood. I lower my voice, meeting his gaze again.
“I ran, all right? I wanted to get away from the Order.”
He meets my gaze across the table, weighing my words against everything he knows. If I ran, the Order would send Rhyfelwyr after me, which means that door could burst open at any moment, or he could earn a fortune for returning me.
Unease ripples through me. I shouldn’t have said all this.
Heart pounding, I grip the table and stand. “Well…it was nice meeting you, I suppose. Enjoy the rest of your meal. Try to stay out of the path of more firebirds.”
I turn toward the stairs. If I want to reach the exile’s tower by nightfall, I need to leave soon, assuming nothing stands in my way. Like this unsettling stranger. Hopefully, he’ll forget all about me once I’m gone.
“Wait,” he calls out.
I clench my teeth and pause, though I don’t immediately turn. I should ignore him. Maybe when I return to the taproom with my pack, he’ll be gone. Or maybe he’ll still be sitting there, waiting. I exhale and glance over my shoulder. He’s watching me intently.
“Yes?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.
“The Order will never stop looking for you,” he says. “But I know somewhere you’ll be safe.”
My heart flutters beneath my ribs. “Thank you, but I’ll be fine. I know where I’m going.”
He rises, and his eyes never leave mine. “It’s dangerous out there. Far too dangerous for someone to travel alone.” His voice goes hard. “I insist.”
6
Ipace the length of the room, the floorboards creaking beneath every step. Before I left the taproom, I spotted the stranger’s pack sitting by his boots. He has no need to return to his room, which means I can’t sneak past him while he’s busy with something else. He’s down there, waiting for me.
I have no idea how I’ll get out of this.
Well…I do haveoneidea. But it isn’t a good one. If I use my magic on the stranger, he’ll die. And if he’s dead, he can’t take me to wherever he plans to go. Simple, right?
As long as he’s guilty of…something. I can’t bear the thought of killing an innocent man. One whose greatest crime is noticing me.
My mistake was not blending in with the others. With the scent of magic sticking to me, I already stand out. I never should have gone outside when the firebirds attacked. I should have acted terrified, like everyone else.
If I can’t reach the exile’s tower, the mission fails. And then Osian will never go free.
I sling my pack over my shoulder and peer out the window. This building sits on the edge of a ridge. There’s no escaping this way. One slip scaling down the wall, and I’ll plummet to my death.
I curse under my breath, pressing my forehead against the cool glass. There must be another way.
A pounding on the door makes me start. I clutch the strap on my shoulder and slowly turn toward the sound, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Silence stretches across the room. Maybe it’s the innkeeper. Or another patron, wanting to talk about last night. Or, stars forbid, someone from the Order.
But my gut says it’s none of them.
I shift my weight, the floorboards rumbling again. If I don’t answer, maybe he’ll leave.Unlikely.
The door rattles, then swings open. The silver-haired stranger stands on the other side, cloaked and armed, his eyes narrowed. He glances past me toward the window, and a tense, knowing smile flickers across his lips.
“Taking in the view?” he asks, his voice dangerously soft.
“Yes,” I reply flatly, trying to hide my unease. “I figure it’ll be a long time before I’m this close to the poisonous sea again. As deadly as it is…it’s beautiful.”
“Kind of like you.”
