Chapter 13
It is said when Death became bored, she created a Godling, borrowing a body from another realm. She Touched him, and the rest was history.
— The Book of Tevye
Airess
Airess sat on the forest floor, her back against a tree as she waited for Taryn to return. She hummed to herself as she picked her nails until the hooting of an owl from above caught her attention.
Airess looked up. Above her, perched on a branch, was the same ivory owl from the castle.
Airess sat up straight, eyebrows raised, as she met its milky-colored eyes.
It cocked its head to the side, watching her.
Airess stood up slowly, careful to not make any sudden movements.
She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she reached her hands out toward it—
The crunching of boots approaching scared the bird off. The sound of its wings flapping snapped whatever trance Airess had been in. She snapped her head to the side and watched Taryn come near.
“Where did you get that?” Airess asked, as Taryn returned with two cloaks.
He handed one to her, and swung the other around his shoulders, fastening the clip.
She did the same, gladly covering her stained dress, folding her hood over her blood-dyed hair.
She tried her best to focus on anything but her gruesome appearance as they trekked through the woods for the entire day, careful to avoid the main road.
“In town,” he said simply. “Let’s go.”
She eyed him warily, wondering if he had bought or stolen the clothing.
They walked over the bridge into Riverstone, a bustling town nestled along the river. Similar to the structures in the capitol, these buildings were also made of stone. The streets were adorned with various shops and cart owners selling their goods in the busy town.
As the golden light from the sunset fell over them, Airess couldn’t help but look at the town in awe.
Besides her short visit at the Inn in Holtzclaw, this was Airess’ first real outing since she was ten years old.
They approached the busy street filled with patrons, the scent of cooked meat and herbs wafting up to her nose, making her stomach rumble.
Children ran past them, parents telling them to slow down.
Airess smiled, her grin concealed behind her cloak hood.
Taryn looked down at her in amusement, before grabbing her arm, and dragging her to the side. The sound of clanking metal and hooves passed by her so quickly, she barely had time to register that the wagon was riding through. “Careful,” he said, steadying her.
She swallowed, remembering to be more aware in a place like this. Taryn looped his arm around hers, as if they had been friends for a thousand years. Airess looked down at their interlinked arms. Her eyebrows shot up. “What are you doing?”
“We’re going shopping, Haeleth.” Taryn’s breath tickled down her neck as he spoke to her quietly, “We’re going to need more than just the clothes off our backs for our travels. We need food, clothing, weapons.”
When he noticed her hesitation, his expression softened. “Follow my lead. We can’t afford to get caught. Finding two criminals on the run would be the golden jackpot for a Lucien soldier.”
Her throat tightened at the title.
Criminal.
Airess had fallen so far in such a short amount of time, she could hardly keep up. She straightened her spine, falling in step with Taryn. She made sure to be aware of her surroundings and blend in with the crowd, wanting to appear as if she was walking with her companion.
Immediately, they were hounded by every cart seller they passed.
Shouts were thrown at them to try their baked goods or smoked sausages.
Taryn politely declined each one with ease, a stark contrast to how she was feeling right now.
He nudged her lightly as they approached a fruit stand filled with strawberries, blueberries, apricots, and other fruits she didn’t recognize.
Taryn picked up an apple and inspected it, handing it to Airess as he picked up another to look at.
“Might I suggest the strawberries, sir? They are freshly picked,” said the chirpy fruit vendor.
A gust of wind picked up, causing Airess and Taryn’s clothing to flow behind them. She grabbed her hood with her free hand. A few baskets on one end of the booth toppled over, the vendor cursing and scrambling to pick up the fruit.
“That damn wind!” the vendor muttered as his back turned from Taryn.
Taryn grabbed several more fruits and handed them to Airess quickly. Her eyes widened as she realized they were stealing. She opened her mouth to protest–
“Put it in your pockets,” Taryn whispered as he handed her two more apples before guiding her away from the stand, his hand hovering behind her back as they turned away. She stuffed the fruit in her pockets reluctantly. Airess' heart pounded as they walked away.
“You just stole!” Airess hissed under her breath.
Taryn laughed as they turned onto another street, this one adorned in fashion booths and weaponry. “And so did you. Do you have a better idea? We don’t exactly have enough time to work and save up for all this stuff. Just follow my lead.”
He had a point.
They approached a weaponry stand filled with daggers, knives, swords, and other weapons Airess didn’t know the name of. Airess observed quietly while Taryn conversed with the weapon maker.
“We just got this yesterday. Do you shoot?” the weapon maker said proudly, placing a bow and a set of arrows on the table.
Taryn’s expression turned hard, staring at the weapon as if it did something wrong.
His brows creased as he answered curtly, “Not anymore. Do you have something suitable for the Lady?”
The weapon maker brought out a dagger from his stack and handed it to Airess. She took it, grabbing its brown leather hilt. The blade was small, the weapon itself light.
Just as she began to inspect it, Taryn picked up a set of broadswords in a strap-back encasement displayed in the middle of the table.
“Ah, yes. Those are a rare find. A little on the older side, but works all the same – Oh, for the love of the Gods!” The weapon maker exclaimed at the sudden movement of the water barrel toppling over, knocking down his stand and soaking the weapons.
Metal clattered onto the ground, and Taryn quickly swung the broadsword over his shoulder as the man turned away.
Taryn grabbed her elbow and whispered into her ear, “Get ready to grab some clothing and run.”
What?
The pair hit up the next stand frantically, Taryn grabbing articles of clothing from different piles so fast, it was as if he’d done this before.
Airess hesitated before eyeing a dress, stockings, and trousers.
She grabbed them all with haste. Surely they couldn’t keep this facade up that much longer.
“Each item is – Aye! You need to pay for that!” said the booth owner as Taryn guided Airess out of the vicinity of the booth.
“Follow me and run!” Taryn exclaimed as the yelling of the booth owner’s shouts caught the attention of everyone around them. Taryn and Airess ran down the alley, her heart on fyre.
“Hey!” someone shouted from behind, “Get back here!”
The words hit her like a familiar friend, like she had heard them before, but there was no time for further thought.
They rounded the corner, leaving the booth owners behind.
Airess followed Taryn as he navigated through the streets.
Their footsteps skittered against the pebblestones, making an abrupt stop in front of a collection of stables.
He turned to her. “Give me your clothes. Can you ride?”
Taryn hastily took her bundle of clothes and opened the nearest stall. Barely, she thought, the last time I rode was when I was ten.
But instead, she said, “I can ride well enough.”
Taryn brought out a dark-colored horse by the lead and petted its mane, then stuffed the clothing into the satchel attached to the horse’s saddle.
He scanned the stalls and brought out another horse, white as snow.
He tightened the straps on its saddle before holding out a hand, motioning her towards the horse and hoisting her up.
He gripped her hips to help her up. She swore the heat from them burned through her clothing. Airess took in a breath. He was just helping, that was all. Taryn mounted his own horse and grabbed the reins.
“Follow me and bolt for the woods,” he said casually as he turned his horse out of the stable. She looked down at her own horse and grabbed the leather reins, the feeling familiar yet foreign. Amidst all the rush and chaos, a smile lit up her face.
She nudged the horse to follow Taryn. “What if we are followed –”
“Halt! Don’t make another move!” bellowed a voice. The town’s guardsmen stood in a group across from them, weapons in their hands. They were more of a rinky-dink version of the Luciena guard, wearing shoddy metal breastplates and swords strapped to their hips.
“Go ahead,” Taryn said, inclining his head to the woods. “I’ll handle this.”
Taryn dismounted, drawing out the broadswords strapped to his back and approached the guards with ease.
Her heart thrummed, not sure how he was going to take on five guards at once.
Two of the males charged forward recklessly, swinging their swords.
Taryn deflected each hit like clockwork, as if each step were a melody in a song he had memorized long ago.
Taryn refrained from spilling blood, striking the guards with the pommel of his blade against the side of the head, knocking two of them unconscious.
Airess would have stayed to witness the rest of the fight if one of the males hadn’t turned his attention to her, a greedy smile on his face as he quickly advanced towards her.
She tapped the side of her horse with her boot, urging the horse to move.
They accelerated into a gallop and headed straight into the woods.
The commotion behind her faded as Taryn knocked the last guard to the ground.
This confused her. If he was able to wield air and water, why had he bothered to fight them hand to hand?
Before long, Taryn was bolting on his horse, now only a few feet behind her. With him in range, she faced forward as they rode into the forest. Airess’ cloak hood fell back, her unbound hair whipping free behind her. The rushing breeze blasted every inch of her skin.
By this time, she was grinning from ear to ear, drunk on adrenaline.
Taryn caught up to her, riding alongside her as the town disappeared in the distance.
Airess glanced at him and saw that he too was grinning, his sharp canines prominently on display.
She’d better get used to that now that she was to accompany him.
Taryn glanced towards her with mischief in his eyes before facing forward again. She let him ride ahead of her as recognition hit her like a brick–realizing why the words of the booth owner yelling at them felt so familiar, like she had experienced it before.
“Hey! Get back here!”
Her jaw fell open as she rode forward, finally making the connection. It was because, in a way, she had seen this before. She had seen it… in the dreamworld.
“Follow me and run!”
She heard those same words the night before the engagement ball when she dreamwalked into that foreign town nestled by the sea, watching those juveniles steal from that old male.
Airess realized in that moment that not only did she dreamwalk into another continent, but she had dreamwalked into someone’s memory.
Taryn’s memory.