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I wove through the trees, moving swiftly up the hill with Raven on my heels. When I reached the top, I crouched down to hide in the undergrowth. Raven knelt beside me. From here, we could see the old road that ran from Malengard to the Market of End at the bottom of the hill. There was a group of Rathalans gathered there, some on foot, others on horseback. All armed with deadly malarite weapons.
Commander Bloodbain himself was shouting orders at them.
Blazenhell. This was not good. I’d never seen so many Rathalans venture outside Malengard’s walls.
Raven’s eyes grew wide. “They’re after us.”
“Come on, we’ve got to go.Now,” I said, taking off in Kah’s direction.
This time, Raven followed me without question.
“What did you see?” Kah asked.
“There are several dozen Rathalans on the main road, most likely looking for us. We need to get to the Market of End without alerting them to our presence. Which means we’re going to have to stay hidden in the trees, move fast … and not talk.”
Kah snorted, knowing I’d added that last part not just because I knew our voices could reverberate through the hills, but mainly so Raven wouldn’t bother me with unwanted questions.
“You never answered my question,” Raven said, already ignoring my no-talking rule.
Skies. “Actually, Ididanswer your question about why I’m helping you, but you didn’t believe me.”
Her eyes narrowed. I’d seen that expression on her face before—right before she kicked that mineguard in the crotch.
“What’s it going to be? Do you want to fend for yourself out here with those Rathalans hunting you or come with us to the marketplace?” I asked, my tone edged with frustration. Technically, I wasn’t going to give her a choice, but it would be a lot easier not to have to carry a kicking and screaming girl over my shoulder all afternoon.
“Fine. Let’s go,” she said finally, taking off ahead of me like she knew the way.
I sighed. This was going to be a long day.
To my relief,Raven took my no-talking rule seriously as the hours passed in the forest. She kept glancing sideways at me like she was afraid I might transform back into a Rathalan at any moment. In turn, I kept a close watch on her, worried she’drealize I wasn’t telling her the whole truth and decide to fly off, taking my hopes of saving Lila with her.
As we walked, Raven hugged her arms around her body to stave off the cold and hummed softly to herself. Her styled hair from last night was in disarray, falling in messy strands over her shoulders. Her face was smeared with dirt, and her shoes were crusted with mud. She looked miserable. If I hadn’t met this girl in the mine—and seen her put up a fight against that guard—I would have guessed she was some lost, distressed damsel, unwillingly plucked from her luxurious accommodations in the black tower.
Kah walked beside me as we crossed a narrow stream, his large paws leaving imprints in the muddy bank. “Do you think she’s really from the Zavien tribe?” he asked, lowering his bushy eyebrows as he studied her. Like me, he was probably wondering why she hadn’t used her magic yet if she was.
I shook my head. I didn’t know. And honestly, I didn’t care. All the Magi had said was,Find the girl with a tattoo of four feathers, and you will find the map.I’d done that. Now, I just needed to keep her close until I could figure out how to get the map away from her. Safety wasn’t the only reason I was leading us back to the Market of End. I needed to talk to Sal again. She’d bedelightedto tell me all about this magical suli map. For a price.
I grimaced.
For once, though, Sal seemed like the least of my worries. From what I could tell about Raven so far, it was unlikely she was going to happily hand over the map … or cooperate in any way. Meaning I’d have to find a way to make her.
Raven paused on the other side of the stream and knelt to pick ripe stoneberries from a scraggly bush, popping a few in her mouth. Her lips puckered as the tartness hit her tongue. Howdid she know that stoneberries were safe to eat but not know about black bramble?
“We can’t stop,” I said, breaking our no-talking rule. With the main road being patrolled by the Rathalans, the journey was taking twice as long through the forest. Every time a dry leaf crunched underneath our feet or a branch snapped, I was certain the Rathalans would discover us. This was not a time to be snacking.
“I’m hungry,” she said, matching the agitation in my tone.
“We’re all hungry. But personally, I’d rather be hungry than dead, k’da?”
“So, I’m guessing you don’t want any.”
“No,” I said flatly, trying to ignore the betraying rumble of my stomach.
Kah grunted, clearly annoyed he had no say-so in this.
“You can find your own berries,” I snapped at him as I trekked onward.
“Here,” Raven said. She placed a small pile of the red berries on a fallen log and quickly backed away.
