5. Chapter 5
Chapter 5
D awn finds us sitting under a bridge a few kilometers north of Troyes, the crumbling stone structure part of the road winding into the forest to the east.
The initial shock has worn off, but now, I feel so worried and lost, I don’t believe I’d be able to put it into words.
Judging by the look on his face, Lorcan is as worried as I am. But Raven… Raven seems to be barely holding on.
Which is no wonder, given the fact that if they’re right…
Alaric could be long gone. It could be that, after spending an entire year trying to get back to him, she’s just lost the love of her life.
Gritting my teeth, I move closer and put a hand on her shoulder. She leans into my touch, but she doesn’t look at me, she just swallows a sob.
I rub her shoulder in what I hope is a comforting gesture, then decide to get to the bottom of this. “Alright,” I start, drawing their attention to myself, “the first thing we need to do is understand that we don’t know anything yet.”
This makes Raven look up for a second, a glimmer of hope in her eyes that quickly dies down.
“Then we need to figure out what to do next,” I keep going, hoping my determination will rub off on her.
“How the hell do we do that ?” Lorcan demands with this bitterness in his voice.
I ignore it. “So,” I start, “it’s been thirty five years since Baldur awoke.”
“Which would explain a lot,” Lorcan adds.
“Exactly,” I say. “It would explain the fact that Troyes is under occupation all of a sudden, that no one seems to recognize me, that there are midnight masses people are forced to attend, that there’s an entire new social order in place…”
“How did this happen, again ?” Lorcan asks, a tinge of disapproval in his eyes when he meets mine.
I grit my teeth. “I’m sorry, Lorcan, I’m sorry, Raven, I really don’t know, but I’ll fix it, I promise.”
“ How ?” he demands.
“I don’t know yet,” I admit, “but I think our first course of action should be to find somewhere safe to be.”
“The shifters say the Academy is deserted,” he says.
This makes my eyebrows shoot up. “Deserted? How is that possible? Isn’t that the place he’s using as the headquarters?”
He shakes his head. “He’s the Emperor now. Dryvein is his capital.”
My jaw clenches. He’s taken one of the First Cities and defiled it with his presence.
But this actually goes in our favor. “If he’s no longer at the Academy,” I start, determination in my voice, “then that’s where we need to go.”
Lorcan glances over at the road leading to the east.
I can tell he’s skeptical, and Raven is reluctant at best, but I know I’m right.
It’s eastward that we need to go. It’s eastward that hope for a brighter future resides.