Page 67 of Heart of Night
We made it out of the noble district half an hour ago, our progress delayed by the many occasions we had to dodge a night patrol. Somewhere between passing out in my bedroom from whatever was in the bread and being tortured, I lost track of time, day and night blurring into one big mass. Now that the oil lanterns are flickering to life and armed soldiers are making their rounds through the city in routine patrols, I have a clearer grasp on reality than I’ve had in weeks.
Gray clouds are shifting across the darkening sky, driven by the sluggish wind hitting from the east. From the ocean. My heart leaps in my chest at how close I am to the troubled waters that mean freedom, then slumps at the impossibility of bolting and disappearing without looking back the way I did when I joined the Wild Ray. Closing my eyes for a heartbeat, I inhale deeply, tasting the brine in the distance. I’ve barely escaped with my life, gambling with that of four others—five if I count Herinor, who has been risking his life to find a way around his bargain with Ephegos.
At least, I have two capable females at my side who are familiar with my current condition—which is mildly beside myself at the thought of my mate in the dungeon and a hidden pair of wings and feathers stuck in my body.
“Here, drink some more.” Kaira hands me the canteen without waiting for my response. Despite all her bickering with Clio, she’s made it her mission to keep the two of us fed and strong, and I can’t help but admire that about her.
Gratefully, I take a sip before handing the canteen to Clio, who frowns but drinks.
“I’m tempted to stay right here and not move until that poison of a drug is out of my system.” She gestures at the packed dirt road leading between the one-story buildings in this district. There’s a small front garden with a vegetable patch where a few stalks of lettuce and what looks like an early-ripened pumpkin sit in the shadows.
I’ve never been to this part of Meer, but judging by what I’ve seen so far, we can’t linger, or we’ll be reported. Even when this isn’t the district of estates and palaces, the houses are formidable, and poverty seems something nonexistent.
“Perhaps we should go near the docks and find a ship that will take all of us away when we get the males out,” I suggest, forcing myself to mean the when. I can’t live in a world where not succeeding is an option.
“You need to live with that option,” Kaira says in my mind, reading every last of my thoughts. I can’t tell if I’m relieved I’m not all alone in my head or if I’m annoyed by the lack of privacy.
“Relieved,” Kaira answers for me, shooting me a smile as we round another corner.
“You know we can’t simply run away once we have them back,” Clio notes. “My brother will be eager to know I’m still alive and that his general is ready to lead his armies in the upcoming war.”
My stomach folds into a knot—as if it hasn’t been one tight cluster of knots since the moment I learned that Myron is still alive—and in Erina’s and Ephegos’s power. “I know. I just wish it were that easy.”
“Running away isn’t easy, Ayna.” The wisdom in Clio’s tone gives me pause, and I meet her gaze, falling into step beside her. “You need to live with the guilt of knowing who and what you sacrificed in order to save yourself.”
“Sounds like you’ve tried that before,” Kaira quips, and I wish the two of them wouldn’t constantly challenge each other.
Clio doesn’t strike back with a smart-mouthed comment this time, merely nods and sighs. “I wish I didn’t.”
“One of the many stories taking too long to tell?” I ask, squeezing her hand for a beat as we step into the next alley.
“One of those stories.” She forces a smile, and even Kaira doesn’t comment when the female has laid open a vulnerability that others would be ashamed of.
“If the two of you have another half-hour walk in you, I’m sure we’ll find someplace we can stay for the night,” Kaira eventually says, taking the lead as if she’s mapped out the city in her mind. By now, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has.
“How did you manage to be in the right place at the right time so often,” I ask her, trudging on behind her while my senses reach far ahead, learning their limits and scouting our surroundings.
Kaira shrugs. “It comes with its benefits being unremarkable on all levels.” She says it like she doesn’t care, but I see her frustration, have witnessed it before when she told me she wasn’t taken on hunts to the Seeing Forest because she’s only part-Flame. Her average height and average looks and unremarkable hair color. There is an advantage to being able to blend into crowds because of being purely average, but it also is a stab to the gut to not stand out in any way.
“You are remarkable to me,” I tell her through our connection, and I could swear a ghost of a smile crosses her face. It’s hard to tell from this angle, but when she speaks again, her voice is lighter.
“Julj is the only one who seems to be attracted to unremarkable,” she narrates, her gait more energetic and her tone almost humorous. “You wouldn’t believe what sorts of information one can squeeze out of a man who thinks with his cock.”
Clio’s grin is the first genuine one I’ve seen since Kaira joined us in my room, and it’s a good look on her. “Finally something we agree on.”
“What’s your status with him?” I ask the Flame while in my mind I add, “I thought you had a thing for someone slightly … more experienced.”
Kaira’s gait falters briefly before she catches herself. “Julj? He knows what my breasts feel like through the fabric of my uniform, and that’s about it.” I can’t help but grin, too. “And the other one… He’s…”
“Intimidating,” I supply as she continues the conversation through our mental connection.
“That, and I can’t decide if I want him or am afraid of him.”
“He does give off those ‘dangerous Crow’ vibes,” I agree.
“Does he know who you are?” Clio wants to know, unaware that we’ve already moved on from the topic.
But Kaira is ready as if jumping between conversations has already become second nature to her. “Julj knows that I’m part of Ephegos’s staff serving in Erina’s court, but he has no idea I’m a part-Flame on a rescue mission to save?—”