Chapter Six

Aerilyn

The walk to the gate wasn’t far from her home, making the short journey pass too quickly.

She never thought walking to her death would be so simple.

Aerilyn could see the small group of people gathered, all with packs upon their backs.

A few guards stood around the group, watching each of them with emotionless expressions.

As she approached them, two men and a woman turned to face her.

The woman was smiling, her face beaming with light.

“I’m so glad I didn’t get stuck with all men! I’m Brinley,”

she put her hand out between them for Aerilyn to shake.

She paused at the positivity, remembering the excitement the redhead had when she was chosen.

She had red locks of hair that could only be compared to a flame and large hazel eyes that were filled with an excitement that nobody else in the group contained.

She was a head shorter than Aerilyn and had soft features that weren’t worn down with stress..

She seemed to be around eighteen, just recently crossing into adulthood.

The girl had a bow slung over her chest with arrows in a small sheath over her shoulder.

It looked fancier than any bow and arrow she’d ever seen.

It was obvious Brinley came from a richer family.

From the bow to her excitement.

She could tell that Brinley was raised in a household where being a Chosen was an honor. She’d heard of a few families who had that belief, but it was her first time meeting someone who felt that way. “Aerilyn,”

she simply replied, shaking the girl's hand before turning her attention to the others.

She took note that there were only four of them so far, one of the men from the group was still missing.

“Still waiting on the princeling,”

one of them joked, pulling her attention to his tall figure.

He was easy on the eyes with messy black hair that he ran his fingers through nervously.

Aerilyn couldn’t help but find some amusement in the comment.

She wasn’t the only one who was skeptical about the heir joining them.

She had a feeling that his head would be so far up his ass that he wouldn’t contribute to the group.

The other man stayed quiet, his lips pressed together and his eyes fixated on the ground before him.

He had shortly cut hair and deep brown skin, his clothes less fancier than the other two.

She found herself analyzing all of the people that stood around her.

The people who would either save her life or let her die.

She wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from all of them.

She was about to speak before she heard footsteps running towards them, quickly turning her gaze to the origin of the sound.

Everything inside of Aerilyn froze as her eyes locked with a pair of chocolate brown ones.

One would have to be blind to not recognize the man who was standing before her.

It was the same man who had caught her stealing from the palace only two nights prior.

The irony of it made her laugh, her shoulders shaking with the sound that came out of her.

She couldn’t help finding amusement in the entity of the situation.

His eyes widened as he began to recognize her, the realization striking his face. “We meet again, pretty boy,”

she teased, finding too much amusement in the situation. “At least this time you don’t have a dagger to my throat,”

he returned the wink, crossing his arms over his chest. The wink made a wave of annoyance rush over her. He looked past her at the rest of the group who was now gathering.

“You two know each other?”

Brinley questioned, looking between them. “You could say that,”

he shrugged, sizing up the other two men who joined them. “I’m Everett,”

his voice was silky smooth, shaking the girl's hand as she introduced herself. He kissed her knuckles as if he were a gentleman and moved on to examine the others. “Blaise,”

the man with long dark hair nodded his head towards the prince. The other with the short hair gave a shy wave. “I’m Bastian,”

there seemed to be an accent to his voice that made it much more enticing than any other man she’d ever spoken to.

Everett’s attention turned to her, awaiting her own introduction. She crossed her arms over her chest, mimicking his stance. “I’m Aerilyn, pretty boy,”

she used the nickname again, seeing in his eyes how much he disliked it. She tried to hide all of her nerves with a cocky attitude.

She didn’t want to give them the impression that she was afraid. Especially now that the heir was involved in the equation.

He visibly looked her up and down before looking to the gate where three guards in blue stood waiting for them to set off on their mission.

Aerilyn felt the panic rush over her as she realized the reality of what was about to happen. A guard approached her and Everett with two packs, handing each of them the bag of supplies meant to last them for some time.

She didn’t say a word as she pulled it onto her shoulders, trying to adjust to the new weight added to her back.

When the guard stepped away he nodded his head to another one standing beside the wall waiting to pull a lever.

The gate was pulled open revealing the darkness of what lies beyond the walls. When she took a step towards the gate she felt a hand grip onto her arm, keeping her from moving.

“If you think for one second I’m not watching you, thief… You better watch your own back because if it comes down to it, I won’t save your ass,”

Everett’s voice was low, leaving the words dangling in the air for only her to hear. The words made a smile form on her lips, gazing up at the man with a pouting expression. “Oh how will I ever survive without a useless prince defending me,”

the sarcasm was evident in her voice as she yanked her arm from his grasp. “Never touch me again,”

she snapped, any teasing disappearing in a matter of seconds. She didn’t stand around to wait for his reaction, following the others towards the gate.

Aerilyn kept her steps confident, knowing the prince was behind her judging every single one of her moments.

She only paused when she reached the space where the dark and light met, hesitant to step out of the walls.

It felt like two worlds colliding.

The darkness beyond the wall seemed like the middle of the night, while the light within the walls shone.

She’d seen it from a distance over the wall, but seeing it this close made it more real.

It was odd.

The difference in the world beyond compared to the world she’d grown to know was far beyond what words could explain.

Her eyes scanned the darkness not noticing anything lurking in the shadows.

Aerilyn had been close to the walls before, but standing in the entryway of the gate made it all feel so much larger.

She felt a shoulder shove into hers as Everett brushed past her and stepped out without a care in the world.

Bastian paused beside her and glanced over, reaching his hand out silently.

She gave him a small smile to hide her fears as she slid her hand into his and stepped out into the darkness beyond.