Page 118 of Ashen Wings

“Good, you two finally fucked it out.” Isra barks a laugh as he barges through the tavern’s entrance, a broadsword slung over his left shoulder and frost nipping his lashes. His arrival rips a gust of snowflakes into the room. The door groans shut behind him, muting the wind to a distant howl.

My complexion blazes to a godsdamned inferno and I rip from Jace’s touch. “Where have you been?”

“Clearing the perimeter before the storm hits. Once it does we’ll be stuck here until it passes. It’s fucking freezing already out there.” Isra shakes the chill from his shoulders and unfastens his overcoat.

“Any sign of our friends?” Jace asks.

“No, not a trace. The locals haven’t seen a single crimson cloak since yesterday.”

I listen for a moment, the hair on my neck pricked—for boots, unsheathed weapons—but hear only the storm’s hollow snarl. I’m not naive enough to think they’ve returned to Smoke. If he’s anything like his father, Samkiel won’t leave loose ends. They’ll come, and let’s pray to Astora we’re well over Shadow’s border when they do.

“So, we’re what? Just going to sit here and wait for an attack? You can’t be serious.” Saphine scoffs and throws her hands over her chest. “You three will get us all killed.”

“What do you suggest then, guardian rider? We saunter into the blizzard and freeze to death halfway to the border?” Isra asks.

“No, we’ll take the smuggler’s routes…” She trails off, rallying between our expectant expressions. “And you three have no clue what I’m talking about.”

“Enlighten us, then.” Jace crosses his arms over his chest.

“Before the war, House Mercora funded the construction of a whole network of tunnels under the faction. Supposed to help drain the lowlands when the floods come each spring, but Sea’s black market took interest when they learned those secret tunnels spit out right along the borders. Dangerous way to travel—some of them are fully submerged when the tides roll in—but if you time it right, you can slip through undetected.”

Finnick spoke once about a network of tunnels interconnecting the factions’ black trade routes. That was before the war, though. Before I arrived at the apothecary, they were simply whispers of past jobs…or at least I thought. “I thought those were closed off years ago. Smoke’s borders are so heavily guarded, Ashar wouldn’t let anything slip through.”

“Unless he has his greedy paws in black market trade.” Saphine lifts a brow.

“Fuck…the dragonstones…” It would make sense Ashar kept the tunnels heavily locked down to control the flux of contraband into the faction, but also leveraging these routes to keep his own ‘off the books’ trades intact.

Still, Isra and I share a skeptical look.

“Or stay here and wait for Samkiel and his men. Tell me, Nova, how’s that stab wound of yours healing?” she snips. “If you want a way out, safe from our mutual enemies and the snow, this is it.”

“And you’ve used these routes before?” Jace’s lips purse.

“I’m quite familiar with them, yes,” Saphine replies. “Most of my jobs require traveling the tunnels regularly. I can lead us to Shadow’s border, but if we’re to do this, we have to go now. It’s nearly noon, and the tide is set to come in soon.”

The room holds its breath. The fire crackles. The wind wails, and decision hangs between us like a blade. Isra’s fingers curl around the hilt of his sword. Jace’s smirk fades into something sharper.

All eyes turn to me. The hearth light slices over Saphine’s face, and for a moment she looks carved from will alone. I know that look well. Something pangs in my chest. Cut from the same cloth, molded from the same cruelty…if we stay, we face death. If we go, we give her trust.

I take a slow, steadying breath. “Fine,” I say. “We go now.”

Saphine releases her breath. “The entrance is at the abandoned storehouses just down the road from here.”

Jace tucks my hand close to his chest. “Mark my words, Saphine Sunwither. If you fuck us, your death will not be an easy one. Nor will it be swift.”

49

The tunnel’s entrance yawns like a mouth as I tighten my pack, and step inside.

“Careful where you walk,” Saphine murmurs, her voice a mere whisper between the relentless storm, blowing in full force outside. “Some of these sections haven’t been traveled in years. Floors give out without warning.”

Her torch flickers against the walls, throwing shadows that crawl like beetles.

“Noted.” My pupils dilate in the dark.

Water drips somewhere ahead with a slow incessant rhythm that echoes around us.

Fighting every one of my instincts, I follow her footsteps precisely. Tunnels like these may hide smugglers but they also hide secrets. One misstep and I might end up with a blade in my back.