Sage’s horse nickered as she reached into her boot to pull out the parchment. She looked at it for a while.
Marcus watched as her lips moved silently while her finger traced the words on the parchment. He saw her brow furrow, and his heart began to ache. He wanted to help, but he knew she would only ask for assistance if it were absolutely necessary—especially in front of her sisters.
Sage scowled and examined the roads and then down at the parchment. “Follow the middle road until it ends,” Sage read.
“Middle?” Landyn repeated, baffled.
“There are only two roads,” Raven observed. “How can there be a middle?”
Christian urged his horse forward to them. “They’re coming,” he announced.
Marcus glanced over his shoulder. Through the shadows of the trees, he noticed a flurry of activity. Dozens of figures were scattered through the forest, and they were getting closer. Christian’s father’s army had picked up their trail.
Sage stared at the two dirt roads spread out before her. She licked her lips in indecision.
“Pick one,” Raven ordered. “Hurry.”
Marcus dismounted, handed Sage the reins of his horse, and rushed to one side of the road. Another path had to be here. He dragged his foot across the grass and weeds, feeling for ridges or dips that would signal a long-forgotten street.
Christian slid from his steed. He, too, searched the ground, a sense of urgency in his movements.
“Hurry,” Landyn called, watching the squadron move closer.
Marcus kicked at the dirt, dread churning in the pit of his stomach. No matter how much he explored, there was no sign of another road. He glanced at Christian to see if he had found anything. Christian continued to look, and Marcus resumed his pursuit, pulling his foot through the weeds.
Landyn’s horse danced nervously. “We’re out of time,” he said.
“Sage, pick a road,” Raven urged.
Willow anxiously urged her steed to Sage’s side, gazing back at the forest.
“Here,” Christian called. “I found a road.”
Marcus glanced up to see Christian kicking small pebbles from an old road. He quickly raced back to his horse. He grabbed the horn of his horse’s saddle and swung himself up.
Landyn instructed, “Raven, Christian, and I will take the other road. We’ll cross just before you go out of view. Ride hard.”
The group spurred their horses, splitting up down two different roads that spread out as aV. Marcus watched as Landyn, Christian, and Raven rode down the opposite road, then before he lost sight of them, they wheeled around a cluster of trees separating the two paths. The trio galloped through a patch of shrubs at the center to join their comrades.
Sage led the way, charging forward.
The directions Sage had translated said to keep going until the road ended, and Marcus wasn’t sure how long that would be. The directions were old, and there was a possibility that the road had been extended since then. The green dragon plants were large and well-established. One of the three roads had been overgrown and no longer used. He had faith in Sage and her translation of the directions. But time had altered the clues.
Marcus glanced over his shoulder, but the road they were on was empty. No one followed them.
Yet.
As the sky deepened to a velvety navy and the stars began to wink, Landyn proposed they settle for the night near a trickling creek. A wide field bordered by tall trees surrounded them, providing an ideal shelter from the chilly night air.
Sage hunched her shoulders against the cool air. She had been tending her horse and now returned to the camp. Raven and Landyn were scouting the location for safety while Christian and Willow huddled together, sharing a flask of ale and a few strips of dried meat. Sage gazed toward the road, hidden by a line of trees, as she moved to Marcus’s side. How far did they have to go before reaching the road’s end?
He followed her gaze. “You’re doing well,” he encouraged.
She shook her head in frustration. “We could have taken the wrong road.”
Marcus captured her hand in his strong, warm one. “But we didn’t.” He pressed a kiss to her knuckles before releasing her hand to split his meat in half and offer it to her.
She took it, her stare fixed on the hidden road. “I wonder how long ago these directions were written and how accurate they will be.”
