Killian
She slept beside me that night, the light sounds of her breathing a balm, peaceful.
Knowing she was so close, barely a hand span away, forced me to reckon with that quiet restraint, holding the fire within.
I’d never sought to control it in such a way, never thought it possible, but now, doing it for her felt as natural as breathing.
It gave me hope. As long as I remained in control, I could touch her, taste her, making her feel what words and actions could only convey.
They are here.
Jasper’s voice bit through my mind at some point in the middle of the night.
Dragging me out of a deep slumber. I lay still, waiting for more, wondering if someone had let him indoors and if he would be outside, guarding the door.
I began to think it was a mistake to come here, to let Lady Justice ambush Ilaris like that.
A bolt of anger shot through me, and I could only think of horrors. Who is here? I asked.
The Unmaking.
I sat upright. How do you know?
They hid in the mountains. They snuck out after nightfall.
How many?
Two. Three. They are sniffing. Searching for a way in.
Now it all made sense, the guards at the doors, the weapons nearby, the shifty eyes, the encouragement to come indoors. Do they come to the inn?
Not yet.
Where are you?
Keeping watch.
If they come, let me know.
But the rest of the night was quiet, even though I could not return to sleep.
I went to the window, watching, waiting, trying to determine the best course of action.
Clearly the people here were haunted, but they lived.
Because the Unmaking only came out at night?
Was Lady Justice still in the vicinity, and if so, would she do anything about them?
But the most pressing word on my mind was how?
Were there other places, leaks where they were escaping?
I’d assumed as much, scouts that would escape from the main door and find other traces and paths to leak into the normal world.
I also assumed it would be near the five kingdoms, because that was where magic was potent, where it broke across the land.
It was as I thought, they were here, which meant we needed to leave as soon as possible. My gaze went to Ilaris, lying there free of all worries. Should I tell her this truth or withhold it from her? Or wait until we were gone. How far could we flee between dawn and dusk?
At first light, I leaned over her. “Ilaris.”
Those soft brown eyes flew open, widened, then a sultry haze came over them, and I felt a weakness in the pit of my stomach. I pulled back. “We have to leave. Now. Something happened last night, I’ll tell you more soon.”
Ilaris rolled out of bed, dressed quickly, and then, more slowly, fitted on pieces of her armor. Her hands went to her throat. “What else happened?”
I picked up the bags and went to the door, not wanting to have the conversation here and scare her more.
The look on her face, the whimper in her throat when I’d first shown her the door stayed with me.
I’d been needlessly cruel, and now, now that I knew her, I understood I hadn’t needed to do that to show her how extreme the blood oath was.
She’d already felt it. “We need to find the innkeeper, see if he was good on his word of finding us supplies and transport.”
Downstairs, the scent of yeast filled the air, and the innkeeper was behind the bar as though he hadn’t slept.
There was a weariness in his gaze, gone the moment Ilaris and I approached.
He snapped his fingers. “Up early, I see. Your supplies are ready, and I’ve found the most unusual mode of transport for you.
Two streets down, the big barn on the right, you can’t miss it.
Tell the merchant there I sent you, and if you have a problem with it, come right back, and I’ll provide an alternative. ”
Mystified, I thanked him, took up the supplies, and left.
A misty fog hung over the mountains, and the air was cooler than I expected for a summer morning.
The streets were quiet, only a few voices in the distance, as though the monsters had been enough to set everyone back and keep them inside.
It was only when we turned the corner that we saw it.
A poster, tacked along the city center, the words WANTED in large letters.
Beneath it were words, and it was those that caught my attention.
Scholar steals object and flees the remote island of Vold, causing chaos and escaping with her dangerous companion. Fire breaks out where they stay, leading to utter destruction. If sighted, please contact your local authorities.
Beneath it was a description of Ilaris, right down to her armor, and the other was of me, although it was not as detailed, and the wording “fire marks on skin” was entirely ambiguous and misleading.
I stared at it, anger rising. The Guardians.
They were to blame for this, yet how did their messages crawl across the world so quickly?
“Are you seeing this?” Ilaris asked. “Is this what you meant earlier?”
“It’s not, but this is an unexpected outcome. I blame the Guardians.”
Ilaris frowned. “What will the local authorities do to us? This is a misunderstanding, we have to explain ourselves.”
“Who would we explain to? Who would believe us?”
Ilaris’s throat worked as she thought, and then, “The city. The House of Scholars. It’s the only place where I might have some influence.”
Influence? Something roiled through me as I considered how they’d treated her. If we went there, if we detoured to the city, I could only imagine detainment, imprisonment, possibly worse once they discovered who I was and what I could do. “Write to them,” I encouraged.
She nodded. “I will. Good idea. I hope it will clear up the misunderstanding, but there’s no postage where we are going, no way to send a response back.” She glanced at me, her lips pursed. “Where are we going?”
We’d reached the large barn, and I pushed open the door, shielding her in case there was something unsavory inside. Instead, my eyes were drawn upward as I took in a row of air balloons. There were three of them, wicker baskets, balloons fully inflated, and a slight hum coming from them.
Beside me, Ilaris caught her breath, and I could almost see her fingers dancing, itching to write it all down, to record these sights.
It must be new for her because I’d seen creations like these before.
I’d visited the Sky Kingdom only once, but they had great ships used to traverse the air, they blew on the winds, had great sails, and the smaller ones were run by fire.
Like these. I knew what I looked upon, and I knew where we would go.
It was worth the precious gems in my bag, it was worth it to be alone, with her.