Chapter 6
Ipace the length of the room, the floorboards creaking beneath every step. Before I left the taproom, I spotted the stranger’s pack sitting by his boots. He has no need to return to his room, which means I can’t sneak past him while he’s busy with something else. He’s down there, waiting for me.
I have no idea how I’ll get out of this.
Well…I do have one idea. But it isn’t a good one. If I use my magic on the stranger, he’ll die. And if he’s dead, he can’t take me to wherever he plans to go. Simple, right?
As long as he’s guilty of…something. I can’t bear the thought of killing an innocent man. One whose greatest crime is noticing me.
My mistake was not blending in with the others. With the scent of magic sticking to me, I already stand out. I never should have gone outside when the firebirds attacked. I should have acted terrified, like everyone else.
If I can’t reach the exile’s tower, the mission fails. And then Osian will never go free.
I sling my pack over my shoulder and peer out the window. This building sits on the edge of a ridge. There’s no escaping this way. One slip scaling down the wall, and I’ll plummet to my death.
I curse under my breath, pressing my forehead against the cool glass. There must be another way.
A pounding on the door makes me start. I clutch the strap on my shoulder and slowly turn toward the sound, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Silence stretches across the room. Maybe it’s the innkeeper. Or another patron, wanting to talk about last night. Or, stars forbid, someone from the Order.
But my gut says it’s none of them.
I shift my weight, the floorboards rumbling again. If I don’t answer, maybe he’ll leave. Unlikely.
The door rattles, then swings open. The silver-haired stranger stands on the other side, cloaked and armed, his eyes narrowed. He glances past me toward the window, and a tense, knowing smile flickers across his lips.
“Taking in the view?” he asks, his voice dangerously soft.
“Yes,” I reply flatly, trying to hide my unease. “I figure it’ll be a long time before I’m this close to the poisonous sea again. As deadly as it is…it’s beautiful.”
“Kind of like you.”
My heart stutters. Does he know? How could he? He doesn’t even know my name, much less the true extent of my powers. Although…that fugitive in the borderlands recognized me. Could word have travelled this far?
My gaze catches the hilt of his sword, emerging from the folds of his cloak like a dragon’s head.
If he’s heard of me, I don’t think I’ll walk out of here alive.
I swallow hard and find my voice. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t you?” His brow arches. “As long as you carry the Order’s talisman, you can call your Rhyfelwr to you. He’ll kill anyone in his path to reach your side.”
Osian. The name scrapes through my chest. Tears sting my eyes before I can stop them.
“He’s dead,” I whisper.
The truth is a jagged blade. Despite what I told Osian, a part of him is forever gone. His heart no longer beats. His lungs no longer draw breath. Whatever powers him isn’t life. It’s that darkness within me, mirrored in our starless sky.
The stranger’s expression softens. “Oh. I didn’t realize that. I’m sorry to—”
“You couldn’t have known.” I look away, blinking back the tears. “But now that you do, you must understand that I…well, I’d really rather travel alone.”
A long moment passes.
“All right.” He palms the hilt of his sword. “But at least let me accompany you out of these hills. I meant what I said about the rebels. They’ve been causing trouble all along this road, and it’s not safe to travel alone.”
I don’t argue that I survived the journey here just fine without his help. If this will satisfy him, if it means he’ll leave me in peace afterward, I’ll take it. I just have to tread carefully and not let anything important slip.
“Which direction are you headed?” I ask.
“I’ll go wherever you go, until we’re beyond the area the rebels like to hunt.”
I press my lips together. Should I lie and say I’m heading south, then backtrack once I’ve shaken him?
That would mean returning to the inn for another night, or camping out in the cold, in hills crawling with rebels.
He’s really cornered me, and unless I’m imagining things—and I might be—the darkness in his eyes tells me he knows it.
I clear my throat. “I was told the road goes north, then east along the coast. It’s a roundabout way of reaching the borderlands.”
A really roundabout way.
“The borderlands?” He laughs softly. “It’s like you’re asking for trouble.”
“The borderlands, and then beyond. I figure the Kingdom of Gelyn is the only place outside the Order’s control. Even if they discover I’m there, they can’t come for me.”
“Well, it seems like you’ve got it all figured out.” He steps back from the door, waving me forward. “After you.”
Right. That was far too easy.
I tighten my grip on the strap and warily cross the room, ducking beneath the stranger’s arm. A rich scent hangs around him, leather and…rowan blossom? That can’t be right.
I start down the stairs. He follows silently, but I can feel him hovering behind me.
It’s like he doesn’t want me too far ahead and he’s afraid what I might do if I’m out of his sight.
Whatever he says, it’s clear he doesn’t trust me.
I doubt he intends to let me head east alone once we reach the coast.
The back of my neck prickles. Who is he? I fight the urge to glance over my shoulder and size him up again. We’re so near the tower, and his behavior is…strange. Once more, I can’t help but wonder if he could be the exile I’ve been sent to find.
Except the exile is trapped behind wards, and the Order’s records describe him as unstable and feral, with a monstrous face and a neck inked with the traitor mark. This man might be dangerous, but he’s none of that.
He could be a rebel, despite his claims, or a spy from the Kingdom of Gelyn.
Whoever he is, I don’t trust him, either.
As we pass through the empty taproom with the scent of woodsmoke and spilled air saturating the air, I’m aware of him at my side.
The innkeeper sticks her head out of the kitchen door.
Her eyes narrow, and another voice murmurs from within, their words too soft even for my elven ears. She nods at whatever they say.
“Thanks for the room,” I call out.
“Hmph.” The door slams, rattling the frame.
“I don’t think she likes me very much,” I say, trying to make light of the situation. Somehow, I need to convince him to feel comfortable enough around me to let down his guard, so I can sneak away unnoticed. Preferably tonight.
I don’t much like the idea of making camp with a stranger who’s either a murderer or a spy.
Or both.
“She doesn’t much like me, either. Tried to turn me away this time. Luckily, she’s easy enough to convince with an extra piece of gold.” He cracks the first grin I’ve seen from him.
It unsteadies me, like the ground beneath my feet has tilted an inch.
I force my gaze forward, though I can still see the hint of his smile in the corner of my vision.
I clear my throat. “This time? How many times have you stayed here?”
His smile falters. “A few too many. It’s the only option in this part of the world. I’ve camped out in the hills a time or two. Won’t be making that mistake again.”
A shiver runs through me.
“Care to elaborate?”
His footsteps slow as we reach the door. “The souls of the dead haunt these hills at night. You don’t want to hear their voices.”
My pulse quickens. “I thought that was nothing more than an old folk tale.”
“Trust me. It’s not.” He pushes the door open and waves me through it. I shudder, pushing aside his words, and drift into the crisp morning air laced with petrichor and smoke.
The stableboy waits outside, like he already knew we were coming.
Both our horses are saddled and bridled, their coats brushed smooth.
The stranger hands the boy a gold coin and swings onto his horse.
I follow, and he sets off on the road leading north of the Twin Talons Inn, the cool morning mist fogging the air around us.
Hours blur by. The horses slow as they climb the steep hill, the rocks beneath their hooves sliding with each step.
The wind tugs my hair and bites at my cheeks, carrying the scent of salt from the distant sea.
By the time we reach the next ridge, the sun has already slid halfway across the sky, burning the mist away.
The cry of seagulls pierces the quiet. It’s been the only sound, other than the crunch of hooves on rocks, for miles.
I steal a glance at stranger. His fingers grip the reins, and his eyes are narrowed on the path ahead, like he suspects the long grass might be hiding some unseen danger.
“You really are worried about rebels, aren’t you?” I ask.
“There’s something wrong up ahead,” he murmurs.
I frown, scanning the road, but see nothing but seagulls circling a lone tree bent sideways from decades spent battling the wind.
The road snakes toward the white-capped waves that melt into the horizon.
We’re only a few hours, if that, from the border between our kingdom and the exile’s coastal cliffs.
Those lands may hide untold dangers, but here, all is calm, quiet. ..safe.
I nudge my horse sideways, angling to face him. “I see nothing.”
“The seagulls.” His voice is low, like he’s worried the wind might carry his words across the hills. “There’s well over a dozen, and they don’t circle like that unless they’ve found something to eat.”
My stomach dips. He’s right. Even in the city, seagulls only descend when they’ve spotted food. But what prey could lie out here, at the edge of nowhere? A rabbit, maybe…
The horse shifts beneath me, like she can sense my unease. I hold tighter to the reins and nudge her forward. Whatever the seagulls have found stands between me and my mission. Likely, it’s a just carcass…but my pulse hammers out a warning.