Chapter 21
An unfamiliar pressure at the dip of my waist had me jerking awake before the sun had risen above the horizon.
I was only able to sit up slightly, the weight keeping me from rising any further. With a thumping heart, I looked down to see a heavily tattooed arm draped across my body.
Twisting to look behind me, I saw Daegal. He was fast asleep, his face relaxed. He looked almost approachable in his unconsciousness. I gulped, wondering how I could get out of his grasp without waking him.
If he woke up like this, I’d surely embarrass him, leaving him in a crappy mood for the remainder of the day. I could try to peel his arm off me without waking him, though that seemed like an impossible task with my bound hands.
Before I had time to decide what to do, his eyes snapped open. His sleepy gaze widened slightly at the sight of me. He sat up quickly, withdrawing his arm. The heat vanished from my waist instantly, making me want to shiver all over again. Silly.
Daegal dragged a hand through the dark, curly mess at the top of his head, looking around with squinting eyes.
The camp was still eerily silent, the people around us still blissfully asleep. Daegal was determined to change that, apparently.
“Time to leave!” he called out, getting to his feet with a jump that made the chain between us rattle. I sighed and got clumsily up as well.
Felix rubbed his eyes and blinked up at us, but he got up without complaint. He packed down his own bed and mine, then placed them in one of the carts that held all the food and equipment.
Soon, we were all walking, people chewing on their breakfast while dragging their feet through the sand again. It was a tiring way to travel.
“I can’t believe it’s the middle of September already,” a rebel I didn’t recognize mumbled tiredly, rubbing her eyes.
My stomach jolted—September 15th.
Today would’ve been her birthday.
Warm as the early autumn day she was born, she’d never failed to melt the icy barrier I’d kept around my heart from the moment I’d stepped foot in Erobred. I could never keep my guard up around Annora.
My eyes prickled.
Annora had barely been older than me when she snuck me a full week’s supply of fruits and vegetables from the booth her mother ran at the market.
I still remembered her wide blue eyes, trained on me as I feebly tried to tuck an apple into the small pockets of my pants.
Just like Archie, she hadn’t seen a dirty thief but a small, desperate girl in need.
Her mother had been kind enough to leave me the unsellable produce in a small basket behind their tent every week after Annora had told her about my sister and me.
When her mother died a few years ago, a devastated Annora took over the booth. She’d worn her mother’s apron around her waist every day.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the memory of her, broken and bruised, perched on that stage to be executed. That once white apron splattered in lethal crimson.
If I could go back in time, I’d go back to that first day I tried to rob her and run in the other direction so that she’d never have the unfortunate luck to become my friend.
I ran a slow thumb down the thick scar on my arm, a constant reminder of the city that betrayed me.
Soon, Lili would join the list of people who’d been killed because of me. If she wasn’t already dead. Kenric would make sure to make it painful, too, though I found it odd that he hadn’t contacted me since the first time he destroyed my world with a few simple words — your sister says hello.
I let out a strangled sob, keeping my gaze fixed on the ground as we walked. Because I could feel Daegal’s eyes trained on me from where he walked beside me, and I didn’t want him to see my tears.
“Prudence.” His voice demanded that I looked at him. I peered at him without turning my head, schooling my face into a sneer. “What?”
He stopped walking, but I kept going until the chain strained, forcing me to spin around and face him.
“What?” I asked more loudly, yanking at the chain to make him keep moving. I knew I looked pathetic.
He let the entire group walk ahead of us before he spoke, every pair of eyes gliding over us as they passed.
“Is it… Is it about your sister?” he asked finally, taking a step towards me to loosen the chain.
I looked down to avert his gaze, wondering why he’d suddenly want to listen to me.
“Prudence,” he said again, closing the little distance there was between us.
“No. Not just her—” I trailed off, wiping my tears away with an impatient sweep of my hand. “Why do you even care?”
He hooked a finger under my chin to make me look at him.
“I’m trying to understand you,” he said, his eyes searching mine with what almost looked like sympathy.
“I meant what I said that night at the bonfire celebration. But working for Elio Boaz… You’d either have to be really selfish or really desperate. ”
I gulped, holding his gaze. “And which one do you think I am?”
“I assumed the first,” he said quietly, dropping his hand and taking a small step back. “But now, I’m not so sure.”
“Do you know Kenric, the Defender?” I asked, realizing this might be as good a time as any to try and gain his trust. I needed it, and some small part of me wanted it too.
He nodded. “We went to Defender training together years ago. A prick if I ever met one.”
“He made me watch someone very close to me get executed,” I said, giving up on wiping my face clean from tears. “Today, she would’ve turned 27.”
The next few days went by the same as the last, though Daegal hadn’t offered to share his blanket with me again. Jax was friendlier towards me now, realizing Felix and Felicity had taken my side.
Daegal hadn’t spoken much to me since I’d told him about Annora, but I caught him more often sneaking glances my way, his brows often crinkled in thought.
The journey was quicker than when I’d taken it alone those months ago. The more moderate temperatures during the day, combined with the substantial amount of food and water, had us traveling faster than I’d been able to on my own.
We’d carry out Verena’s plan and break into the prison tomorrow night, so almost all the conversations around me were about the strategy, plan of attack, and exchange of last-minute fighting advice.
Daegal called for everyone to stop and take a break. I heard sighs of relief escape the people around me. The journey was tough on everyone, even if only the most able-bodied rebels were sent on this mission. Apparently, they’d all practiced running and combat training before we left.
I took a much-needed drink of water when a jug made its way to me, then passed it to Jax.
He was good at talking, that man. He’d told me all about the preparations and how Daegal had spent most of his days in the strategy room with Verena and Hannan, planning the mission. It was a welcome distraction from my thoughts about Lili, Archie, and Annora.
Jax looked up suddenly, frantic eyes scouting the horizon. Other mooncasters around us did the same, looking confusedly around us.
“Do you feel that?” Jax asked me, lips slightly parted in shock. At first, I didn’t know what he was talking about.
Then I felt it.
Like the pull of a tidal wave gently guiding me toward an unseen shore.
“What is that?” I asked, now looking anxiously around with the rest of the mooncasters.
“What is it?” Daegal asked, stepping closer to me. He grabbed my arm to make me look at him. His brown eyes widened as he stared at me with unease, then at Jax and the rest of the casters, all scanning the area.
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
Hello?
I jolted as I heard it. A quiet whisper, clawing at the back of my mind. It wasn’t a clear voice, like when Lili had spoken to me through the bond to the crystal. The voice was faded and unclear, barely audible.
“The signal,” Jax said. “I felt it the day you arrived, too, Prue. There are mooncasters nearby, and they’re calling out for us.”