21. Chapter Twenty-One
~Evalina~
Upon receiving their orders, the werewolves moved with a quiet, calculated efficiency that felt alien to me, almost unnatural. Had I completely lost my mind? Nothing else explained my agreement to travel to the terrestrial world with people I’d only just met. Felix was one thing; for reasons I couldn’t fully explain, I felt safe around him, and when he said he wanted to help me simply because he could, I believed him. The others, I knew nothing about other than that Felix trusted them.
Most people would agree that throwing my lot in with these strangers qualified as insane.
On the other hand, what choice did I have? Tarron’s patience had been wearing thinner, and the memory of lying under his bed while he bedded another woman, saying my name, had been haunting me no matter how much I tried to forget it.
Would escaping from the prison be the final straw? If he found me, would he force me to accept the position as his amorta?
Would he force more than that?
I didn’t want to find out and so I agreed to go, ignoring the pang of regret I felt about leaving Keerla. She would be worried when she found me gone, and I hated disappearing without a word, but the werewolves were right: going with them had to be safer than staying in Etta, at least for now. Of the two uncertain paths stretching in front of me, the one Felix would be on seemed by far the more appealing one.
“What do you need to bring with you?” the pretty blonde woman asked as she joined me in the kitchen. The largest man had called her Calista, a name I’d never heard before. It seemed to suit her since I’d never seen a woman like her, not one so tall, or one wearing pants like a man. All of their clothes were very unusual, including Felix’s, though I rather liked the way the garments looked on him. They certainly fit him better than what he’d been wearing in the prison earlier. “Do you have some bags we can pack things in?”
“There are satchels here.” Returning to the pantry, I pulled out the silken bags my mother had made for us to carry food that we gathered. “My room is this way.”
The narrow space next to my mother’s room didn’t hold much, but my dresses and ribbons for my hair were there. I pointed out what she could pack before I returned to the pantry to grab the instructions I’d stolen from Tarron’s box and the silver that Felix brought for me. From the kitchen, I packed a few pans and some measuring equipment. Since Felix didn’t seem to know what a plin was, I didn’t want to chance not being able to make the treatment for my mother properly.
“Evalina?” Calista called my name from my room just as Darius returned from outside.
“It’s clear,” he announced to the whole house, his deep voice easily filling the small space.
“We’re ready,” Felix replied from my mother’s room. “Evalina?”
“Almost.” I darted back to my own room and found Calista with the bag overflowing. “Yes?”
She lowered her voice as she stepped closer to me. “I didn’t find any underwear. Where do you keep those?”
“Underwear?” I repeated slowly. The word was foreign to me, and I wracked my brain for any meaning it might hold, but nothing came to mind. Maybe a type of armour?
“Garments to wear under your clothes,” Calista clarified.
That didn’t clear anything up and the others were ready to go so I simply shook my head. “What you have is fine. Thank you for your help.”
From my room, I ducked into my mother’s room next door to see that Felix and his friend, Vaughan, had created a makeshift hammock for my mother from her bed sheets. She looked warm and cozy, tucked in the blankets and she gave me a weak smile as she caught sight of me at the door.
“Your friends are nice, Lina. They say we’re going on a trip.”
I probably should have explained things myself, but it seemed like Felix had done a good job of keeping her calm while also getting across that we needed to go. I’d worry about offering her a more complete explanation later, hopefully when her health had recovered to the point where I could be sure she understood what I told her.
My eyes met Felix’s and a little zing of… something… travelled through my body, almost the same as when he touched me. “I’m ready.”
With a nod, he and Vaughan lifted my mother up, looping a knotted end of the sheets over each of their shoulders so they could carry her between themselves, their hands still free.
“Let me take that,” Felix offered, holding out his hand for the bag I held, but I shook my head.
“No, you’re already doing so much.”
“I got it.” Darius’ arm appeared from behind me and he snatched the bag from my grasp, already holding the one Calista had packed for me with his other hand. “Let’s move.”
“Stay close to me,” Felix instructed as we all stepped out into the nighttime forest. All the other staff cottages were quiet, their inhabitants sleeping peacefully, unaware of the fugitives in their midst. The orange moon cast a warm glow over the forest, dancing between the branches of the trees and lighting our way. Felix and I led the small group, the others watching our backs as we weaved through the woods to the portal.
As we drew close, muffled sounds reached us and Felix put out a hand to stop me. Everyone else instantly stopped as well. Without any of them saying a word, Darius crept forward to investigate, but he soon returned, his shoulders relaxed.
“It’s just the guards we tied up earlier. They’re still restrained.”
“That’s a lucky break,” Vaughan stated. “Let’s take advantage of it.”
We began to move forward again, coming into the clearing where the edges of the portal shimmered, much brighter than the last time I’d been there. Was that because I’d been through it before? Once I crossed through, I might never return again, and my heart panged once more at the thought of Keerla never knowing what happened to me. The guards’ eyes glinted with fury as they thrashed against their bonds, the muffled sounds of their protests carrying through the clearing. Restrained as they were, they couldn’t do anything to stop us as we approached, but they all got a good look at us. Tarron would know where I went and with whom, but at least we’d have a head start if he decided to give chase.
But even that small advantage seemed to disappear when a sharp voice sliced through the still night air behind us.
“Stop! Don’t move or we’ll fire.”