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“A letter? The two of us are only worth a hastily scrawled parting letter?” Merritt said. His dirty blond hair was ruffled as though he’d been running his fingers through it only a moment before. His disheveled locks were at odds with the stiff perfections of his expensive clothes, a blue embroidered waistcoat over a neatly pressed white collared shirt nearly hidden by a thick fur-lined cloak. Those blue eyes of his narrowed. “What a bastard. Don’t you agree, Percy?”
Percy lowered the book that he held cradled in his hands and frowned. “Remis isn’t a bastard. His parents were married upon his conception, but he is a terribly mean friend.” Percy shook his head, his features taking on the same ‘don’t waste my time’ look that Merritt wore. It was so ridiculously a Percy thing to say.
Merritt’s scowl deepened. Though he was the youngest of the three of them, all only months apart in age, he had no qualms about acting as the group's proverbial mother. “I told him not to bring the damn book.”
Percy’s affliction for reading was about as bad as it could get. Remis had seen him turn down party invitations and even a run down to the city’s brothel for some fun for a chance to finish whatever novel he’d picked up that day. From what Remis could tell, the man wasn’t interested in women or men or sex for that matter. Which in and of itself was as bizarre to both Remis and Merritt as the moon turning purple. But Percy was their purple moon and had been since the trio had met in their early years of school. Nothing short of the world ending might change that. Gaze lifting to the sky, Remis slid his tongue over his lips and prepared to launch into the very reason why his world was ending.
Percy closed his book and tucked it under his arm. With one hand, he scrubbed his short-cropped brown hair before smoothing over the gilded buttons of his jacket. “You were going to leave without us?”
“There better be a good reason,” Merritt hissed.
“Is certain death not a perfectly fine reason to leave you two behind?” Remis began pacing before the carriage. Four steps one way and four back. “I’m leaving, right now, if you didn’t notice.” The notes he’d sent his friends were quite elusive and contained little to no details as to what Remis was actually doing. He’d just let them know that he was leaving and left it at that. They deserved more than he’d given them. “My father is sending me to attend to some business deals. He’s made arrangements for me to leave. He will not be persuaded to wait until after dragonis season so we know the likelihood of my survival is…low.” He took a deep breath. “He is holding my contract for school over my head. He’ll rip up my contract should I refuse.”
How his friends understood the jumbled mess of words he’d said far too quickly was beyond him, but both of them stood unfazed. Something was working behind Merritt's icy gaze, ever the fixer of problems. “Fuck.”
Fuck was right.
Fuck was exactly what this situation was.
“Not your schooling.” Percy’s thin brows pulled low over his eyes.
“He really won’t consider waiting until after dragonis season?” Merritt asked.
Remis shook his head. Rocks crunched under his boots as he moved back and forth. “He seems to be under the impression that this is abundantly urgent, and any amount of waiting will lose him business.”
“And as a result, money,” Merritt finished for him.
“He is condemning you to death all for the chance at greater wealth. Money is a plague upon this world.” Percy clasped his hands in front of him. “What if you just ran away?”
Remis snorted. “And then I’ll never get into school.”
“But perhaps you’ll live,” Merritt said.
Remis closed his eyes. So these were his options? Run away and live or chase his dreams and risk death? But his heart had already chosen. Even if it was a bad idea. A very bad idea.
“You’re already set on leaving, aren’t you?” Merritt continued and Remis grimaced. “It’s a good thing our bags are already packed then, right, Percy?”
“Right.” Percy pulled the carriage door open and climbed into the seat, Merritt right behind him. The pair stared out at Remis who’d sent rocks skittering away as he stopped.
“Get out of the carriage, right now,” Remis demanded. “You two are not coming. I will not have your blood on my hands.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be on your hands, really. It would probably be all over us, the ground, maybe even on these seats.” Percy patted the thin cushion underneath him, his expression blank as he waited. Merritt stretched himself across the padded bench and let his head fall against the wall. His eyes drifted closed as if he was ready for a nap and not about to take off into the uncertain territory that was the Deadwoods in the winter.
“You’re both assholes, you know that?” Remis asked, but he didn’t mean it.
A warmth spread through his veins despite the cold. It perhaps went without saying, but he was certain he had the best friends in the entire world. He tried his best to hide his smile as he went ahead and climbed in, pulling the door closed behind him.
Perched on the edge of his seat, Remis watched the Deadwoods through the window. The bench creaked underneath him as he leaned back. Every breath he tried to take was too shallow, never reaching the true depths of his lungs. Perspiration was beginning to pool in the palms of his hands. That damn huntress mark itched and he adjusted the wrap over it to ensure it remained concealed. Neither of his friends had brought it up yet and he hoped it stayed that way.
“No better time than the present,” Merritt said, though his voice was quiet. Both he and Percy sat together on the opposite bench. While Merritt leaned forward to look out into the treeline, Percy had yet to lift his face from his book that he read by the firelight of the small lantern at his side.
There was no need for urgency when no one dared to come and go from the city. The road they sat on was painfully empty, a stretch of dirt that curved around the brush and tree trunks. To their left sat one of the city's mage-made flame canons mounted and angled to reach above the treetops. Remis did not envy the man who’d have to manage it if and when one of the dragonis drifted into the city. Though it hadn’t happened yet this season, it was inevitable. When they grew desperate toward the end of winter they dared venture this way. Then, for a moment, he considered seeing if he and his friends could somehow get it onto their carriage. No…then the city would lose another defense. He couldn’t. Not when Lettie was here.
Remis shivered at the thought. He could recall the stories of children plucked out of their mother’s arms and swallowed whole by the dragonis. He wouldn’t wish that upon anyone. Well, mostly anyone. Would it be so bad if it happened to whoever was hunting him? While he was likely too big to be swallowed in his entirety due to the dragonis’ narrowed faces and shorter snouts, the idea of those razor-sharp teeth splitting him in half was not pleasant either. He’d seen enough of them at a distance that he knew he didn’t want to see one up close.
From here, the sounds of the city had yet to fade. Day gave way to the bustle of nightlife that the city hosted in its many taverns. A chorus of laughter came and went with a gust of wind. Normal people, doing normal things. People who would go to bed in their homes tonight instead of snoozing in a carriage rolling through the Deadwoods. Breath fogged in front of his face as he exhaled and pulled his cloak tighter against his body.
“Ideally, the best time would be in the summer when the dragonis have migrated back to the mountain tops,” Percy said.
