“They know the slaves have escaped!” Finlay cried. We picked up the pace, driving away from the siren’s call as we heard the sound of the guards chasing us from the rear.
I got into the treeline safely, but had to spin around as I heard a cry of pain behind me. Tyren, the alicorn shifter, had been pounced upon by several guards, and they were ripping open his pelt. His hooves scrambled on the dirt as a griffin guard cried out, “Tell me who you work for!”
Tyren didn’t reply, his eyes rolling wildly. The guard began ripping into the alicorn with his talons, and shock resonated through my system. The guards hadn’t seen us, but they would if I stepped out of the bushes to save Tyren— and with my missing leg, they’d instantly know who I was.
Consequences aside, I went to help him. But Finlay blocked me. The other wolven shifter ran off by himself into the woods.
“Leave him,” Finlay breathed. “If we go back, we’ll be caught, too. He’s already dead.”
I knew he was— but it wasn’t any easier leaving him behind. Finlay shoved me away, and I knew if I tried to resist, he’d fight me, too, to stop me from revealing our position. I put Tyren’s cries of pain out of my mind as we ran from the compound, until they faded into the night.
Finlay and I took several long roads through the woods, to mislead anyone who might be tailing us. When both of us were certain we weren’t being followed, we returned to the university.
Finlay and I changed back under the shadow of a forlorn tower. I shook my head. “Tyren didn’t deserve that.”
“I didn’t think all of us would get away,” Finlay said lowly. “It’s a sacrifice we all have to make.”
I huffed. “Hmph. Sacrifices.”
I didn’t believe Tyren’s sacrifice was necessary, but perhaps I was being foolhardy. Not all of us would survive this revolution. We had to make choices on who lived and who died if we wanted Malovia to be free.
Finlay leaned against the tower and said, “You sure have a natural talent for this.”
“Don’t praise me too highly,” I told him. “There’s still much to be done. We’ve barely scratched the surface.”
“You should be thankful. We’ve saved lives tonight,” Finlay said.
“But it’s not enough. And you know this,” I told him. “I can only imagine the possibilities going forward, and with each one, we need to be more careful.”
“Can’t you just take the win and celebrate?” he groaned.
“No. We have a long way to go.”
Finlay made a face like I was being dramatic, but he didn’t get it. I’d been doing this for a long time, and I knew the consequences it brought. Tonight was only the first deadly step toward revolution. And, as I’d known with the Phantom, each step further we took toward bringing down the monarchy would only grow more dangerous.
It would merely take one false move to put this entire thing in jeopardy. We couldn’t afford any mistakes.
Not at any cost. Or this entire thing would come crumbling down, and Malovia with it.
Chapter Ten
Emma
Iwas up half the night, worrying about Ethan’s return, and had a fitful few hours of sleep when my body finally succumbed to exhaustion. I didn’t feel safe until I saw Ethan walk through the cafeteria to sit beside me at breakfast that morning. He was free and unharmed, so I assumed the mission, whatever it was, went well.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner,onawilke,” Ethan told me kindly. “I had to be certain I was in the clear.”
“What did you do?” I asked.
Ethan explained quickly about the slaves, and how he’d helped liberate a camp a few miles outside the city. I felt so proud of him for really making a difference. “So they’re okay now, right? Eli can’t hurt them again.”
“We didn’t release everyone. A teammate of mine, Tyren, was caught when we were escaping. Finlay said the revolution’s spies tried to break him free, but they were too late. He was whipped to death at the compound by the guards. He didn’t talk, though— brave soul he was.”
“Oh my gods.” I put a hand over my mouth.
“He wasn’t the only one. One of the teams trying to free the other compound got caught,” Ethan said. “They were dead by dawn when they refused to give any information. Elijah had them executed.”
My mouth bobbed open. “Elijah can’t trace it back to you, right?”
