I strode back into my room, making quick work of dressing and gathering up my things, checking all my weapons and making certain they were in working order.
There was no question in my mind. I was going after her. I was going to find her long before she ever reached the king. I would tell her everything. I would make her understand that turning herself over to him would make no difference. It wouldn’t help. He would not even lift the kill order once he had Luna in his clutches because that’s what kind of twisted man he was. He’d keep the kill order in place just to be certain that the late king’s heir was in fact dead. On the off chance Luna wasn’t who she claimed.
Whatever it took, whatever words I had to say, I would make her understand that she didn’t have to do this. That we could be together in Allu. We would.
“Let her go,” Mirelya murmured as though she could read my thoughts. Maybe the old woman could.
I shook my head. “Never.”
“She’s trying to do the right thing. Let her go.”
Swinging my pack over my shoulder, I passed her and headed for the door, calling back, “She can try all she likes to do the right thing. But so will I.”
THIRTY
Luna
I MOVED WITH all the stealth Sivo had taught me, retracing the route I had taken with Fowler, my ears straining, my nostrils flaring, filtering smells. Digger traveled several paces behind me, his paws padding lightly on the ground with a cheerful rhythm in direct opposition to the sinister sounds of the infinite night. Every once in a while he would run ahead of me and then backtrack, dashing past my side almost as though he was playing with me.
Our friendship existed on his terms. He approached me only when I stopped. He chose when I could touch him. He chose when to sniff me, when to graze me with that looping tail of his. If I climbed a tree, sometimes he joined me. Other times he ran off, not returning for several hours. I didn’t mind. I was glad for his company on any terms.
I decided to head south and follow the Kangese River before turning west to Relhok City. I would briefly cross into Lagonia’s lands. Sivo’s lessons played over in my mind. He had taught me all about the kingdom—my kingdom, as he had frequently reminded me. He had schooled me in its geography. Beyond that, he told me about the other kingdoms that surrounded Relhok: Neliam, Carondale, and Lagonia. He had even imparted everything he knew about the far distant lands on the other side of our seas. Not that any of that mattered greatly now. I only needed to worry about reaching the capital, giving wide berth to the villages and cities that may or may not even exist anymore along the way.
Sivo had provided me with a mental picture of the world, including how it used to be and what it was like now—at least as much as he knew from residing in seclusion.
The world as it truly was, what it was actually like to live in . . . Fowler taught me that lesson.
The world was a merciless place. Hard and cruel. Except when you found someone to trust and love. Life, however fleeting, possessed meaning then. Knowing Fowler and loving him had given my life that meaning. I could always cling to that. I always would. Until the end.
I was being followed.
At first it was just a vague sense—a possibility that I dismissed as a result of my constant state of vigilance.
I listened but could hear nothing over the wind and drum of my own heart. Digger had left on one of his private excursions a while ago, and I tried not to long for him too hard. He was a wild animal that roamed where he wished. He wasn’t a pet. Shaking my head, I told myself I was just being overly anxious. Out here, alone, my nerves were a stretched string ready to snap.
It was midlight again. I could tell by the crispness draped over the pungent marshland I presently trekked across. The air felt less cold on my skin, too. I was covering good ground at least, despite the nasty stretch of bog sucking and pulling at my boots.
It wasn’t an outright swampland. Each step plunged me down with a squish, mud splattering all the way up to my knees. I pushed on faster, my strides gobbling up ground, determined to put more distance between Ortley and me. Fowler and me.
I doubted Fowler would give pursuit. He had dropped his walls to trust me, and I had left him. I doubted he would understand and overcome that betrayal easily. No, he would push on for Allu.
And that was for the best—no matter how it swiped a claw at my heart.