Page 43 of Facade

Several uneventful days passed. Ride for ridiculously long hours, stop for short breaks, incessant blabbering from my dear riding partner, and silence from our party’s leader. At least Dimitri opened up to me even more over the course of the days. It was no surprise that Brax always found a reason to come over and talk or dawdle nearby. Although Lyra pretended not to notice after I’d pointed out his infatuation.

The further we traveled, the hillier the terrain. Dense trees lined both sides of the road, making it impossible to see anything other than our path. I knew because every so often, I searched for any sign of that stranger. Nothing. The more days that stacked between that encounter and now, the more confident I was that it had been a fluke and I'd never see him again.

The air grew more frigid at night. So much so that Aiden insisted Lyra and I sleep outside of the carriage next to the fire. Excitement flickered within me, believing the freedom from the locked carriage would give me a chance to plan my escape. Unfortunately, two guards would stay on watch each shift. Those bastards stayed awake all night. And when Malachai stood watch—I didn’t stand a chance. He kept one eye on me at all times. It was starting to irritate me.

I’d tried, during one of our bathroom breaks, to see how far they’d let me get from them in the trees. To my chagrin, Aiden volunteered to take me every single time. He’d follow me out, then turn his back and suggest I go. It was mortifying, and I couldn’t do anything. I was growing increasingly frustrated and had risked my bladder bursting several times to avoid the awkwardness.

Today, the sun was high, the air crisp. It lifted the overall mood, feeling the sun’s rays after so many days of cloud cover. I stretched out with my arms behind my head.

“I bet I could take you!” Brax challenged Dimitri as he tore into part of the pig they’d slaughtered and cooked for lunch.

“Boy, better watch out what you say. I have no problem taking you up on that bet,” Dimitri said, his dark brown eyes glued to the fire as he stoked the dancing flames.

I smiled, knowing full well who would win. Even in his human form, Dimitri was all muscle, whereas poor Brax hadn’t quite filled out yet.

“I mean, I’m not saying right now,” Brax faltered.

The young guard looked every bit his age, whatever number that was. The boyish grin that was now plastered to his face majority of the time, along with his shaggy, brownish-blonde hair, didn’t help in making him look any older. I bet he couldn’t grow facial hair even if he wanted to.

“Were you planning on fighting me as man or beast?” Dimitri challenged. Brax’s eyes widened. My attention snapped toward them from my spot across the fire.

“Well, I figured if I fought you as a beast, then all I'd have to do to distract you is dangle out some jerky and voila! Make my move!” A moment passed, Brax looking pleased with himself as Dimitri slowly dragged a razor-edged glare from the fire.

“Brax, you’re a Werewolf too?” I asked incredulously as I sat up and pulled my knees to my chest. Aiden said we had a werewolf among us, not two.

Brax smiled proudly. “Yep! It’s my first official assignment as a Shadow Stalker. I—”

In a swift movement, Dimitri launched at Brax, who was already jumping up and running, wide-eyed, in the opposite direction. The other guard, Slade, let loose a booming laugh from behind me, which made my own laugh shake loose.

Slade's laugh seemed at odds with the hardened warrior persona. His hair was longer than the rest, even Malachai's, reaching his mid-back, the brown strands silky when he moved. He was Fae, and every bit the warrior as the rest of them, with multiple weapons strapped to his body and those calculating honey-brown eyes constantly scanning. A long, white scar lined the side of his throat, lighter than his pale skin. It was rare to see a scar on the Fae—they healed quickly. Whatever left that must have been bad.

“I can’t believe Brax lasted this long,” he commented as he moved to sit by me. He imitated Brax’s face, making me snicker. Slade was quiet, which wasn’t surprising since he usually rode beside Malachai. He’d finally started interacting with me a little more over the past few days. It was hard to remember I was a prisoner with them loosening up around me. Especially Aiden. When he wasn’t in a mood, he was… charming. Funny even.

The sound of firewood tumbling had us both turning.

“Brax is a Werewolf, too?” Lyra demanded, her eyes wide. We nodded.

“Does everyone know?” she queried. Slade just stared at her.

“I mean, I only just found out—” I started.

“What the actual hell!” She turned on her heel, stalking off to the carriage.

“That girl has issues,” Slade murmured, turning back around and retrieving a smooth, gray stone from his pocket. “Strange for Cressida to pick someone like her to come with us.” He produced a small dagger hidden beneath his waistband and proceeded to sharpen it, scraping the steel against the stone. “Then again, maybe it was to dump her with the King.”

“She’s…” I began. In my three years with her, I really didn’t know much. She’d always avoided me, and the few interactions we had weren’t pleasant. “She’s young and frustrated at being left out, I suppose.” Despite my irritation, I really did have compassion for her. Her age alone made everything harder—I couldn’t remember what life was like for me at eighteen, but I feel like it couldn’t have been easy.

He nodded absently in agreement. I looked around, realizing Aiden and Alaric weren’t here.

“They’re sweeping the perimeter,” Slade didn’t look up as he spoke.

“I wasn’t—I mean to say I was going to ask—“

One eyebrow arched as he continued his task.

“Fine, I was going to ask where Aiden and Alaric had gone—but only because I can’t be far from Aiden.” I held up my wrists for emphasis, knowing they all knew my predicament. Though I really just wanted to see Aiden.

Slade smirked and continued working on his dagger, clearly seeing through my pitiful excuse.