“I don’t think so,” she said. “If he had, he would’ve asked for a lot more. That wyvern scale should keep anyone from coming after us. It’s worth a lot of money.”
She seemed so certain, but I couldn’t help but keep my attention on the forest, listening for footsteps or any other signs of life. I heard nothing.
We returned to camp, and Marcus and Ava were gathered around the fire. The sun had set by now, and the air grew colder.
Marcus scrambled to his feet when he heard us coming. “How’d it go?”
“We got it all,” Kallie said, dropping to her knees beside the fire. Vials rattled, and bags rustled as she laid the contents ofher haul out in the dirt. “How long will it take to brew the anti-tracking potion?”
Marcus mumbled under his breath as he looked everything over. “It’ll have to simmer overnight. We should be able to leave in the morning. Once we take the potion, the Warden can’t track us anywhere.”
“Then let’s pack up so we’re ready to go as soon as possible,” Kallie said. “We got something else, too.”
I slipped the backpack off my shoulder and pulled the medicine out. Oberi sniffed the bottles, then took one in his mouth and walked over to Ava.
“Medication?” Ava asked.
“You both needed it,” I said, handing a bottle to Marcus.
He hesitated, but took it anyway. “Thanks.”
Ava didn’t say much, but I felt her relief slip through our bond. She hadn’t wanted to ask us to obtain her medication, but she was grateful it was there. At the very least, it would give her some relief from her pain, and we’d stolen enough meds to last quite a while.
“What happened to you out there?” Ava asked as we all sat around the fire. She must’ve noticed my agitation.
We told them about our run-in with the black-market dealer. Ava seemed nervous when we finished telling her what happened.
“Are you absolutelysureyou weren’t followed?” she asked.
“Certain,” I said. “He got the better end of the deal, so he’s not going to follow us.”
“He sounds sketchy, no matter what you gave him,” Ava replied.
“We portaled out of there, so I don’t know how he’d find us, even if he wanted to,” I said. “We didn’t leave a trail behind.”
Ava didn’t say anything more, but I knew she was still concerned. She’d been paranoid since we’d left the Institute, worried the Warden was going to find us sooner or later.
Hell, let him. I’d kick his ass all over this forest.
Marcus mixed his ingredients together, and the potion bubbled lightly. Finally, he said, “The potion should be done in a few hours. We should all get some sleep.”
We gathered our records spread over the picnic table, and Marcus subconjured them, along with the medication bottles. I helped Ava to bed, then gave Marcus her chair so he could keep it in his stash. That way we could leave as soon as possible.
Oberi curled up at Ava’s feet, but I sensed he wasn’t sleeping. The hair on the back of my neck stood, and I paid close attention to the sounds of the forest, but I heard nothing except the wind rustling the trees.
I tried to tell myself we were safe here. The Warden couldn’t track us behind our wards, and the guy at the pharmacy didn’t know where we’d gone. Still, I couldn’t shake the odd sensation crawling up my back as I climbed into bed beside my wife. I didn’t bother changing into pajamas, because I wanted to be ready to get the hell out of here as soon as the potion was ready.
I loved it here. I never wanted to leave. But now that we’d been spotted, I didn’t think we could stay any longer. The fae apothecary hadn’t been far from here, and even if our cabin was secluded, they knew where to start looking.
It was time to start moving and find the rest of the Divinity Keys before the Warden did.
I lay awake for a long time, unable to sleep, but eventually, I drifted off.
Bang!
I startled awake as the front door of the cabin burst open. I immediately reached over for my wife, and she grabbed on to me. Oberi barked loudly, and my heart hammered.
Ava’s panic flooded through the bond. “Charlie, what’s?—?”
