31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

I t was an hour past nightfall. Caelus hadn't returned like he'd said he would. And no one acted like they were concerned except me. Not even Kenzo, and the two of them were like best friends as far as I could tell.

The only decent thing that Malik had done during our wait was send the two marked bodies back to Dusmir. The farther away they were, the better. I didn't want anything to do with those dreadful pulsing marks on their backs.

But Malik insisted we wait to make sure Caelus really wasn't returning.

The fire crackled in the living room, where I sat next to the window, peeking out for any sign of Caelus. "We need to go," I said.

Malik leaned against the front door, blocking it.

Selena and Kenzo gave me sympathetic looks from where they sat at the dining table.

I glanced at Esteban on the couch, and he shook his head.

I stood and paced the entryway.

Malik said, "You'll die without a plan. Fortunately for you, I don't let little incompetent Divines run off toward deadly Abyssals on their own." He shot me a cold, calculated look. "We wait for backup from the guild," he added, as if it were some sort of peace offering.

I glared at him and loathed to admit more people gave us a better chance against a labryn.

Malik had always been difficult on the best of days—an arrogant ass, putting strategy before anything else. Becoming the guild leader hadn't done that part of him any favors. While his esprit wasn't as powerful as a Divine's, he was one of few who came close. We had a chance together.

I gestured toward Selena and said, "She trained me. And I've been training with my power on my own."

"Ah, so it's yours now, is it? Wasn't that way a few years ago when I offered to let you join the guild—offered to train you—and get away from that temple bitch," he sneered.

"She was a child, Malik." Esteban said from the couch. "We all make mistakes as children."

He crossed his arms. "And apparently, even greater ones as adults."

"Mistakes I've been trying to fix!" Without the earring from Thalia to hold it back, lightning slipped from my fingers at my outburst.

He stalked forward, not threatened by the lightning.

I stood my ground.

"Except that's the problem, Tempest. You aren't fixing anything. You're worried about someone else. Teeg wouldn't come first if you went to Thistlewall, assuming you didn't get caught or killed before you find either of them."

"I can find him and Caelus—"

Kenzo interrupted, "I could go with her. A small team would likely to unnoticed."

Malik turned to face him, a muscle in his jaw tensing. "Sending her with someone untested could end with the same result."

"Calling him ‘untested' is quite rude. He does work for the king, after all," Selena chimed in. "And I could go too."

"No," Malik said with a finality that had everyone silenced.

Selena sipped her tea loudly, unfazed.

I looked to Esteban, hoping he would side with me, but he was facing the fire. He probably thought the whole idea of going to Thistlewall was reckless and wouldn't want me heading off into danger. Siding with Malik would be an easy choice for him.

Spinning on my heel, I slumped back down into the worn chair next to the window. The moon peeked out from behind a cloud, casting silvery light on the trees and the stable.

I couldn't shake that something was wrong. Caelus should be back . Something had to have happened. Sitting around and waiting wasn't the answer, despite what Malik thought.

I had to get to Thistlewall, with or without Malik. If I ran into the labryn, I had my power. Using it against a monster would be easier than a person. I hope.

And if I went, I could find Teeg—and save him.

Malik looked content to block the door all night if he had to, just to ensure I didn't leave on my own before he had a plan. I'd noticed a few of Malik's men stationed outside, likely guarding the exits. Little did they know, I couldn't ride a horse. So I'd need help or a lot of luck to escape the lodge.

Ahrea's luck.

Before I could consider the good and bad of my idea, I headed upstairs to the bedroom Caelus and I had shared, tapping Selena's shoulder along the way as a signal for her to follow me.

She didn't join me immediately, so once inside, I quickly braided my hair and grabbed my dagger, strapping it to my thigh. I wished I had a sword, too, but with no way of getting one without Malik knowing, the small blade would have to do.

I crossed my arms and paced while I waited, keeping a close eye on the window for any Copper Jackals who may be patrolling outside.

Selena tapped against the door ten minutes later.

"Come in," I said.

She stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her. With a few steps, she closed the distance between us. She kept her voice quiet. "So, you plan on leaving?" She gestured to the window in the room. It was one possible exit, but one Malik—and obviously Selena—would expect.

I nodded. "I need your help."

She grinned. "What's your plan?"

"I don't have one," I said.

I knew it would sound ridiculous to her, but if Ahrea favored me as Thalia thought, then luck might be on my side, even if it often didn't seem that way. Luck could be enough to get me to Thistlewall and help me find Caelus and Teeg, though.

Selena's grin fell. "You don't?"

I shook my head and walked over to the window. I hadn't spotted anyone in the moonlit woods so far. Either Malik didn't think I'd try to leave through the second-story window or whoever guarded this exit wasn't present.

My gaze slid to Selena.

If Malik didn't have anyone outside guarding this exit, that could mean he was counting on her to keep me inside. Except right now, I'd confused her with my lack of a plan.

"Any ideas?" I asked.

She sat at the desk on the opposite side of the room. "Yeah. Stay here. Let us handle this."

I sighed, facing the outside again. "I thought as much," I muttered, and then shoved open the window and tumbled through it onto the roof. Righting myself, I spun back around and placed my palm on the glass. Lightning spread from my hand. The glass shattered, spraying into the room.

Selena had only made it a few feet, so I hoped she'd be okay.

She lifted her arms, blocking the shards from her face. I spared a moment to ensure she wasn't injured.

It cost me.

She recovered and sprinted toward me.

I turned and darted over to the edge of the roof. "I'm sorry!" I yelled before shimmying down the trellis.

Glass crunched and wood groaned above me.

Before I made it halfway, a vine wrapped around one of my wrists. Selena's esprit. I grabbed the dagger and cut it away. That was all she needed to catch up. Above me, she started making her way down.

I let go, grunting with the impact, my knees nearly buckling. Without wasting another moment, I raced for the stable. Selena had always been fast, but I prayed to Ahrea that I could be faster.

Footfalls squelched in the mud all around me. I pushed my muscles harder until they were burning.

The shattered glass had alerted everyone, and I cursed my decision to break it.

I spotted faint movement along the ground thanks to the moonlight and dodged a rapidly growing vine from Selena. Thick roots sprouted from the earth, shooting toward me. One caught my wrist, spinning me around.

I reached for my dagger, but this root was tougher than the vines. Another one snaked up, encircling my other wrist, incapacitating me.

"Fuck, Eira! Let me help you!" Selena called.

I wanted to believe her, but she'd encouraged me to stay. Her loyalty to the Copper Jackals—to Malik—was respectable, but I couldn't sit back and do nothing. I struggled against the rough root but couldn't break free. "Fuck luck," I muttered, lightning forming at my fingers.

A boom sounded in the distance. My head twisted toward it.

Kenzo tackled Selena to the ground with a wet thud. He pinned her and reached into his coat, pulling out a rope. With deft motions, he secured her hands behind her back. He pushed himself back up. "Keep still," he said, brandishing his sword. He cut through the root and grabbed my hand. "Let's go," he said, pulling me along with him.

Inside the stable, his horse had already been readied. "Were you going to go on your own?" I asked between breaths.

"I hoped you wouldn't be complacent," he said, helping me up. "Glad to see I was right." He climbed up behind me, and a moment later, the horse shot out of the stable. "Never thought you'd cause glass to explode in your friend's face, though. Made for a decent signal."

"I couldn't sit and wait." My hands gripped the horse's mane. "She wasn't hurt," I added.

"You're right to be worried. Caelus isn't easy to apprehend, what with his airwalking and all."

My stomach dipped.

Hooves pounded against the mud behind us, and I twisted around. A brown ram galloped after us, Stumbleduck atop its back.

Kenzo looked over his shoulder, grinning. "The little guy really pulled through."

I blinked. "That explosion?"

Kenzo nodded. "That was supposed to be the distraction."

"For what?"

"The hard-ass guild master."

"You didn't tell me."

He chuckled. "Hard to do when they weren't letting you out of their sight."

Smiling, I turned forward but kept my senses alert. Malik wouldn't sit back and let us go without trying to stop us.

Stumbleduck's explosion bought us time, but it wasn't enough.

More hooves against mud caught up to us.

Kenzo weaved through the cedar trees of Reina's Woods, using the darkness to his advantage. But they knew where we were headed. Losing them would be tricky. Selena hadn't held back to stop me before. I wasn't sure what lengths they might go to stop us.

A crossbow bolt whizzed past us. "Gods, they're persistent," Kenzo muttered. He turned right. "They're serious about stopping us. It'll be impossible to go unnoticed unless they fuck off."

"Do you have a plan?" I asked.

He called out to Stumbleduck, "Do you have any more of those explosives?"

Stumbleduck slowed beside us and reached into his bag. He pulled out two of those explosive metal soldiers.

I jerked the reins from Kenzo, pulling back enough for the horse to slow. "We're not hurting them."

"Do you want to save Caelus and the boy?" Kenzo asked.

"I do, but . . ." Was injuring members of the guild protected Dusmir the right thing? I'd healed several of them from fatal wounds. If I agreed to this, I could cause one of those injuries, and they wouldn't have me this time to save them.

Malik may never forgive me for it.

Hoofbeats grew closer. Kenzo said, "Eira! We can't wait around."

"Is there a way to detonate them on a timer?" I asked.

"Of course! What do you take me for?" Stumbleduck yelled.

"Plant them elsewhere. Away from them. It may convince them we went another direction. It'll get them off our trail long enough to gain some distance," I said.

"They barely fell for that before," Kenzo said.

"I won't sit by and risk injuring them as much as I won't sit by and do nothing to find Caelus and Teeg."

Kenzo sighed, then shouted instructions to Stumbleduck.

With a squeeze of Kenzo's thighs, the horse sped forward. Stumbleduck branched off from us. Kenzo laced through the trees and shrubbery, keeping us out of view. Crossbow bolts flew past, missing their mark.

Several minutes later, Stumbleduck rejoined us, a trail of fuse behind him. The remaining bundle in his hand rapidly shortened.

We veered in a new direction that I hoped was Thistlewall.

Stumbleduck grumbled.

I turned to see him struggling to light the fuse while mounted, and he was running out.

I said a quick prayer to Wrynal's twin before yelling, "Drop it!"

Stumbleduck mercifully listened. I willed lightning to my fingers, sending it toward the end of the fuse.

It lit, the flame skittering along the fuse toward the explosive.

Wrynal may be the god of war. But his sister, Renelle, was the goddess of mercy, and I prayed that she'd have mercy on anyone caught in the blast.