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“How the hell did they find us?” Roan asks, talking his thoughts out loud. I say nothing, my mind still trying to make sense of everything, but coming up short.
“We need to keep moving,” he continues. “The only reason we are alive is because the storm slowed their ascent and hid our tracks. They may be idiots, but they seem to be good at tracking. If we keep heading north, we should hit Thenstra in a few days. We can buy more supplies once we hit the city.”
I stare at him. “What about our horses? What about Red and Prue?” Tears threaten to prick my eyes, but I hold them back, swallowing the thick lump in my throat.
“If these men cared enough to follow us as long as they did, they will most likely keep following us. Once we aren’t wet, starved, and half frozen we can make a plan to do the hunting instead of being the hunted. We will get them back. Until then, we move quickly and quietly,” he says, his voice firm. He's back in his full captain character once again.
“Marg gave me that horse,” I start, a trance overtaking me as I push away the idea of Prue being in the grasp of Jaren. “I was fourteen and had never ridden a horse before. She told me the best way to learn was get on and go. So I got on. I went. And I never looked back. I vowed that day that she would be mine forever.” My mindless words flow out of me until the end, when my voice moves deeper.
I must sound ridiculous, sharing the origins of a horse and a girl, but I don’t care. And if Roan shares my sentiment of that ridiculousness, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he remains serious, grabbing my ankle and squeezing it gently. “We will get them back.”
I nod, cracking my knuckles before laying my head on my knees and closing my eyes. I can’t remember the last time I felt this tired.
“Ari, there’s something I haven’t told you,” Roan says.
I don’t open my eyes. “What?” I’m barely able to get the single syllable out of my mouth. The thickness in my throat is so dense it’s hard to take a breath let alone talk.
“I’ve seen Jaren before.” His voice is even, almost monotone. “Before this. Before Silas.”
My head snaps up, my eyes searching his face. “Where?”
“With Sir Reynauld. I went to his estate on behalf of Lady Davenport, his cousin, before the night you and I met. She asked me to assist him in finding… well… you, obviously. That’s why I was bringing you in. Why I chased after you that first night.” His eyes never leave mine. He told me as much when he tried to take me for questioning. But this is the first I’m hearing of any connection between Jaren and Reynauld.
“And, what? He was there?”
“Yes. Jaren was with Reynauld when I went to get the details of what happened. What you looked like, how much money you took. I went to talk to him, and Jaren was there. With Reynauld. I knew he looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him until the clearing when he pinned you down. And then so much happened. It wasn’t until now, seeing him again, that I remembered.”
So much happened. My breakdown in the woods. Avoiding Roan. Seeing him in the river. Kissing him. My skin prickles, sending goosebumps up my arms. But my forehead wrinkles as I try to make sense of what he’s telling me. Jaren was with Reynauld, the day before the princess was taken.
“So, what? What does that mean? Reynauld is involved with the princess being taken? With Silas?” I ask, more as a way to voice my thoughts then to get any kind of answer.
“It looks that way. Unless Silas had Jaren doing something else there on Reynauld’s estate. But… it seemed like… Reynauld knew him. Like he was an employee of some sort.” His hands silently tense into fists as he talks, and his voice turns raspy as he finishes.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. I don’t have the energy to try and fit the pieces together.
Roan kissed me, and I kissed him back. Then we were running for our lives as Jaren taunted me, threatened me. They took my precious Prue. My muscles are still screaming at me from pushing up through the soggy mountainside. Too much has happened to try and make sense of all of it. And now this. Now Reynauld.
In this moment, I only have the energy to take care of what’s right in front of me. I will do as Roan said. We will find supplies, and we will hunt. I will hunt.
I will get Prue back. And then I will kill Jaren. Then Silas. And if Reynauld was involved— him too. I don't care if he has family in high places. I will do whatever it takes to the rid the world of these men. Men who would take whatever they want without fear of retribution, without care of who suffers in the process.
And I will enjoy every moment of it.
33
Lena
“What’sinthere?”Iask, biting at the inside of my cheek.
A large, dark hole looms in front of me. A cave. I’ve never been underground before, even if that ground was carved out of a mountainside. Each footstep feels heavier than the one before.
“The tunnel is short. The main gates through the Prythan Mountains are shut and haven’t been opened since King Brekan closed them.” I inch closer before a forceful shove almost trips me headfirst into the rocky terrain.
“Get moving. We don’t have time to ease your soft mind,” Onah spits at me.
Parker jolts forward to catch me. Once I’m again sturdy on my feet, his upper lip curls as he eyes the woman. But she pays no heed. “Like I was saying, this is a passage some of the more rebellious people created so they could still get in and out of Thenstra. There’s a similar passage through the eastern Prythan Mountains, those bordering Jadeya, as well.
Last night we left the horses and wagon on the edge of the road, traveling the last leg of wherever this journey is taking us on foot. The rocky cliffs make it impassable for our large cart, and the smaller spaces are obstructive to our horses.
