‘I must congratulate you on your restraint,’ I tell her. ‘I was half expecting you to freeze their tongues like you did with Cole.’
‘I was tempted.’
‘Forget them,’ I soothe. ‘People are frightened. They don’t know what to believe.’
‘And that’s exactly what King Balen wants, Flint,’ she says bitterly. ‘To sow doubt. If the people already thought I was guilty, then the news that you and I are in hiding is hardly going to convince them otherwise.’
‘About that.’ I lean in closer. ‘If word hasn’t got out about our incredibly daring escape’ – my sister rolls her eyes – ‘then Grandmother must be doing a pretty good job of pretending that we are wherever she claims we are. How’s she managed to pull that off?’
Blaze considers this. ‘If we hadn’t been seen at all in the wake of the attack, we’d surely be presumed dead.’
I frown. ‘But they don’t think we’re dead. They think we’re at a safe house.’
‘Exactly. Meaning that Grandmother must’ve made sure we were glimpsed leaving Fire Mountain.’
I take another swig of wine. ‘All right, you’ve lost me.’
‘My decoy, Flint,’ Blaze says. ‘She must be using my decoy. Gods, that poor girl had no idea what she was getting herself into.’
‘Oh.Oh. Typical Grandmother.’ I shake my head, suppressing a smile. Then I pause. ‘Wait. What about me?’
‘She must’ve found one for you, too.’
‘And gouged his eye out for authenticity?’
Blaze grimaces. ‘I wouldn’t put it past her.’
We spend the rest of the meal prodding at what remains of our food. The bustle and vibrance of Isolla that had so captivated my sister appear to have worn off. Her brow is furrowed, jaw clenched. She could use some sleep. Both ofus could – and in actual beds rather than huddled together on the cold stone ground.
‘We should get out of here,’ Blaze says eventually.
‘You read my mind. Let’s find an inn. I’ll even let you have the top bunk.’
‘No, I mean we should get out of Isolla,’ she explains. ‘Now. Tonight. Ours seem to be the names on everyone’s lips, and I think it’s best we move on.’
I stare at her, aghast. ‘But … we’ve been riding since dawn? I’mexhausted.’
‘We can sleep once we’ve made it through the Ridge.’
I let out a long-suffering sigh, then get to my feet. ‘The things I do for you, sister.’
6
Blaze
The tunnel entrance looms before us, a cavern of impenetrable darkness. I rummage in my satchel until my fingers graze the cool glass surface of the nightlight.
Think of it as your very own sunbeam, Hal had said, his hand wrapped round mine.As though I’m giving you a little piece of my gift.
‘Let’s go,’ I say.
At the sound of my voice, the box lights up, illuminating the way ahead.
I take a step forward, then another, biting my tongue so hard I taste blood. Flint mutters something – a prayer, I think – before following me into the tunnel.
The nightlight glows brightly in the gloom, casting shadows across the walls. The ground is cracked and uneven.
I tense at a scraping sound behind me, but it’s only Flint with the chalk, scoring a line on the stone. It seems sensible to mark our route, especially since the passageway soon forks into three.
