Chapter 51
Fifty-One
ALLETTE
Senan sweeps into his room, holding a small black rucksack to his chest. “Gather your things, we’re leaving.”
I jolt to my feet from where I’ve been dozing on the bed. “ Tonight ?”
He throws open the armoire, drags out an armful of shirts, and stuffs them into the bag. “Tonight.”
I take him by the elbow, turning him toward me. “Take a breath. Talk to me.”
His eyes meet mine, and I see fear there. “Humans didn’t attack you. It was the king’s guards.”
That can’t be true. If the men had been sent by the king, surely Eason would’ve recognized at least one of them. “Are you certain?”
He bobs his head, snatching another handful of shirts. How many shirts does one man need?
“He did the same thing to Aeron’s lover.”
Stars above…
If that is true, then we really must leave straightaway. “Let me do that.” I take the bag and nudge him aside. If we are to escape, it will presumably be on foot, so we will have to travel light. Only a few shirts and trousers, some extra socks and pants.
Senan holds his head in his hands as he watches me. “I’m so sorry, Allette. This is all my fault.”
I close the bag and shove it into his chest. “Stop that right now. I chose to love you, Senan Vale.”
“Are you certain? Because even when we first met, I always felt like I’d convinced you to love me.”
Is he mad? From the first moment I saw him, I felt an immediate pull—and that was long before we marked our hands. I was the one who told Senan to kiss me. I was the one who pushed for him to take me to bed. If anything, I am the one who convinced him to love me.
“Even after everything that has happened, if I were given the chance to do it all over again, I would still choose you.”
His throat bobs when he swallows. “You should know that I have written to the magistrate about reinstating your ownership of your aunt’s tower. It will take a few weeks, but if you choose to, you can make it your home once more and forget I ever existed.”
I love him even more for giving me this choice. For letting me know there is an out. Although it is an out I will never take. “ You are my home.”
He kisses me then, frantic and full of longing and fear. I cling to him until I can no longer breathe.
“If you and I stay together, we will never be safe,” he whispers.
The reality of this forbidden love is like an iron gate slamming closed. We might never be truly free, but freedom means nothing when you cannot be with the one you love. “Then we’ll run forever.”
His eyes glitter as he nods. “Aeron has agreed to offer us safe passage to Stratiss. We’re to meet a member of his guard at the stables behind the Nag’s Head in three hours.”
The Nag’s Head—the same inn where we used to meet all those years ago. It feels poetic to be ending this chapter where we began.
“We cannot be seen leaving together,” he says. “You take the servants’ stairs, and I will come as soon as I’m able. Speak to no one unless you must. When you arrive at the inn, book a room. I don’t want you hanging around the streets at this hour of the night. Take this.” From his belt, he withdraws a purse full of coins. Stars above, it feels like a bloody fortune.
“How will you get out?” Every time I’ve been with Senan, he has been followed by one guard or another.
“Aeron is in my room right now, changing into my clothes. He will leave at the top of the hour and fly into Kumulus City. We’re hoping most of the guards follow him. I’ll leave from his balcony and do my best to lose any stragglers who remain.”
If I am to use the servants’ stairs, then I’ll need to change into the uniform Braith left at the bottom of my chest of drawers. Hopefully, the person who destroyed my gowns didn’t destroy that as well. I kiss him once more. “I will see you soon.”
“You will. I love you, Allette.” Senan cups my face, presses his lips to my forehead, and grabs the rucksack before slipping out the main door.
I head back down to change into my uniform and then escape using the servants’ stairs with the purse tucked into the pocket of my skirts. When I finally reach the bottom of the staircase, the guards seem to pay me no mind. On and on I go, each step bringing me closer to freedom. Braith is in the great room with Mari and Jeston, a bottle of wine sitting on the table between them.
Although I’m in a rush to leave, I take a few minutes to tell them goodbye. Jeston’s brow furrows, but he gives me a hug. Mari tells me goodbye, and then they both leave me to speak with Braith alone.
“Where are you going?” she asks, as if she recognizes the urgency in my tone.
“Away.”
“Be safe.” She hugs me fast, whispering, “I shall miss you,” in my ear before letting me go.
I long to say more, to ask her to come and visit me. But the only way for this to work is to leave our old lives behind.
So that is what I do, turning away from my friend and this castle, traversing the damp corridors one last time, climbing the stairs leading to the outer courtyard. A breeze whips across the barren ground, tangling my hair around my face. Why didn’t I wear a bloody cloak? This is what panic gets you. I should’ve brought extra boots as well. Too late now, I suppose.
Down here, there is no starlight, and the moon doesn’t light my path.
To think of all that has happened in the last few weeks. I’ve gone from living on the streets to escaping from a castle filled with more wealth and luxury than I could’ve ever imagined. And yet I couldn’t be happier to leave it all behind.
I only hope Senan makes it out all right. If not, I’ll wait for him—forever, if I must.
“Wynn?”
I turn back toward the familiar voice to find Mari standing at the mouth of the cave, her mask pulled up to her forehead, clutching something dark to her chest.
“Yes, Mari?”
A guard in silver leathers slams down in front of me with a startling thump . Thank heavens it’s only Bilson. He has always been kind to me. Perhaps Senan sent him with a message.
A second thump sounds at my back, another guard landing in front of the gates.
“You’re certain this is the one?” Bilson throws over his shoulder toward Mari, his dark brows drawn over narrowed eyes.
“I’m certain,” Mari returns, handing what is in her hand to the guard closest to the gates. He unrolls the bit of fabric, his low curse lifting into the night as he swings the bloodied dress toward me.
The same dress I wore when I killed the man who had attacked me.
How did they find it? How could Mari betray me like this? My voice trembles as I take in the woman staring blankly at me. “Why would you do this?”
“Me?” She scoffs. “ You are the reason Del is gone. Not only did you kill that guard, the prince rewarded you for it by moving you into the fucking castle to be his whore!” Her hands flex at her sides, her shoulders vibrating with rage as she spits each accusation. “Did you really think you were going to get away with it?”
Bilson withdraws his sword with a pained wince. “Wynn Caelis, you are under arrest for the murder of Officer Darius Porter.”
What am I going to do? Perhaps I could plead my case. “I can explain?—”
Unforgiving hands grip my arms. Something sharp digs into my lower back.
The man who holds me snarls in my ear, his voice as dead as his eyes, “Save your begging for the warden at the pit.”