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Rymedur lifted himself up off the floor and leaned over the side to look down at the drop. Only two minutes to descend the ivy-covered death trap and run for cover. Great. ‘Easy, huh?’ Rymedur turned his incredulous stare on Areanel, who reapplied chalk to her hands. Gods! She could be infuriatingly calm at times.

Instead of doing the same with him, Rymedur watched on in confusion when Areanel unfurled a rope from her pack. ‘What are you doing?’ he asked when she tied it around her waist, then the other end around his own.

Her hands worked quickly, tying the knot and then tugging at it to make sure it was secure. How often did she tie ropes? Her hands seemed to work in quick, deft, practised motions—like she was used to this.

Areanel pointed down, drawing his attention to the cobbled floor on the other side of the wall. Rymedur knew that determined look. ‘What? No.’ Rymedur argued. ‘You can’t possibly hold my weight!’

‘I can and I will,’ Areanel countered, already placing her feet on either side of the lowest stone on the parapet.

Rymedur opened his mouth to argue. But then she gave him the look, and he knew he wouldn’t win this argument. So, with a resigned sigh, Rymedur reluctantly stepped over the ledge and started his descent.

Trying his best to reduce his weight, Rymedur clung to the exposed bricks in the wall, placing a hand in each indentation as he quickly descended. His fingernails scraped and chipped with his hard grip.

The rope pulled at his waist. A warning. A signal. He needed to move faster. They couldn’t be seen. And, most of all, he wouldn’t risk Aerileas using this—them being caught—as another excuse to hurt Areanel again. He’d rather die than allow that.

Pushing off the wall, Rymedur tried to descend faster. For a moment he was weightless, airborne, then his boots slammed back into the wall. He repeated the movement a few more times before his feet hit the cobbled stones marking the wall’s base.

Reaching the bottom, Rymedur tugged on the rope twice. And, not a second later, the shadow of something falling had him moving back. The rope dropped to the ground next to where he’d been standing.

Swiftly untying the rough rope from his midsection, Rymedur collected the rope, coarse texture rough against his palms. Once gathered, Rymedur stuffed it into his own pack.

Silent footfalls and a skittering on pebbles were the only indications that Areanel was climbing down. Rymedur couldn’t see her in the darkness. Dressed in all black, she was well camouflaged within the shadows.

The clatter of armour above made Rymedur’s spine straighten as he narrowed his eyes to slits, searching for a figure scaling down the wall but finding none.

Rymedur made to step further back. Maybe she was higher up than he had thought?

Red and orange flames danced across the parapet. Torchlight! It painted the walls from above. The guards were coming, but where was Areanel?

His head swivelled back and forth, eyes darting until… There! About five or so feet off the ground. A blur of a shadow.

Rymedur saw her the second she pushed herself from the wall, leaping. His heart jumped into his throat when he realised she was falling. Had she missed a step? Rymedur made to rush forward, intent on catching her, but at the last moment, she rolled away from him, cushioning her fall.

‘Are you alright?’ Rymedur’s voice was laced with dizzying worry.

Heaving a breath, she sent him a reassuring nod. ‘Fine.’ And then she was moving past him.

How could she possibly be fine? Was she constantly falling from heights that she could rise to her feet and dust herself off as though nothing had happened?

Rymedur didn’t know whether to be in awe, worried or irked by her nonchalant response. She had put herself in danger without thinking of the consequences, then continued like it was nothing.

But as the torchlight grew closer still, Rymedur knew now was not the time to have that conversation. So, like phantoms, he bit his tongue and followed Areanel’s lead as they hastily made their way to the main gates, slipping into the shadows of the path, unnoticed.

Chapter 35

Rymedur

Crouching by the door, Areanel examined the two-storey building’s lock whilst Rymedur kept one eye on her and the other trained down the alleyway in case an Andrean local saw them trying to break into someone’s house. Rymedur had no idea why they were here.

The upper section of the city was well decorated with faelight, so Rymedur used his shadows to cover the alley in darkness, hiding them from prying eyes. ‘What are we doing here, little demon?’ Rymedur whispered as Areanel retrieved two thin metal tools from her pack before handing them to him.

Placing one of the small iron tools in the lock, Areanel twisted and turned the needle-like equipment. ‘I told you, we need to get the others,’ Areanel said, concentrating on the lock.

Click. The familiar sound of the mechanism turning was quickly muffled by the bubble of darkness. Pushing the handle, Areanel swung the door open, throwing a quick smirk over her shoulder as she slipped through the door and into the building. Rymedur had no choice but to follow her inside.

Taking in his surroundings, Rymedur realised they had entered through the back door to a kitchen. This was somebody’s home—but whose? Now that he thought about it, Rymedur realised that he hadn’t visited many places in the city besides when he snuck out—but that was only for business, mainly contained to the lower, derelict part of the city.

The kitchen was grand and tasteful, adorned with sleek countertops. Used appliances scattered the room, and an array of utensils hung from hooks on the opposite wall. Whoever this house belonged to used the kitchen often. It definitely looked lived in.