Page 49 of This Vicious Dream

“Dismount,” Calysian orders, letting Fox free.

I know it’s the smart move—we’re easy targets on horseback. And yet I feel even more exposed on foot.

Calysian is at my side an instant later, yanking me to the right, his ward forming between us. The next arrow drops harmlessly to the ground.

“We’ve been recognized,” he snarls.

A flicker of movement. A soldier, half-hidden behind a thin tree. Our eyes lock, and he bolts left. I track him as he ducks behind the ruins of what was once someone’s home.

“One of Kyldare’s men.” I grind my teeth. “We can’t let him report back.”

Calysian crouches next to me. “I thought Kyldare wanted you alive.”

I gesture at the solider as he peers around the crumbling wall. “I guess he didn’t get the message.”

I let my flames free. They roar toward him—licking hungrily at the rotten wood to his left. But the soldier bares his teeth, holding up his hand.

The wind shifts. My fire recoils, leaping back toward me. My heart jolts and I smother the flames. But the soldier is already fleeing.

To my left, Calysian pulls the chains from his saddlebag. He lunges after the fae—then hesitates.

I let out an impatient hiss. “Go!”

“There could be more of them.”

“Go!” I demand again.

His jaw tightens, but he vanishes into the scrubland. I wait, my muscles coiled, but no more arrows slice through the air. No one else attacks.

I don’t know how long the soldier has been tracking us, but when Calysian finally returns, my fists are clenched so tight, my nails bite into my palms.

“He was definitely fae,” he says grimly and I wince.

While hybrids have only power, fae possess one dominant ability—along with many other powers.

Calysian must be following my thoughts, because he gives me a nod. “The wind wasn’t his only power. He somehow managed to disappear. It’s likely why he was able to hide his presence from us.”

We collect the horses in silence, and Calysian shoves the chains back into his saddlebag.

I don’t point out that he shouldn’t have hesitated.

He doesn’t point out that he was trying to keep me safe.

The next village we come to is still in Telanthris hands. The sun has already set, and Calysian cuts his eyes to me. “I’ll find a farrier and stables. You find somewhere for us to spend the night.”

Nodding, I leave my horse with him, then walk through the tiny village square. Unsurprisingly, there is only one inn—a tiny cottage with only three rooms to rent.

“I’ve only got one room free,” the innkeeper says.

Sighing, I hand over a few coins. “We’ll take it.”

“Leave your clothes outside your door, and I’ll ensure they’re cleaned.”

“Thank you.”

There’s no hot water, but at least the water is clean, and I crouch in the bath, splashing it over myself as I shiver. Each time I close my eyes, I see the Telanthris villages—little more than rubble. And I see the others—taken by the Sylvarins. If it came down to it, I would rather see my home destroyed than see my enemies living in it, taking my things for themselves, letting their children play on the graves of my neighbors.

By the time Calysian returns, I’m standing in the middle of the room, wrapped in a towel as I search my canvas bag for my last clean tunic.

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