Chapter 67 – Rowan
ROWAN
Ayer doesn’t get the chance to respond, his dark eyes locked on mine when chaos erupts.
“Raiders!” The shouts cut through the courtyard like a knife.
Men race across the battlements overhead, some already feverishly loosing arrows into the dark beyond the gates.
Wood splinters and metal crashes right before the gates break.
Ayer’s by my side in an instant, catching the blade Theo tosses at him. Wyatt and Hayes at our back.
The sound of steel on steel rings out as the raiders meet the fort’s guard. Seems like the two fae raiders who escaped the village are back for revenge—and they’ve brought friends.
“Theo and Hayes, you’re with me. Wyatt, take Rowan up to my room.”
“No—”
Ayer cuts me off with a hard look. “Rowan, go with Wyatt. That’s an order.”
Wyatt attempts to grab hold of my arm, tugging me back toward the barracks, but I dig my heels in, ripping my arm out of his grasp.
“I’m not hiding in your room while everyone else fights.”
Ayer turns toward me so fast I almost flinch.
Almost.
He stops, his face mere inches from mine.
“You’ve been training for hours,” he snaps. “And you’re still wounded.” He jabs a thumb into my ribs to prove his point, forcing me to cry out. “Go. Now.”
His words sting, but not as much as his lack of faith in me. Didn’t I just prove myself in the training circle?
I open my mouth to argue, but Ayer suddenly pivots as the battle spills out across the training yard. He blocks an incoming blow with his sword.
“GET HER OUT OF HERE!” he roars.
Wyatt grabs me again before I can fight him off, practically hauling me toward the stairs.
“Let me go,” I hiss. I like Wyatt. I don’t want to hurt him, but I’m not about to let Ayer toss me on the sidelines after everything we’ve been through. I won’t wait up in a tower like some weak princess who can’t protect herself.
“Rowan,” Wyatt huffs. “You don’t even have a weapon…” he hedges, and the reminder gives me pause. He has a point…
My bow. My arrows. My blades.
They’re all upstairs.
In Ayer’s room.
Wyatt heaves in relief when I finally stop resisting and follow him willingly into the barracks. I’m not going because Ayer ordered it, but because I need weapons if I’m going to shove his stupid captain’s ego down his throat.
Wyatt and I race through the fort while the sounds of clanging metal, shouts, and screams echo from below.
We reach Ayer’s room just in time to hear a clatter ring out at the bottom of the stairwell below. Raiders have breached the barracks.
Nearly breathless, Wyatt shoves me into Ayer’s room.
“Stay here. For the love of the gods, stay here.” His blue eyes plead with me before he slams the door shut.
Sorry, but no.
I’m already racing across the room, grabbing my quiver and slinging it across my back. My bow follows it a second later.
An old sword of Ayer’s rests on the mantle, dusty from disuse. I snatch that too, though the weight of it is a shock. Taking one last glance about the room, I do a cursory check of my leathers before stalking for the door.
I’ve already done the math.
There were so many raiders.
Too many raiders.
Not enough soldiers.
Even with Ayer and Theo’s skills…
No. They need help.
I wrench open the door, bringing me face to face with one of the fae, his sword dripping with fresh blood.
My heart is in my throat. Wyatt?
I don’t see him anywhere.
The raider starts toward me. I barely get Ayer’s sword up to block the first strike. The impact of his blade on mine rattles through my arms. It’s too heavy for me.
He attacks again, his grin widening as he pushes me further down the hallway. It’s too narrow to maneuver properly, and Ayer’s blade is too heavy anyway. Every hit drives me back until my spine hits the wall.
The raider strikes again, this time hitting hard enough to knock my sword from my hands.
My eyes widen as they lift to his.
Think, Rowan. Think.
The male lifts his blade… and my hand flies over my shoulder, ripping an arrow free from my quiver and jamming it up through the male’s throat.
Warm liquid splatters my cheek.
The raider chokes violently, dropping his blade to claw at his throat, trying—and failing—to remove the arrow until he collapses, blood pouring from the wound—and his mouth now too.
I jump over him, trading the sword for my bow, and sprint for the stairs.
The second my hand grips the railing, more shouts and screams erupt from the courtyard below.
Screams of terror.
I freeze, retreating back upstairs toward the nearest window, one overlooking the square.
The bow drops to my feet with a clatter, my hands shaking uncontrollably at what I see below.
Dark shadows twist and spiral around the courtyard, lifting screaming raiders before hurling them against stone. Others sputter and choke as black shadows coil around their throats, stealing the light from their eyes.
The Raven.
As the dark power wreaks havoc on the raiders, Theo, Hayes, and the rest of Ayer’s command drive the remaining raiders back.
But I’m not looking at them anymore.
I’m searching. Searching… until I find him.
Ayer stands in the center of the courtyard swallowed by darkness. I didn’t see him at first, because he’s wrapped in an impenetrable wall of darkness, but the shadows part just enough… Just enough for me to see his face.
Black veins crawl beneath his skin.
And his—his eyes. Gods. His eyes are completely black.
Ayer lifts his arms, and the dark, twisting shadows rush toward him. Horror lances through me, and I sob out a gasp before clasping a hand over my mouth to hold in my scream.
But when Ayer brings his arms down, the darkness he’s gathered explodes out, tossing aside raiders like they’re ragdolls.
It’s him.
He commands the darkness.
The shadows bend to his will.
Ayer is the Raven.
My knees give out underneath me, and I hit the floor.
“No.” The word tears out of me, half-strangled in both disbelief and terror at what I’ve just seen.
Ayer.
Dark shadows leak off of him in wisps and waves, his power lashing out at the remaining raiders, dragging them toward him, their screams dying as the darkness envelops them whole.
I tremble where I sit on the floor, drawing my knees to my chest.
The Raven.
Ayer is the Raven.
My brain struggles to reconcile what I already know is true. The Raven is a demon. A weapon. Something summoned—and controlled. Not him… Not the man I— No.
I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts of the fear that threatens to overtake me.
Run.
The thought no sooner crosses my mind before I put it into motion.
I pick up my bow on my way, checking the dagger on my thigh as I sprint down the stairs.
Outside, the sounds of battle ebb away, a dark silence taking over.
The Raven makes quick work of its enemies.
Time to go.
Now.
Slipping into the main hall, I move fast, my head snapping in every direction. But it seems as though everyone is preoccupied with the fight outside. Nearing the end of the hall, I freeze at the sound of male voices, though I haven’t laid eyes on them yet.
Up ahead, I can see a way out: the opening of the covered walkway just ahead. Throwing caution to the wind, I run for it in a dead sprint.
I reach the opening. Gripping hold of the wooden frame, I use my momentum to launch myself out, landing hard on the roof. Pain sears at my elbow from the impact. I curse, but ignore it, near certain someone would have heard that landing.
Pushing myself to my feet, I tiptoe across the small cap that runs down the peak of the slanted roof. All while praying I don’t trip and send myself careening to the ground.
I don’t dare look down, fully exposed right now as I am in the open. Picking up speed as I near the end of the roof, I take the leap. My hands barely catch the top of the stone wall. Hoisting myself up and over, I climb down the outside as fast as I can manage.
The second my boots hit the ground, I run.
The dark leather of my armour helps me blend into the night as I run as fast as I can across the open field that sits between the fort and the forest.
I don’t look back and I don’t stop until I’m through the trees.
I circle the fort wide, putting some distance between myself and the Raven at my back, while attempting to throw off the soldiers I know will follow me.
I escaped the fort on its northeast side.
They’ll expect me to continue in that direction, especially given the border with Skye is right there.
They’re correct in that assumption. Skye is my only chance, but the border stretches wide across the east, and if I adjust my direction now, maybe I can buy myself enough time to reach it.
When I’ve completed my half circle, I veer sharply southeast, tearing through the bush, ignoring the branches that catch my hands, my face...
I keep going.
I don’t think about him.
I just keep running.
I just need to make it to the ravine. The Skyen army is right there. I heard it myself. All I have to do is make it across.
Ayer is the Raven.
The wild thought hits me, rushing through my head as I fly blindly through the woods.
I’ve been with him for days. Alone.
Gods, I saved him.
I want to throw up. All that time, he’d been demonborn, and I’d been—
Stupid. I’ve been so stupid.
I thought I saw something good in him. But now, I can’t help but wonder if he was just manipulating me. To keep me compliant. Well, it worked. I’d stopped fighting.
There’s no time for this. I force the thoughts away and keep running. My lungs burn and my legs shake, but I keep going.
I have a head start. There’s no telling how long it will take them to realize I’m gone, but when they do…
Ayer is fast.
“I’ll find you.” His words—his threat—from that first night haunt me.
And with all that power at his disposal…
I shiver, nearly tripping over myself.
The moon overhead disappears into the clouds, and deep shadows grow in the forest. My heart races, not only to keep up with my pace, but for fear that Ayer might suddenly appear out of them.
I don’t even know the extent of what a Raven is capable of.
I’ve seen his power, and what I saw was devastating, but something tells me there’s more.
My body hurts, and adrenaline begins to give way to fatigue, but I can’t stop. I can only hope I’m going in the right direction. In my panic, I have no idea how far I’ve run, or even how long I’ve been in the woods, but I push forward.
Run.
Run.
Run.
Until my knees finally give way, buckling under me. I hit the ground hard, drawing ragged breaths while digging my fingers into the dirt.
Okay, okay—a quick rest. Let me catch my breath and then—
My head jerks up at the snap of a twig.
I’m still as stone, my heart pounding hard enough it can probably be heard for miles.
I listen.
And listen.
There’s only wind, insects, and the familiar night sounds of the forest surrounding me.
I release a breath, my shoulders sagging in exhaustion. I stay there as long as I dare before forcing myself back up with a groan. Pain slices through my side, darkening the edges of my vision for a second. My hand trails over my ribs, warm blood slick between my fingers.
“Shit,” I breathe out.
The wound I took from Ayer breaking open as I run from him? It’s almost poetic.
I let myself have one more minute before I push back through the trees, one hand pressed to my side.
I have to keep moving.
My eyes never stop scanning the trees. Stopping to rest—even for that brief minute—feels like a mistake. Sitting allowed all my remaining adrenaline to seep out of me, and with it gone, so came a renewed sense of aches, pain, and depletion.
I can’t run anymore.
Only managing to walk, unsteadily through the thick brush, I stumble over roots and vines that lie along the forest floor.
Keep moving.
It’s not long before paranoia takes over, and I start to question every shadow, every shift of the light.
Keep going.
Don’t stop.
Don’t you dare stop.
The surrounding trees begin to thin just as the warm light of dawn rises from beyond the horizon. I breathe a heavy sigh of relief when I catch sight of the gaping mouth of the ravine stretched out before me.
The great expanse marks the edge of Daekhar territory, with Skye just on the other side.
So close.
I’m so bloody close.
Elation quickly turns to dread as I take in the true expanse of the ravine—a jagged split in the earth that goes as far as the eye can see in either direction.
Too wide to jump, and—void, take me—so godsdamned deep.
Bridge. There—there’s a bridge—a crossing. I turn my head sharply, scanning each direction.
But which way?
Aethir’s Cross, I remember from Alita’s lessons. The white oak bridge would be to my north—the main passage between Daekhar and Skye.
I take a hesitant step north before I stop.
The main bridge will be watched—guarded. It has to be.
So instead, I go south.
There are more bridges—more places to cross. Or perhaps a narrowing where I can jump across. There has to be.
I set off, following the edge but keeping my distance from the jagged cliff line.
A quick peek over the edge has my skin going pale, finding only punishing rocks at the bottom.
The edge of the ravine leaves me exposed, so I keep to the tree line as best I can.
The sun is fully awake now, streaming down on me.
They have to know I’m gone.
Ayer will already be hunting…
I quicken my steps.
If I can cross the ravine, if I can find Kane… I can fulfill my duty and unite Sitara and Skye. With the threat of Kovaria—and the Raven—hanging over us…
It’s the best protection I can give my kingdom.