One day, some way, I’d make him pay. If I lived through this. I’d make him regret leaving me here.
Galon threw me his cloak. If he felt any guilt for leaving me, it wasn’t visible on his face. “Good luck,” he said. He turned and mounted his horse as I made it to my knees.
They rode away. And all I could do was watch them leave, my mind shutting down.
I wrapped the cloak around me, my eyes heavy once more. I had to get up. Had to keep moving.
My eyes drifted shut.
When I finally opened them again, the air had cooled further.
My body felt like one big bruise. I’d lost my thin slippers, and my feet were still bleeding from the many times they’d struck rock.
I hauled myself to my feet, biting back a whimper. The moon was bright, giving me enough visibility here next to the river. But beneath the cover of the forest, I was likely to get hopelessly lost. Panic unfurled in my chest. I couldn’t stay here.
A howl ripped through the night, and I shivered beneath the cloak. I never should have allowed myself to sleep. It was a miracle that I’d woken. That I hadn’t slipped off to a much more permanent sleep.
But I was alive.
And now I had a list of things to achieve.
Most importantly, I had to get away from here, before the guards found me. The fact that they hadn’t stumbled across my unconscious body was a miracle. Since I was sure the gods didn’t habitually provide mortals with such miracles—and since they’d never taken the time to help me before—I needed to take advantage of my good luck.
Tibris would find me. He wouldn’t care that it would put him in more danger. And as much as I wanted to shake him for it, I was swamped with relief at the thought of seeing him again. I couldn’t think of Mama. Of the king’s guards. Maybe…maybe they hadn’t killed her. Maybe they’d taken her for questioning and Tibris would find a way to free her. We’d all get settled somewhere new.
I just had to get to the city. I’d find Vicer and arrange for notes to be sent to all of our planned meeting spots. While there, I’d research passage out of the city.
We’d find each other again. If there was one thing I knew, it was that my brother loved me.
Except, he wasn’t truly my brother.
My breath caught in my throat, instant denial coursing through my body. No. Tibris would always be my brother, even if we weren’t bound by blood. And he’d expect me to survive. He’d know my only hope was to go to the city, to try to board a ship leaving the continent. Before the king learned that I’d denied the gods what they were owed. Before I was burned as one of the corrupt. But if it became too dangerous, I would leave Tibris here if I had to. He was smart, and he’d be able to lay low. I would make sure he lived even if it meant I never saw him again.
I had a plan. I just had to start walking.
And one day, I’d find the man who’d ordered Galon to leave me for dead. I’d find him, and I’d make him pay.
“We could have helped that woman,” Cavis muttered. I slid him a look. The usually affable man was wearing a dark scowl. Children, women, animals…Cavis had always been obsessed with saving the innocent. And witnessing the Gifting ceremony in the last village we’d visited had put him in a dark mood.
“We did,” I said. “Galon saved her life.”
“And how long do you think she’ll continue to survive out here in the wild? It might’ve been kinder to let her drown.”
I didn’t bother pulling rank when we were traveling together. Those who were afraid to hear any criticism made for piss-poor leaders. Cavis’s pouting made me wish I’d taken a different approach.
“When you rescue half-drowned wildcats, you have to be prepared for them to slash you to ribbons,” I said. The last thing we needed was attention, and a woman who’d somehow ended up in the river would draw far too much of it. She was trouble. I’d known that the moment she’d stumbled into me in her village, almost drawing the assessor’s scrutiny.
A few days spent escorting her back to her village could be the difference between finding what we were seeking and losing it forever. The interest we’d receive from those villagers—and any guards in the area—would also jeopardize our plans once they began asking questions. And realized we were not where we should be.
I surveyed my men. Galon rolled his eyes. Marth grinned, while Rythos just shook his head.
“Pretty wee thing,” Marth said.
She was a pretty wee thing. While she’d been pale, her skin had enough color to tell me she enjoyed spending time in the sun. A wealth of curly white-blond hair had tumbled over her shoulders as she’d glared at me. Her eyes had burned into mine—a strange but not unattractive amber, more gold than brown. Her mouth was lush, with a pillowy bottom lip. That mouth had twisted, her sharp little chin jutting out when she’d realized we were leaving her.