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Screams went up in the village, telling me it was past time to leave.
Heart thundering out of my chest, I threw my stuff in the hidden compartment, then hopped on.
Riordan took off like the hounds of hell were snapping at his feet, waiting for one trip or stumble to claim their prize and drag him to damnation. The horses surged up the hill—jostling their burden over the uneven, rocky path. It was only magic that kept the vegetables from falling out.
Or maybe it was fear. They had no desire to roll down and face what was coming for me.
Come on, I thought as squawks, screeches, howls, and barks went up in the village.Faster!
We broke over the hill and took off, racing down the snow-covered path.
The first thing I’d do when I got home was hug Mama, Meli, the twins, and baby Savia for five minutes each. Then, I’d pack our meager belongings, move them into one of the grand mansions on the hill, and then take extra pleasure in watching Kirwan shouting himself purple outside the gates when he discovered that home was his.
My dear husband, Alisdair, made such a show of insisting everything that was or would be wasoursabsolutely. Binding us as surely as the runes bound our souls. There was nothing wrong in filling my pack with the riches collecting dust on display.
Everything was about to change for me and my family, and after it did, I’d hunt Emiana down in her hiding places, drag her back to Lyrica, force her to give my body back, then throw her to the country she betrayed.
Riordan and I sped away from Lumenfell, leaving it farther... farther... and farther behind.
“Yes!” I cried, brimming with joy. I did it. I couldn’t believe I’d finally outsmarted the great and terrible Lord Alisdair Shadowsoul. This little bird had broken free of her cage.
A shadow appeared in the distance, moving fast across the horizon. I wasn’t certain if it was Shadowsoul or one of the Taken, and I didn’t plan to find out.
“Faster!”
“Ye-ah! Ye-ah!” Riordan bellowed, going harder on the reins. Glowing orblights swirled around the cart—lighting our way and shining a beacon in the darkness. No option of diminishing them. It was too dark, and the path too dangerous. Gnarled tree limbs stretched across the divide, desperately trying to tear him from his seat while dips and rocks sought to overturn the cart.
“Arggh,” he roared, and I knew without a doubt. The shadow was Alisdair, not the Taken.
He tore fast for the cart and the prize hidden inside. Fully changed, I got a flash of the beast coming for me. Lethal fangs, unforgiving claws tearing up the ground, curved back covered in black fur, and a body honed with a weapon-defiant hide and thick, ropy muscle. This creature was an instrument of killing, and nothing could stop it.
Riordan whipped back and forth, the white of his eyes drowning his irises the closer Shadowsoul got. Riordan was shouting before he pounced—leaping on the back of the cart and tearing it apart. A shower of carrots, cabbage, and spinach rained from the sky. Alisdair found the secret compartment and ripped it off as Riordan hit the ground and started running—not so much as looking back.
Alisdair found his prize—a pile of clothes covered in my scent.
I almost laughed as his roar ripped through the forest, bouncing off the trees to resound through the mountaintops. I leaned forward in the saddle, silently urging my horse on, and leaving Alisdair and his rage behind.
Of course he’d chase after the big, hulking carriage of the man I’d suspiciously chosen to ride back to Lyrica. And while he was wasting his time chasing after all the wrong men and all the wrong scents, I’d ride off into the lands of summer and sun.
Soon, everything faded behind me—light, sound, Alisdair.
I slowed my horse, then slid off her back. The two of us moving quietly and carefully across the perilous, shadowed landscape. Another hour passed. Then two. Then three.
On we trod, escaping the land of Wind and Wild as assuredly as we were escaping the night. Oh so soon, the sun would rise beyond the clouds, and the runes would strike Alisdair down. I eluded him until daybreak. He had to let me go.
Let me go he will, to return to Lyrica and save my family from the grip of Kirwan, but the truth is I’m not done with Lumenfell yet.
I nodded to myself, letting that thought sink into my bones. I couldn’t be done with Lumenfell until I found and saved the fox boy from Shadowsoul. Of course, I couldn’t delay my plan to break free of the marriage and runes. I could hardly free the boy from the castle when I was trapped in the castle.
But once I no longer had the runes boiling my skin, I’d come back with something Alisdair wanted, and trade for his freedom. Although, what he wanted was the issue.
It was abundantly clear that Alisdair wouldn’t settle for anything short of complete, total, soul-crushing revenge against King Salman for what he did to Raelina. He certainly wanted it more than he wanted a tiny, desperate thief. The question was how could I deliver that without committing treason?
I couldn’t lie. I held no fondness, respect, or regard for my king. I didn’t before I had Emiana’s memories, and I had even less after. Emiana experienced nothing but neglect, and she witnessed nothing but cruelty. The few times Salman tore himself away from the arms of his harem to hold court and meet with his subjects, he did the Alisdair equivalent of tearing their throats out.
He stole their land and coin while claiming it property of the kingdom. He jailed anyone who complained of the rising taxes. He suggested to struggling women that he would happily ease their burden if they joined his harem, and after they refused and walked out, he ordered his advisors to lay even more bullshit taxes and repossessions on them—driving them to the brink to force theirnointo ayes.
Salman was swine. To know him was to hate him. Lyrica would never become a free and just country with that man on the throne, but the fact remained, treason carried too high a price. In Lyrica, when an individual is charged with treason, they and their entire family are put to death. Made for a very strong incentive to never think such a crime, let alone carry it out.
