Page 115 of Ravenrose

Stars. I jumped into a fucking river and still wasn’t able to shake him. My next escape attempt requires planning—strategy.

I don’t say anything—I don’t agree. Instead, I find my boots and slip them on. The leather is hot on my feet. I left them close to the fire last night to dry, and the warmth from the boots seeps into my skin, and I nearly groan at how good it feels.

“Why didn’t you leave me to drown?”

Ayer’s voice cuts through the quiet, and I look up to find him studying me like I’m some sort of puzzle he needs to solve. “Back at the river,” he clarifies, noting my confusion. “I was unconscious. You could have run, but you didn’t. Why?”

My throat tightens, and I suddenly find my nail beds in need of my direct attention.

“Why didn’t you?”

I look out the window, at my hands, anywhere but at him. It’s uncomfortable, being put on the spot like this.

I can feel his gaze on me, can feel the intensity in it burning against my cheek, as if he could pull the answer from my mind if he just stared intently enough.

“I don’t know,” I admit finally. My voice is quiet. I really can’t say; admittedly, I’m a little irritated with myself for not leaving him behind when I had the chance. Especially right now. At this moment. “I couldn’t—I couldn’t just leave you there. Not after you”—I kick at a few clumps of dirt on the floor—“after you pulled me out.”

“Who would’ve thought a faerie would have a moral code?” he says at last, a small smirk tugging at his mouth.

A smirk I immediately want to smack off his face.

“Says the man working with a Raven,” I fire back.

Ayer’s amused expression shuts down immediately, a familiar glower returning to his dark gray eyes. “That’s none of your concern.”

Too late.

“None of my concern? That—that thing—” my voice sharpens, anger rising hot and fast, “—has killed hundreds, maybe even thousands with just half a thought. You’re responsible for letting that monster loose on villages and cities, and you want to lecture me about morality?”

I scoff when I see the muscle working in his jaw, his mouth a thin line. He doesn’t answer, avoiding my gaze and staring hard into the fireplace instead.

“You made a deal with the devil, and I hope it comes back to haunt you.” The last known Raven fractured the tethering while destroying Daekhar in the process. Demons have been hunted for generations for a reason.

Silence falls again, power bristling under my skin, the rune burning hot on my wrist as Ayer continues to stare hard into the fire.

But I’m done. Done with this conversation and done with him. I sigh loudly, shifting my body away from him.

Silence falls heavy between us while I finish lacing up my boots, watching Ayer buckle his leathers out of the corner of my eye.

Neither of us speaks.

Once he’s finished, he moves toward the door but doesn’t open it. His hand rests against the worn wood, unmoving for several long beats. Then, without turning around, he says quietly, “I know."

Chapter 49

ROWAN

We take breakfast to go.

Hari presses warm egg sandwiches into our hands, along with small satchels of bread, dried meat, and fruit. Reluctant to leave the warmth of the inn, I murmur a quiet thank you. The storm is over, but it’s left behind a raw and bitter cold.

Ayer says little, just nods his thanks, already focused on the road ahead.

I notice, though, just before we leave, he drops a few extra coins onto Hari’s desk.

The crisp autumn air bites my cheeks, and I scrunch up my nose. I’m so thankful for the cloak Hari was also kind enough to supply.

Ayer’s already moving, setting a blistering pace as we follow the river back upstream. It’s clear he’s dead set on making up as much ground as possible, moving like he’s trying to outrun something, or maybe just trying to get through as much of the woods as possible before nightfall.