Both girls looked tense.
“They’re blameless.” I withdrew the sword. There was no point in sticking around now. My parents were safe, and who knew where the patrol was now. They could be in the tavern or watching the ridge.
“Why did you do it?”
I locked eyes with Cassidy. Does she really want to know, or is she trying to stall me?
“The Crown doesn’t have its people at heart.”
The girl studied my face, and I held her gaze with my own. No wonder my mother had chosen to apprentice her; she reminded me of myself—a younger version, if I had chosen to remain home instead of chasing my dreams at the Academy.
“You must be hungry.” Cassidy motioned to the younger girl to go fetch a basket of bread. “Teegan will pack you enough to get to wherever you need to go. Would you like a bite to eat?”
For a moment, I considered her offer. I needed supplies—potions would help, and my stomach rumbled just at the mention of food—but this was all too convenient.
I was about to make my excuses when Cassidy’s eye caught my own. A lump in her throat bobbed as her gaze darted toward the curtain, and then back to my face. “Stay,” her words were light, but her expression was not, “I’ll make some tea.”
“Now that you’ve mentioned it…” My hand twisted the door’s handle and the squeal of its hinges was all I needed to alert whoever was hiding behind the pair of curtains to my left. The girls darted right.
My casting shot off just as the mage emerged a second too late. My magic sent him sprawling against the wall.
I turned and fled.
Cassidy’s screech followed me out the door. “The rebel is here!”
So much for loyalty. To be fair, she thought I was the enemy. I might have done the same, were our roles reversed.
I barely had time to cast before something hit my shield, sending a ripple of purple down my globe. I raced down the alley, this time not bothering to hide my presence, as shouts and more projections rained down on me like missiles from above.
In five minutes, I was severing the lead, sending my horse into a gallop as we tore up the rocky hillside, and fleeing north.
I didn’t stop once. For the first hour, I heard distant shouts—sounds of the two or three regiment mages scouring the ground as fumbling soldiers tried to lead them through the dark. But in the end, it didn’t matter.
I grew up in these woods; the mages hadn’t. The soldiers might have taken up posts after their year in the Cavalry, but they hadn’t spent summers climbing the trees and darting along the trails like the village children. They might have a vague idea of where I was, but in the time it would take to reach me, I would be long gone.
It was an uncomfortable trek without a full moon to guide my way; at parts I was forced to dismount and hike. The trail grew so steep and narrow that there was no other choice. But eventually, the sun rose and, with it, my relief.
My parents were safe. No bounty hunter would be searching for them when there was a rebel on the run with potential titles for her head.
Now I just had to get to my brother, because if the Crown had sent soldiers to Demsh’aa, the keep would be next.
*
I raced down the street as fast as my feet could fly.
There were shouts as three men came around the corner; I had about two minutes before they would pass and spot me in the baker’s quarter.
Sweat stung my eyes. I swiped it away as I studied the streets.
“Stop that thief!”
Apparently they were faster than I thought.
I darted left and ducked into an alcove of stalls, desperately scanning the market for a place to hide. My horse was a mile outside of town, tethered to a tree near the mountain stream where I had camped, but I couldn’t lead a parade of city guards through the forest now. I needed to lose the guards before they attracted a mob.
A shopkeeper that had yet to ascertain my role in the crowds was standing in front of me, oblivious.
“Excuse me, sir.” I tried to push my way past, but he placed a large hand on my shoulder, halting me.
“You look familiar,” he said, squinting.
“Must have one of those faces.” I ducked my head even lower. The last thing I needed was for someone to recognize me now. It was midday, so the stalls were crowded, but it wouldn’t take a lot to recall the wanted posters hanging off every post and shop. Eleven days of travel had washed out all trace of brown dye.
I broke free of the shopkeeper’s grip before he could place my face and ducked left.
All for two mincemeat pies and a string of sausage left on an unsuspecting sill. I had run out of food three days ago. The whole situation could have been avoided if I had properly tied my saddlebags before running into a patrol mage and a bounty hunter in the forest. The mage’s casting had spooked my horse, and I’d lost two days of scraps and a water skin on the run. It was the only reason I had risked my neck coming into town today.