Chapter 11
Being outside of Meriva feels odd. I’ve never left the kingdom since moving there as a child. I never had any reason to, seeing as I had everything I needed.
The gravity of that realization weighs on me as I stand on the other side of the Everwalk. I stare at the towering pillars on the other side of the stone road that are keeping the bridge intact. Fog clouds the area, thick enough to drown the lanterns in murky light.
The Everwalk has been around for ages—famous for its reliability and safety, and commonly used by traveling peddlers in mule-drawn wagons and royals in carriages who require safe passage to Meriva by land.
Many people pass Thane and me as we carry on. None bother us or toss suspicious gazes. Eventually, my shoulders loosen and my breathing relaxes, despite Thane’s nearness—or maybe because of it, which would be ridiculous. He’s a menace. It shouldn’t be possible to feel safe around him.
Thane hardly speaks, and for once, neither do I. All I can think about is the fact that this murderous man is my only saving grace.
If my mother could see me now, she’d laugh and say, “You sure know how to muck things up, Zaira.”
I always do, even when it isn’t intentional. I muck shit up.
Once over the bridge, I breathe a sigh of relief that there weren’t any threats or interruptions along the way.
“This way.” On foot, Thane leads the horse away from the bridge, veering toward a forest instead of taking the cobblestone path lined with more lanterns.
I’m certain this path leads to the capital city of Ruvain Kingdom.
“We can’t continue traveling at night in this area.
We’ll have to find a place to wait until morning. ”
I look at him in disbelief. It took us nearly four hours to cross the bridge.
We took two short breaks—one so Thane could summon water from the river to hydrate the horse, and another so we could eat.
I sat against the wall of the bridge and ate a bit of the bread from Ellanoch while Thane snacked on strips of dried meat.
Both of us avoided looking at each other.
I have to see this through. No going back now. Stick with the shadow assassin. Get the stone. Save Analla. That’s the plan, though a part of me despises every step I take with him.
This mission is one I can’t butcher, and if that means working with an outlaw to save her life, I’d do it again and again. That much became clear to me on our quiet trek on the bridge.
I catch up to Thane as he nears the edge of the forest, where bushy-topped trees are lined up and built like towers. Though gray light still lingers in the sky, it’s dark between the gaps of the tree trunks.
“We’re not going in there, are we?” I point to the ominous woods.
“Yes. So stay close.” He clicks his tongue at the horse and ambles forward. Nervously, I watch him disappear into the darkness for a beat before rushing in after him. I can hardly see him or the horse—that’s until a glowing gold orb appears above his head and illuminates our surroundings.
“Thank you.” I sigh, catching up to him.
He looks at me skeptically. “This won’t last if you’re scared of the dark, you know?”
“I’m not scared of the dark,” I retort. “Light is necessary to see where I—or any mortal—is going. Besides, it’s not like I could pack a lantern in my small-ass rucksack.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just keep your voice down.”
“Why?” I ask, lowering my voice.
Thane shakes his head. “The wilder beastials and other dangerous creatures wander through here sometimes, and believe me, they’re much worse than skrellins or any of those men we encountered in Redclaw.”
My pulse quickens as I peer into the darkness that surrounds us. “How much worse?” I whisper.
“‘Skin you, eat your flesh, and then behead you’ kind of worse.” Of course his tone is nonchalant.
I clamp my mouth shut and place a hand on the horse. Not that the horse can protect me, but it’s nice feeling a warm body next to mine. The temperature is dropping the deeper we walk into the forest. Every rustle of leaves and snap of a twig has me flinching.
Thane, however, seems completely unbothered, so I think it’s safe to assume I’m being paranoid. That, or he simply doesn’t care if something comes out of nowhere to snatch me away. He’ll have coins, a pretty new horse, and one less mortal to deal with.
Relief washes over me when we reach a small clearing in the forest where the sky becomes clearer through a gap in the treetops above.
He guides us toward a four-story brick building half swallowed in ivy and moss with shattered windows on every floor.
It’s clearly abandoned and likely has been for years, yet Thane keeps walking toward it.
He stops next to a tree, securing the horse’s reins to the trunk of it. Then he drops his rucksack on the ground and says, “Wait here.”
“What?” I ask, alarmed. “I’m not standing out here by myself.”
“You have the horse. You’ll be fine. I need to check inside, make sure no one is already camping here.”
I draw in a ragged breath as he enters the building that, mind you, has no door. The darkness consumes him in one gulp. My heart begins beating twice as hard as a chill bites at my skin.
I keep watch.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I rub my hands up and down to stay warm while the horse nibbles grass. “That guy is one hundred percent unhinged,” I murmur to the horse. She keeps grazing, and I rub her side, soothed by her calmness and warmth. It placates me enough until Thane returns.
I perk up. “Is it clear?”
“Is now.”
A slow frown takes over my face as I look from him to the leaning building. Hesitant, I ask, “Did you just…?” I make a slicing motion across my throat with my index finger.
He snatches up his rucksack. “There were rats inside. I got rid of them. Or would you have preferred I leave them so they could eat you alive, oh sweet one?”
Irritation courses through me. “Why are you always making threats about being eaten alive?”
“Because it shuts you up.”
I narrow my eyes and throw my middle finger at him.
Ignoring me, he removes the horse from the tree and circles the building. I follow, watching as he places her beneath an awning with a thick bundle of bushes surrounding it. No one can see her from here if they pass by.
He digs into his rucksack, retrieving two apples and feeding them to her. As she eats, he strokes the side of her head, and I swear I see his mouth twitch, like he wants to smile.
Wow. It’s nice to see he actually cares about something…whether he wants people to know it or not.
“We should name her.” I step closer, stroking her silky mane.
“I don’t name my horses.”
“Because what Big Hat said is true?”’
He frowns. “Who?”
“Big Hat. The one who sold you the horse. He said you don’t attach yourself to anything, which makes it abundantly clear to me that you have commitment issues.”
“Could be that, or maybe it’s because I know the horse might die during our journey and I’m sparing my feelings and hers.”
I gasp. “Wait. You have feelings?”
He sighs, not at all amused by my little joke.
“She won’t die.” I give my head a confident shake. “But if you won’t name her, I will.” I study her in the dark, her glossy black coat and the beautiful ivory mane and tail. Her mane has a shimmer to it.
“Pearl,” I say, finally. Her mane reminds me of the color of pearls.
Thane closes his eyes and rubs his forehead.
“Yeah. I’ll name her Pearl. To replace the one I lost.”
“Don’t get too attached,” he mutters, giving me his back. “You might lose this one, too.”
“Don’t listen to him, Pearl.” I run a palm along her jaw, and she chuffs like she, too, is annoyed with his remark. “He’s just a grumpy asshole.”
Thane finds a back door and kicks it open, disappearing inside again.
After giving Pearl two more love pats, I trail Thane as he sends up another orb of light to illuminate the interior of the building.
The room is empty, minus a few broken chairs and random pieces of furniture spread throughout.
Some objects are covered with dingy white cloths.
The hearth is full of soot and ash, and cobwebs drape the walls.
There’s also a mildew smell mixed with what is probably the scent of rodent pee.
Just lovely.
He rounds a corner and starts to climb the stairs.
They creak under our weight, and I swear they’re about to splinter in half with how soggy the wood is.
One look up reveals a massive hole in the ceiling.
When we reach the third level, Thane pushes one of the doors open and gestures inside the empty room.
It isn’t any cleaner than downstairs, but at least there aren’t any cobwebs or disgusting smells assaulting my nostrils.
A single window is built into the north wall.
A hearth is on my right, and Thane stands in front of it, rubbing his right thumb across the pads of all his fingers to conjure a ball of fire in his palm.
Bending down, he tosses the fire into the hearth, and the flames swell.
“You can stay in here,” he says, stepping out of the room.
“Oh. Where will you be?”
He points at the door next to mine.
“You swear you won’t leave?”
“Are you serious?”
I shrug because how in the shadows am I supposed to know if he’ll stay or leave? For all I know, he’s keeping me holed up in here so he can lessen my chances of survival and run off with the coins I paid him.
When I don’t budge, he releases a tired sigh.
“You paid me for a service, and I’m seeing it through.
Doesn’t matter what you think about me being—” He clamps his mouth shut.
A shadow assassin, I’m sure he was going to say.
“Doesn’t matter what you think about my lifestyle.
I’m getting you to that temple, so just relax and get some rest. We’ll pick up first thing in the morning. ”
“Okay.” That’s slightly reassuring. Slightly. I still don’t trust him. He starts to walk away, but I hold up a hand. “Actually—wait.”
He halts mid-step and turns to me.