Ezra let go and looked at us both as he replied, “I’m just happy you came.”
He looked past us then, toward Matea. “Thank you, too,” he said to her.
She dipped her head respectfully, then added, “Any friend of Aviva’s is a friend of mine.”
Rayven shot me a skeptical look that almost made me laugh, but then I heard a twig snap outside, and the laugh died in my throat.
“Since I doubt any of us are going back to sleep, why don’t we get going? We have a long trek back home,” I suggested.
“Home,” Ezra murmured, and I could tell by the look of love in his eyes he was talking about more thanCairnyl.
He must think of Quinn the same way I think of Byn.
As home.
“Good idea,” Matea said, and Rayven nodded.
Considering we no longer had any bags to pack and take withus,we simply covered any sign that we had been there before stepping foot outside.
Ezra, to my surprise, could walk better thanI’dexpected. Yet, I was drained, and Ihadn’tslept enough to recharge my energy.
With that factored in, we began our journey back to the South under the blanket of the night sky, every step we took bringing uscloser and closerto our destination.
Home.
Chapter Twelve
Drip, drip, drip.
The sound of dripping water echoed in my head over and over as my senses slowly returned to me.
My eyelids were too heavy to lift at first, so I worked on regaining control and the feeling of my body as I thought about howI’dgotten here.
I worked my way up physically, wiggling my toes and fingers,and then flexing my arm and leg muscles from bottom to top until I was once again aware of my form. Once I did that, I realized just how much my foothurt.
It took a moment, but then thewhycame rushing back.
Aviva.
Her lackeys.
The prisoner escaping.
A knife to the foot.
Dust blown in my face.
And then it was all dark after that.
At that last thought, my eyes snapped open, quickly adjusting to the darkness of thedungeonentry roomI’dfound myself in. I groaned as I sat up, my body stiff.
How had I let this happen?
How had I let myself be bested—and by my original student, no less?
Theziriliumin my blood grew in strength as my frustration and anger rose. The more I recounted what had happened, the worse my mood became, and the more questions I had that were left unanswered.
Rising from the cold ground, I leaned against the wall beside me as my head spun. I waited for the dizziness to pass, then began the trek up the spiral stairs.
