AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He grinned. “Plants affinity, remember? I made that path. And I felt the cave under my feet when I first passed by. I used it to hide from Grey’s people myself last time, so I know high tide doesn’t even come close to filling it.”
One of the guards gazed uneasily at the turbulent ocean beyond the cove. “That was a different season, though, wasn’t it?”
“Don’t worry.” Amara’s smile showed her teeth. “I’ll take care of any water troubles we might encounter.”
The guard immediately nodded and disappeared back into the crowd of his comrades, eyes wide. I hid a smile. Whether or not they’d heard of my supposed feats, our companions had certainly heard the rumors about Amara.
We all slept in the cave that night, the strange echoing space unfamiliar after the open skies of our nights on the road. Ember was fascinated by it, trotting away to sniff at dark corners until Amara warned her sternly not to wander.
“If you go far enough in, we might never find you,” she said, making me clasp the fox tightly.
Phoenix was less impressed, however, opting to leave us for the night in favor of sleeping in the desert above. I tried not to be offended by his desertion, but I would have appreciated his presence in the restless night that followed.
But when I reached the top of the cliff the next morning, he was already flapping his way toward me, landing on his usual perch on my shoulder. He stayed in position as Amara, Hayes, Clay, and Luna gave their final farewells, each giving various pieces of advice that I promptly forgot in the tension of the moment.
Now that the moment had come, I wanted to cling to Amara like I would have to my mother if she was there, but I restrained the impulse. I had told them all that I could do this, and I needed to prove that was true.
But I was incredibly grateful to have Nik at my side as I walked away. The comfort didn’t last long, however. We’d barely lost sight of the others when Nik stopped, turning to me with a serious expression.
“You’ll need to go the rest of the way on your own. If Grey is going to believe you came looking for him alone, he needs to see you coming.”
I swallowed. “How am I going to convince him I came all this way alone, exactly?” All the plans we’d discussed seemed to have disappeared from my mind.
“You heard rumors in Eldrida,” he said patiently. “So you came north. You’ve left your master and followed the coast to his camp. You made a promise to Miranda’s father, and you’re there to get her out by taking her place.”
“I did make a promise to her father,” I said.
He nodded. “Exactly. He’s a healer so you can’t lie outright to him. But he saw you in the warehouse—he knows you want to rescue Miranda. I think there’s at least a chance he’s been keeping her close in the hope you’ll come.”
“But surely he’ll be suspicious,” I said, knowing I was echoing words from our very first conversation on the topic but not able to help myself.
“Probably.” Nik shrugged unconcernedly. “But I’ve never seen anything to match Grey’s confidence. He’ll trust in his ability to win you over.”
I straightened my shoulders. “Well, he’s about to meet his match, then. I have no interest in whatever bright future he’s claiming to offer.”
Nik nodded approvingly. “All that matters is that he believes in his own persuasiveness. Just don’t make the mistake of mentioning any of us. He has to believe you came on your own.”
I nodded. “I’ll tell him Amara thought it was too dangerous for me to seek him out. That’s true, even if we did eventually manage to convince her.”
“Just remember,” Nik said. “You won’t see me, but I’ll be there. If you need help, shout for me, and I’ll hear you.”
I managed a tremulous smile. He might hear me, but that didn’t mean he’d be close by.
I forced my back to straighten. Nik hadn’t helped in my last confrontation with Grey, and I didn’t need him now. I could face this.
And I wouldn’t be completely alone anyway. I put a reassuring hand on Phoenix, who was heavy on my shoulder. No one had even suggested trying to keep the animals behind, and I had never been so grateful for such loyal companions.
Nik looked like he wanted to say something more, but he must have seen from my face that I was only just holding on to my composure. With a single clasp of my arm, he slipped away, disappearing down another steep incline just as the first rays of the sun slid above the ocean.
I watched the place where he’d been for a moment before turning north. The desert ended at the coast, but there were no gentle, sloping sandy beaches like on the southern coast. Instead the desert ended abruptly, my vantage point allowing me to look down at the crashing waves below.
I had no idea how Nik would keep pace with me down there on the narrow, rocky coastline, but his plants affinity made him far more equipped to do so than I would ever be. I needed to trust he could look after himself and focus on my own task.
I carried a pack, but it wasn’t heavy. Someone had carefully crafted it to look like I was near the end of a long journey, my supplies running low, so I was confident I could easily carry it for a day’s walk.
As I traipsed along, the desert stretching to my left and the sea extending out to my right, I rehearsed what I would say to Grey. I would need to choose my words carefully, implying any untruths instead of stating them outright.
I had thought the day would last forever, but instead I seemed to blink and something green was breaking the monotony of my view ahead. I stared at it, trying to make sense of what I was seeing when shouted voices made me jump.
