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“By hiding signs of our passage. The hounds' noses are too keen to be fooled by water. But the handlers, those are the weak point. If a handler cannot see where to guide their dogs, they'll tire themselves out looking for somewhere to resume.” Gil took the basket from her hands before she was ready. She motioned for him to wait while she took her books and the paper-wrapped cake from her cloth satchel and added them to the basket's load. Then she donned her boots.
“So that's all we're doing? Hoping to tire out the dogs?”
“For now, it's all we can do. It should be easier for them to lose interest now that the path will not be so clear to the handlers, but it will only gain us so much time. The best way to escape is to finish preservation so we leave no blood trail, then find a city with a dense population where the dogs' senses will be overwhelmed.” He checked his things to make sure all was in place, then raised the basket to shoulder level and stepped backwards into the river.
Thea hesitated at the edge. “I trust you know where that is.”
“I have a clear plan, yes. You were not a part of it, but the skills you bring are most welcome.” He offered his hand.
For a long moment, Thea considered telling him to continue on his own. If the hounds were after the scent of his bag, then perhaps she could escape by herself. But to where? It wasn't as if she could turn around and make her way back to Samara. He was going to Ranor, and no matter how she turned the situation over in her head, escaping to the one country that did not like her kingdom seemed like the only chance she had.
She slid her hand into his and let him guide her into the water.
Bit by bit, he led her into the center of the river. It was no more than waist deep. “Move slowly. Search each step before you take it. Lean on me for balance if you must.” As if it weighed nothing, he kept the basket suspended beside his head. The same basket had planted what might be a permanent ache in her back and shoulders. How could she have ever thought to escape a man so strong?
“That's it,” he reassured her as they crept up the riverbed. It was shallower in some places and deeper in others, but he guided her steadily north.
“Light's mercy, but the water's freezing.” She didn't know what else to say, but she thought remaining silent would let fear get the best of her.
“You'd best get used to the cold, if you plan to settle in Ranor. The winters we know in Samara are mild compared to what they have each year.”
Her brow furrowed. “We?”
Gil answered first with a soft chuckle. “Does it surprise you that I'm Kentorian?”
Yes,she thought, but she kept her response more reserved. “I thought assassins most often came from enemies. And that might be why we move north.”
“You'd be surprised where assassins come from. And while Ranor may be a political antagonist, they're a tiny, land-locked country. They wouldn't dare challenge Kentoria. Not truly.”
Thea couldn't help but sigh.
“Had you hoped for a different answer?” He sounded intrigued.
“No. Or, perhaps. I don't know. By the Light, it shouldn't be so easy to speak with you.”
“Is that so? Personally, I'd think it a good thing you find conversation easy. Imagine traveling all the way to another country with someone you found abhorrent.”
She should have found him abhorrent. He should have struck her as a monster. Instead, he was effortlessly charming, his words and voice both pleasant to the ear. Was this what he'd meant, about cordial assassins being more effective? Even knowing what he was, what he'd done, she found herself unconcerned about traipsing through a river with her hand in his.
“Ah,” he said.
Thea craned her neck to look at him, though his features were nothing but shadow. “What?”
“You do find me abhorrent.”
“No,” she said slowly. And perhaps that was the most abhorrent thing of all.
“Ah, don't feel as if you must protect my feelings. No one could fault you.” He paused to guide her around a dip in the riverbed before he went on. “Selfishly, I'll admit travel is easier with someone whose company you enjoy, but you are under no obligation to be polite.”
She considered correcting him, perhaps even sharing the strange revelation that she didn't despise him, then chose to keep the thought to herself. It was too soon to reach such a conclusion. Not even a day had passed since their ill-fated meeting. Far too little time to decide what she thought of him, much less what she thought of the whole situation. At this point, none of it felt real, and she owed him nothing.
They traveled by river until it veered too far east to be of any use. Ranor was northwest, and they'd gone several miles before Gil snagged a tree branch and used it to drag both of them up the steep river bank. “That'll leave a clear mark, but there are deer prints about. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll assume one of the deer fell in.”
“Will the deer confuse the dogs?” Thea asked.
All he did was grin.
The sound of the animals had long since disappeared, though she doubted they'd left them behind for good. The stars had begun to fade from the sky, and dogs could not work forever. At this point, it seemed a miracle the two of them were still standing. Going against the river's current had been slow and difficult, even when its path widened and the water grew more shallow. Thea's feet were numb when she stumbled into the grass. After two sloshing, squishing steps, she sat and undid her boots so she could dump out the water.
