Page 12 of Memory of Ashes

“Yes, thank you.” Her head had completely cleared; the pain was gone.

“What about my clothes?” she asked.

“They will be cleaned and returned to you.”

He led her to a bench in the courtyard, positioned in the sunlight. She heard nothing beyond the building’s walls except birdsong and the running water of the streams that surrounded the building.

“What’s going to happen to me?” she asked him.

“Eleandor is going to take you to the High City.”

The memory of Eleandor’s pale eyes boring into her mind made her throat tighten.

“Why?” She swallowed.

“We must report to our king. Word of your existence has already spread, and you’ve caused quite a stir.”

“And who is your king?”

“King Elthar.”

*

They began the journey to the High City. They bundled her into a horse-drawn carriage. Eleandor rode alone ahead while three guards accompanied them. Vesryn’s company comforted her. Although she wouldn’t call him friendly, his presence was unthreatening, and he had treated her kindly.

Her clothes had been returned, cleaned and mended, and she wore them for the journey. They hadn’t returned her satchel or possessions, though. She longed for her journal to write all this down.

As the carriage swayed along the dirt road, the hills folded into one another like waves of green in the distance.

She committed it all to memory, allowing her thirst for knowledge to distract her. So much had happened, and she didn’t know how much time had passed. Would Emin figure out where she’d gone and send out a search party?

If the carriage stopped, perhaps she could escape. They hadn’t travelled far, but she still didn’t know where they were or where she’d run to. The guards ahead would no doubt catch her if she tried. She was safer here.

“I wouldn’t venture into the woods alone,” Vesryn said, as if reading her mind. “There are plenty of things in there that you’d rather avoid. Trust me.”

She did.

With each turn of the carriage wheel, she was taken further from her home. Would they ever let her leave? What would the king do with her once she arrived in the High City? She pushed it to the back of her mind.

The carriage jolted to a violent halt, throwing Amelia back against her seat. The raised voices of the guards drifted towards them. Vesryn peered out of the window, his eyes wide. He opened the carriage door.

“Wait here,” he said.

The shouting came closer. She shuffled over to the window just as Vesryn crumpled to the ground.

Men in dark clothes came running towards the carriage.

She flung open the opposite carriage door and ran, leaving the dirt road and heading into the forest that lined it. The voices followed her, urging her to run faster. They were gaining on her. She needed to find somewhere to hide, hoping that they’d run past.

Up ahead stood an enormous tree, its trunk twisted and gnarled. She ran towards it, trying to find a way up, but the voices were getting closer. There was no time.

She dropped to the ground beside a thorny bush and crawled headfirst into the thicket. Dirt soiled her clean clothes once more.

The voices stopped only a few paces away. Amelia held her breath, keeping as still as possible, trying to make herself small. Four men came to a stop near her hiding place. Only their lower legs were visible in the fading light. They wore dark trousers, and their boots looked soft, as if made of leather. They spoke in hushed tones until a deep, commanding voice issued instructions. The men split up and moved further into the forest.

She released her breath slowly. Thorns pressed into her skin as she shifted carefully into a less painful position. It was growing dark, and she was now alone in the forest. Or so she hoped. Vesryn’s warning returned to her.

Was Vesryn okay? There’d been no time to check. He’d been lying on the ground, unmoving.