Chapter 21 #2
This is the worst idea of my life.
Why am I determined to damn myself?
Because I have to know what he’s doing. The desire blots out even the loudest logic. I need to know where they’re going and what they’ll say to each other when they get there. It might be my only chance to get one over on Kieran and his friends.
It’s not necessarily a blackmail situation but it can be.
Creeping comes naturally.
My legs move on instinct and bent low, I trail them along the slender gravel path off the patio. Kieran flashes a concerned look over his shoulder to make sure they aren’t being followed but his gaze skips right over my hunched back.
I hold my breath to the count of five. When I look up again, the group is gone, trailing into the darkness.
I dart forward as quick as a wish and slip along the trail.
DragonSpear Academy is set on a lone mountain. It perches at the precipice like some beast squatting in place in the rocky terrain. Cave systems below are often used by mounts. The basilisks have a den in one of them.
The same den I’d been forced to clean the other day. Not that I’d know how to get there from here. I’ve never been outside before.
The last breath of fresh air I’d gotten came when Tristan delivered me to the open doors of this place like a snack for a gaping mouth and a hungry belly.
A slight gust ruffles the leaves of several scrawny trees too stubborn to die in the face of the strong winds plaguing this area in the rainy season. The vantage point gives me the perfect view of the sleeping valley below and the wide swath of road cut through the forest.
There’s no better way to travel for clandestine activities than moon and starlight.
Night creeps over the land and despite the humidity dampening the air, I shiver. Creatures who live their lives in darkness screech their noises out to the valley below and I cross my arms, hurrying forward.
The group heads unerringly to a side vein off from the main path.
I have no hope of following them in the dark. Unless I somehow develop fantastic night vision in the next three seconds, I’m bound to flounder and get lost.
A deep breath of air clears my head.
Right now, it’s just me and the open sky. It should feel unnerving but after so long spent trapped in the stony cage of the castle, it’s freeing.
What waits in the soft curls of mist, on the other hand…
There are beasts everywhere. Surely some of them are ready to pounce, to catch me, to drag me into the darkness until their teeth smother my screams?
The openness after weeks trapped inside the skeleton of the castle is too much to handle. Dragons cut through those open skies. They unleash their fire and they destroy.
And those are the kind of thoughts that force a smart person to turn back.
The snarky voice in my head pierces the fog of budding trepidation.
Tonight, there is nothing but the creeping moan of the wind, the hungry mist, and ahead, an accidental crack of a twig followed by a muffled curse.
Someone slips on a loose rock and sends gravel clanking together.
“Be careful,” someone grunts.
The boys are as nervous as I am. It’s a small comfort. Kieran and Astrid might be made of the same unfeeling stone as the mountain but the others, not so much. Which means they’re forcing themselves the same way I am.
I have to know where they’re going.
I dart across the space and crouch behind a rock, my eyes adjusting to the darkness. Lichens decorate the slope of the rough stone, and my fingers search for grooves like I need help to stay upright and diligent.
The group slips away into the gloom.
Heart still racing, I duck after them, stopping behind the strong trunk of a tree larger than the rest.
The path curves down and the forest grows thicker the further away from the castle we get. We travel the spine of the mountain behind the castle. On either side of us, the cliff goes steep and impassable for any but the stoutest mountain goat.
One small step and poof. You’re gone.
This is stupid, much stupider than sneaking into Kieran’s private gym at night. And look where my curiosity has gotten me so far? I’ve already got my ticket to the mines and I’m just waiting for one last infraction to get it punched. If they catch me out of bed again—
I shudder. The possibilities are endless and awful.
But I can’t make myself turn around. Not when Kieran glances behind him again. His eyes narrow and he scans the forest like he actually does have the ability to see in the dark. Does he know he’s being followed?
Does he get the sense of eyes on his skin and the prickling tightness that always comes from being watched?
A few tense seconds later, he rejoins the others again, but my lungs stay collapsed. I roll my feet against the ground to keep from making noise, a trick my sister taught me when approaching a unicorn mare with a newborn.
And as long as I stay out of the wind, they won’t catch my scent.
Astrid picks up the pace. I hurry after them and a twinge of pain ripples up through my shoulder as I hit the tree, too close to see clearly.
The wind picks up and chills the sweat on my skin. The stray limbs catch the fabric of my nightdress as I follow the group. Slow and steady. One foot in front of the other. It’s been my motto since I got here, hasn’t it?
One day at a time, one step… it takes a person far.
And I used to spend hours outside watching the herd and wondering which mount would choose me out of the newborns.
The two figures with Kieran and Astrid wear dark clothes to disguise themselves. Smart. Much smarter than walking out with those silver braids almost like you want to be caught.
My stomach tightens when Kieran stops again. They’re maybe ten feet ahead of me and there is nothing else out here besides the rock I cower beside.
How easy will it be for him to bash my head against the rock and kill me if they catch me?
Fear takes root inside of me and my hand on the rock goes white-knuckled.
“I swear I hear something,” Kieran whispers.
The wind carries his words to me.
“There’s nothing. You’re jumping at shadows,” one of the dark cloaked boys says. His voice shakes.
“You’ll learn soon enough not to question him.” Astrid bites out the warning. “What do you hear, Kieran?”
He stops, his head craning to the side. “I’m not sure. I think—”
The wind steals his response. Flaming Ether, I need to hear him.
Once again, his attention skips over me, and the group takes off.
It’s too soon for relief to flood back. If I can hear them, then they can hear me. I force myself to be as small as possible, my curiosity my biggest liability. Slowly, quietly, they head out of the patchy moonlight to the next pulse of darkness, turning away from DragonSpear.
What are they plotting? And don’t I owe it to myself to figure out what’s going on, to see if they’re scheming?
Despite the queasiness in my gut, I keep going, giving in to the need to get closer.
I jog from one tree to another as quickly as I dare, holding my breath and testing myself with every foot forward. There’s no way to hear them now with the rush of the wind. My heart slams itself against my ribs.
Curling my foot to the side grants me another step forward until I land on an invisible twig and snap it like bone. Terror floods my throat like molten metal, burning away breath and sense alike, and I drag my gaze up to see if Kieran has stopped.
If he does, if he looks closely enough, he’ll catch me. I’m sure of it.
The wind dies down and I stop again. Up ahead, the path is clear. The group rounds one little corner and simply—
Disappears.