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Finally, the tangle of streets opened into an industrial train station with its weaving snakes of train tracks crisscrossing the area before the long, huge warehouses where the railcars and engines would be housed when not in use.
One train stretched out on the tracks, workers bustling around the engine as they filled the coal car and topped off the boiler with water. More workers carried crates into the train cars, working from the front toward the back, shutting the doors of the filled railcars as they went.
Letting go of Sarya and Jalissa, Edmund divested himself of his pack, then carried it on his shoulder, hunching as if he was carrying a heavy sack filled with flour or wheat or something like that. After waiting in the shadows for a moment, he joined the end of the line of workers, marching along toward the train car.
Sarya and Jalissa also carried their packs on their shoulders and fell into step behind him, using the hunched posture and the packs to hide the fact that they were both female elves.
At the train car, the worker before Edmund set down his crate inside, then turned and blinked when he found Edmund standing there, as if he wasn’t expecting anyone to be behind him. But then he just grunted, shook his head, and ambled back down the ramp once again. Hopefully the man would be too busy thoughtlessly carrying crates back and forth that he wouldn’t ask questions when the three unexpected workers suddenly weren’t behind him anymore.
As soon as Jalissa and Sarya followed him inside, Edmund squeezed between the stacks of crates until he reached the back wall. The crates were stacked to just above his head, leaving no room to climb on top of them, with very little space around them for hiding.
But this far back in the crates, it was so dark no one would be able to see them in their dark clothing, even if they looked right at them.
He, Jalissa, and Sarya stood still as the workers returned, loading the next round of crates. It took one more trip before the workers deemed the railcar full and shut the sliding door.
Jalissa released a breath that brushed against Edmund’s neck in the tight space.
He squeezed her fingers, which were icy in his grip. “We’ll stay hidden here until the train gets moving, in case they do one last glance through each of the cars. Once the train is on its way, we can make ourselves more comfortable. There should be more room near the door.”
There was a pause. Perhaps Jalissa had nodded, and then realized he couldn’t see in the dark, for she finally said, “Good.”
He waited, occasionally shifting from foot to foot. His feet squished in his wet boots while his cold, soggy trousers stuck to his skin. What he wouldn’t give for dry clothes and a warm fire right about now.
Next to him, Jalissa shivered, and he tugged her closer to try to share some of his body heat.
After long minutes of waiting in the dark and cramped corner, the door to the train car slid open a foot, and someone held up a lamp, shining the orange light inside. They didn’t give the railcar more than a cursory glance before shutting the door once again.
Minutes later, the train finally shuddered into motion, the chugging of the engine and the clacking of the wheels vibrating through the train car.
Jalissa breathed out a sigh of relief that gusted against his neck. “We made it.”
“This far, anyway.” Edmund could see the map sprawling ahead of them in his mind. They had to cross the width of Mongavaria, climb up and over the thickly forested Whitehurst Mountains, then travel across Escarland to Aldon.
Such a long way to go. He’d done it before, and it wouldn’t have been so daunting normally.
But he was in a bit of a time crunch. How long would his strength hold out before the poison weakened him?
Perhaps it would have been quicker to reach a healer if they went north for Tarenhiel instead of heading west toward Escarland.
But Princess Bella of Mongavaria was in Aldon at this very moment, and who knew what she might be up to? Crown Prince Jimson hadn’t just poisoned his father on a whim. This had been cold and calculated, and that meant that the princess’s presence in Escarland was just as much a part of this plot as everything else.
Edmund needed to get to Aldon as soon as possible and warn Averett. He didn’t even dare send something like this over the telegraph lines once they reached Escarland, due to the evidence he’d found that Mongavaria had tapped the telegraph lines. He couldn’t risk word reaching Crown Prince Jimson—or worse, Princess Bella—before he had a chance to get to Averett.
Edmund gently nudged Jalissa toward the middle of the car. “Let’s make ourselves comfortable and try to get some rest.”
After inching their way back to the space near the doorway, Sarya and Edmund rearranged some of the crates to make more space while Jalissa changed into dry clothes. Once Jalissa returned and helped Sarya spread out their bedrolls, Edmund took a turn fumbling through changing out of his sticky, wet clothes and putting on a set of dry clothes, all while in the pitch black and cramped in a far corner between piles of crates.
Once done, he spread his wet clothes on some of the crates to dry, then lay down on his bedroll next to Jalissa. She already curled on her side, wiggling as she tried to get comfortable on the hard floor.
He shifted closer, wrapped an arm around her waist, and settled her against his chest. “We’ll get through this, my amirah.”
She snuggled into his arms, heaving a deep breath. “I know.”
He drew in the floral scent of her hair, relaxing into the warmth of holding her in his arms. He didn’t know if they’d make it to the border or the toll the poison would take on him or what dangers their future held.
But right now, he held his wife in his arms. The cargo train clacked and vibrated into the night with a soothing rhythm, each moment taking them farther from danger and closer to safety.
ChapterEight
