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Boots stomping down the stairs wake me in the morning. Levi’s bed is empty when I lift my head from my pillow. Tenny Rocks is northeast of the cabin along the way to Frostacre. My heart skips a beat. My father lives somewhere in the north. But as a man who works with Supes, strikes fear in others, and bears the nickname the “Northern Duke,” I don’t think he lives in a village where they hold dances and partake in afternoon teas.
Levi told me more about Tenny Rocks the night before. It’s the human outpost where they mostly reject the resistance. A majority of the former Avrenians go to work in the fields to grow the city’s food, and those born to the wilderness support them. They hold onto the façade of peace for dear life, even if it means a life of slavery to the Citizens. Roughly a quarter of Tenny Rocks succumbed to the sickness when it ripped through the wilderness, taking many human lives with it. They’d rather hold festivals and spend time at the tavern than deal with the realities of losing loved ones and being relentlessly oppressed.
Maybe I’d still hold onto my former beliefs about Avren if Gray had brought me there instead of to the Kindred Few.
I dress in traveling clothes—a tunic and linen pants—and plan to wear a cloak with several daggers. I’ll carry my quiver and bow.
The others are in the common room gathering supplies and weapons.
“Good morning, Mari.” Levi shrugs on his cloak after signing his greeting. “Gray says we need to be long gone by eight. We’ll shut the cabin up tight to keep the soldiers out.”
If the soldiers are anything like the ones I ran across at the cave entrance, they’ll burn our home to the ground. My heart aches knowing this might be the last time I see the cabin.
Grayson smiles and hands me a sack. “Breakfast to take with you.”
“Thank you.” I lift my cloak from a peg and pull it on over my traveling clothes before picking up my quiver. “How long will it take to get to Tenny Rocks?”
“About five hours.” Bastian closes the weapons cabinet. A pile of swords, bows, and daggers lie at his feet. “Evie… Levi… give me a hand.”
The three of them gather the weapons and carry them to the back door.
“What are they doing?” I ask Grayson.
He finishes packing the last of the breakfast sacks. “Hiding the weapons from the Avrenians. We have an underground bunker hidden in the yard.”
“Then why don’t we just go there and wait out the soldiers?” The thought of facing King Cirrus so soon seems absurd to me.
Instead of answering right away, Grayson crosses the room. His sandy-brown hair hangs loose over his forehead, and a warm feeling fills me as a dimple forms on his right cheek when he smiles. I’ve really come to trust my older brother. “I know you’re scared. On our walk back from Mafekadi, Levi told me all about your encounter with Quinn Malum.” He touches my cheek with his palm. “No one else understands how overwhelming all of this is—to go from your safe apartment with your future planned out into this cold world.” He drops his hand, his eyes delving deep into mine, probably trying to assess my level of fear. “Cirrus won’t harm you. He’s too superstitious for that. Dire consequences could come from killing a prophesied savior.”
“But what about the rest of you?” I won’t be able to leave Frostacre without their help, but I realize the danger it poses.
“We’ve dealt with our share of the fae.” He looks to the back door as the others return from the yard. “Your primary role is to distract while we find the prophecy. Piece of cake.”
“You always make everything seem as if we’re making a trip to the Sweet Street Bakery for a cocoa and a sticky bun.” I need Grayson’s calming presence to help offset Bastian’s intensity.
Evie pinches Grayson’s cheek and then his ass. “That’s because he’s sweeter than a sticky bun.”
“Is everyone ready?” Bastian stands by the front door. He wears his long cloak, which is filled to the brim with weapons. “I want to reach Tenny Rocks by noon and settle in so we can talk through our plan in Frostacre. Levi, bring up the rear so you can cover our tracks.”
Our trek through the woods differs from the ones we’ve taken to the Grove or the falls. No one speaks. The threat the incoming soldiers pose is real. Part of me wonders if Flynn will be among the ones tasked with rooting out the rebellion. If he is, I left nothing behind to identify my ties to the Kindred Few.
I watch as Levi leaves a trail of iridescent dust behind us. Our footprints disappear, every bent blade of grass straightens, and snapped sticks reform. It is as if we were never there. My friend holds secrets I’ve not even begun to uncover.
“Only about three more hours,” he finally says as we pass through a meadow still holding dew on the shorter grasses and drenching my boots.
“Will the people in Tenny Rocks turn us in?” It’s a question I’ve held inside, not wanting to speak badly about the Redeemed.
“They’re rule followers, mostly.” He sprinkles another layer of dust behind us. “They do what Avren says, but they won’t betray a fellow member of the Redeemed. Peace is more important to them than anything. If they don’t stir up trouble, the Council leaves them alone.”
A gust of wind whips through the meadow, bending the grasses to the earth. I cling to Levi to keep from falling over as the other three duck low to the ground. Bastian looks back to make sure I’m alright. And then, after clearing the meadow of every insect and bird, the wind stops.
“What the hell was that?” I run my fingers through my hair, which is now a knotted mess.
“The fae.” Levi scans the woods as if expecting to see something. “Cirrus is making it clear that he knows we’re coming.”
“Great,” I mutter. “So much for a surprise visit.”
“It’s not impossible.” Levi picks up the contents of his sack, which fell during the gust, stuffing them back inside. “My limited magic is magnified when I’m in Frostacre. There’s a chance I can shield the others from Cirrus’s watchful eye, especially if we’re distracting him.”
