Chapter 5
Chapter
Five
JULIANNA
Cal and Marisol wrote down the address for Dario, spending several minutes showing him a map of Thene, tracing out different routes, and pointing out prominent landmarks along the way that he’d be able to spot, even in the dark.
We were lucky we didn’t have to go far, but it was going to be dangerous.
Dario looked like he was in shock, and I couldn’t tell if it was because of what I’d revealed, or the sudden flip in Cal and Marisol’s demeanors.
Despite their innocent appearances as the sweet elderly inn owners, they were tough—they had to be.
They’d long been part of several underground movements.
They were the most involved in El Zan Vylette, but I’d heard rumblings of another movement in the North they supported.
One that had recently gained traction. It was possibly why Kenna had trusted her rider to find us here.
Cal and Marisol were incredibly well versed in who to trust within the city, as well as knowing which routes were patrolled by Ka Zarine’s soturi, and at what times they changed the guard.
But we had an extremely limited amount of time before those rules were gone.
Once Kormac’s soturi crossed into Cretanya, there was no telling where they’d go first, or how they’d organize the search.
They’d be everywhere. And they’d be ruthless.
Every second that passed, they were getting closer.
My stomach turned again, and I met Dario’s eyes.
“I’ve got it,” he said confidently. “I’m going to show this to the others, then burn it.”
Cal nodded, pushing the map toward him before he looked at me again. “Marisol will gather some things to take with you. We’ve been ready, just waiting for you to ask.”
They’d tried to help me last time I was here. They’d tried … I rubbed at the scar of my blood oath again, and nodded. “Thank you.”
A minute later, we returned to our room. Dario wasted no time barking out orders and directions.
“We’re splitting into three groups,” he said. “That way we’ll be less suspicious on the road. They’ll be looking for a large group traveling together. We’ll all have a vadati to remain in communication. Galen, you and Tristan are together. Aiden, you’ll go with Meera. I’m taking Julianna.”
I started to object. “No. I should go with Meera. I should be with my cousin.”
“No,” he said. “That doesn’t make any sense.
We have two soturi between me and Galen.
Aiden’s been guarding Meera for the past month.
It’s the best way to divide based on everyone’s strength at the moment.
” He slammed the map on the table, and the parchment with the address of the safe house.
“This is where we’re going. It’s all arranged thanks to Julianna.
They’re expecting us.” He slid his finger across the map.
“Memorize the address and I’ll show you the different routes to get there.
We’re not going far, but we can’t take any direct paths or we’ll be seen.
Now we have five minutes to memorize this and we’re leaving. Kormac’s on the way.”
Tristan frowned. “And we can trust these people to hide us and not sell us out?”
Dario’s face hardened, his eyes flashing on me before he turned back to Tristan. “Yes.”
“I feel like we’re missing some really crucial information,” Tristan said, looking back and forth between us.
“You’re going to be missing crucial limbs if you don’t shut up and start studying,” Dario snapped. “Look. Pack. And go. We’ll explain when we get there.” He nodded at me.
He was keeping my secret. Keeping the others from overwhelming me before we had to run.
“Tristan, let it go,” Galen said. “Cal and Marisol have protected us this far. And so has Dario. If Jules says there’s a way, then there is.
” He nodded in my direction, and our eyes met—something unspoken passing between us.
Galen and I had always had an understanding.
We were the ones on the outside of our little group growing up, looking out for our people.
Tristan for him. Lyr for me. And now we had a new one.
A shared experience of being Kormac’s prisoners.
I looked away, trying to focus. Trying to prepare to run again as everyone else caught up.
The minutes that passed were few, but they felt like hours.
Dario went over each route. Thene wasn’t a big city, maybe around the same size as Urtavia.
But where Urtavia was sprawling, broken up by woodlands, the academies and soturion housing, Thene was laid out like a grid.
There were tons of closely laid out waterways and crosswalks, streets full of buildings and alleys.
There were lots of places to hide, but just as many that could allow you to be seen.
We needed intricate paths, constant changes in direction to avoid being followed.
But we needed to make sure that those paths didn’t add too much time to our travels.
Every second we spent out there we were in danger.
Taking everyone’s word that they knew their routes and the landmarks to look out for on their way, Dario burned the map and the parchment holding the address. The remains were discarded in a bowl, as he reviewed the password we’d need to be allowed inside.
A sharp knock on the door came out of nowhere.
I stilled, my heart leaping into my throat.
Dario was at the door a second later, checking the peep hole and slamming it open. He ushered Cal inside quickly, and closed the door behind him.
“What is it?” Dario asked.
“It’s Kormac,” Cal hissed, his mouth tightening, “they’re here.”
“Where?” Aiden demanded.
“Down the street. They’re heading in this direction. About a dozen. Others have already been spotted on the crossroads and waterways. You have minutes to get out, maybe less,” Cal said, out of breath.
“They outnumber us, but it’s dark and they don’t know the area; we can use that to our advantage,” Aiden said. “They’re more likely to stick to the main roads, and markers. Do you have a back door?”
Cal nodded, then he shoved two large leather packs into Dario’s arms. “Supplies for all of you.” Then his eyes swept across the room at us all. “Follow me. Now!”
We scrambled out the door, following Cal down the hall away from the stairs that led to the exit. Instead of going down, we climbed up. Once there we turned a sharp corner that led into a dead end. Cal reached up to tug on a rope hanging from the ceiling.
“Stand back,” he ordered. He pulled the rope, which dislodged a rectangular piece of wood.
It fell to the ground, and then following it, a rope ladder with wooden steps unraveled.
The night sky was above, and a cool breeze filled the hall.
“This will take you to the roof,” Cal said.
“There’s another ladder we keep up there.
You can lower it to the ground leading into the back alley.
Use that to head into the park, get to the woods, and disappear. ”
Dario strapped both of the supply bags to his back, then reached for the rungs without hesitation, climbing up with ease, even with his cut-up hand. His legs vanished into the ceiling seconds later. He moved surprisingly fast for someone so big.
Cal drew me forward. “You next, sweetheart.” He leaned in. “I’m sorry we couldn’t protect you better before. Or your friend.”
I swallowed, my throat tight.
“I wish a different outcome for you this time. Be safe,” he said. His gaze flicked to Dario, then back to me. He smiled, like he approved of Dario, then he stepped back. “Now go.”
I nodded, my fingers grasping the first rung. But before I could step onto the ladder, there was a scream from downstairs. Marisol.
“Let me call my husband! Wait! You can’t just barge in! NO!” Marisol yelled.
The soturi were here.
“Go!” Cal yelled, racing down the hall. “GO!”
I reached for the next rung, stepping up onto the bottom step. But the entire ladder swayed, and I froze. Marisol screamed again.
“Climb, Julianna!” Aiden urged. “Go. Hurry!”
Cal’s angry yells carried up the stairs as he raced toward his wife.
I knew what I had to do. I knew what was at stake. But at that moment I couldn’t.
I didn’t know what happened. Or what triggered it.
But suddenly I could hear Emperor Theotis whispering in my ear.
Admonishing me for running. Pulling my hair painfully, ripping clumps out to make his point.
And I could feel Imperator Kormac—Emperor Avery—bending me across a table, lifting my skirts, calling me a bad pet.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. All I could think was that last time I was here—I had tried to escape. We had tried to escape. But we’d been caught. And I’d been dragged back to the Palace. And he had been … he had …
“What’s going on?” Dario yelled. “Julianna, why aren’t you climbing?”
“I-I can’t,” I said, my voice shaking. “I can’t move.”
Galen stepped forward, placing a hand on the ladder. “I’ll help you,” he said. “I’ll climb up with you. Okay? Remember those rocks we had to climb down that one time? At the far end of the beach behind Cresthaven?”
I almost laughed. “The one Tristan led us to when we thought we were lost.”
“That’s the one,” Galen said.
“And I said he made bad life choices.” I practically sobbed the words.
Galen laughed. “He still does. Now remember, I didn’t let you fall then. You won’t fall this time either.”
I swallowed. More shouts rose from downstairs. I could hear my heart pounding, thundering in my ears. I was holding everyone up. It would be my fault. My fault we were captured. My fault they were dead.
“I’ve got you,” Galen said. “I’m going to put your hand on the next rung, and I’m right behind you. Okay? Jules?”
Jules. My name. It pulled me back. I nodded at Galen. “Okay.”