When I walked in, everyone was still asleep.
“Rise and shine!” I greeted.
“What? What happened?” Frid sat up on the bed, and immediately covered herself up with a thin blanket.
Each of them had beds in separate corners of the room that served as the kitchen, dining area, and bedroom. The walls looked like they were about to collapse inward, and the smell of the place was an odd combination of moisture from the water pipes and the pervasive stench of cooked pork.
I walked past the beds, pushing Victor's legs out of the way.
“Hey, fuck off,” he muttered.
Sol sat up, rubbing his eyes.
“It’s time,” I said, picking up a piece of crust from the dried out loaf of bread that was still sitting on the table.
“Why? What changed?” Frid wrapped her shoulders in her blanket.
“We talked and she’s coming with us,” I said.
“Bullshit,” Victor mumbled.
“Shush. Let him talk.” Frid hissed.
“She doesn’t want to stay. I suggest you pack your things. It’s time to leave.”
“What things?” Victor placed his head back on the pillow and covered his face with the bed sheet.
“Can you just.Stop. Talking for a minute!” Frid threw her pillow at him.
“You fucked. Didn’t you?” Sol’s voice sounded loud and clear.
“What?” Frid’s mouth opened wide.
“Careful, you’ll catch a fly.” Victor smirked.
“How did that happen? When? Where?” Frid ignored him.
“It’s not important. We need to go.”
“Hell no. We need to know. We’ve been stuck in this hell hole for months. We deserve to know.” Victor finally sat up.
“I can always sense these things.” Sol was putting on his suit with a satisfied grin on his face.
“Hurry up, will you? I want to be off in an hour.” I approached the basin and quickly washed up.
The plan was simple: I would return to the palace and get Alina out the same way I had been sneaking out since I got there. Once in the city, we will meet up with the rest of the group, and wait until nightfall before heading into no-man’s-land. It was the easiest way to slip away unnoticed. While I could risk my own life, and I knew my friends would not be intimidated by any altercation with the city guards, Alina was not a fighter. I could never put her in danger.
I hurried back through the filthy streets, eager to see thegirl that held my heart, and my soul, in the palms of her small, delicate hands. My head was still buzzing after the night we spent together. It was a completely new and unfamiliar territory. I could clearly feel the bond between us, the connection that would never falter. I could see her still asleep, wrapped in the blanket I tucked around her shoulders before leaving.
The sun was already out, when an unexpected flash of worry, or fear, made me stop and look up at the palace. Something was not right. I ran, avoiding the street sellers, food carts, and women in thick, loose skirts. Panic hit me when I felt a flash of pain through the bond. The next moment I shifted.
My wide wingspan pushed the people out of my way and created havoc before I soared up, but I only had my eyes on the window on the fifth floor, seventh from the left. It was still open. I could not get there fast enough. Behind me, I could hear the palace guards, and several arrows pierced the air beside me when I burst into the room.
I searched the bed, the floor, every corner. She was not here. I moved to the bathing room, yanked open the closet. She was gone.
Something exploded in red and purple inside of my head as I threw the door open leading to the hallway.
“Kent! They took her to the queen's apartments. I saw them take her.” Mayer shouted just as a group of guards assembled in the corridor, swords raised.
