Page 12 of When Storms Ruin

We descended the final staircase, and I could feel a cold draft in the hallway below. It was much wider than those we had passed through previously on our journey out of the castle. As we continued on, I could see that the mouth of this corridor opened onto a patch of grass, the stars glistening in the night sky beyond. A tear spilled down my cheek as we crossed the threshold, and the night air surrounded me as if it were a warm embrace. We continued to walk in silence, but I glanced back at the castle one last time.

The mouth of the hallway was, in actuality, a cave entrance with an iron gate hanging over it. The opening was hidden among the rock face that led straight upward in jagged cuts before reaching the castle that rest atop it. We traveled away from the palace across an empty grass field towards the woods beyond.

How much further would we have to walk tonight? My eyes met Tess’ in the darkness, Liss having left her lantern at themouth of the cave, snuffing out the flame. We didn’t want to draw any attention now that we were outside the castle walls.

The expression on Tess’ face said the same thing I was thinking, her eyes wide. We were weak, and traveling this far had already been physically taxing on the both of us. We hadn’t walked more than the width of the iron cell for the past few weeks, or however long our captivity had lasted. Every time we went to the throne room, we had either been drugged and carried or dragged.

Liss lead the way into the thick, dense forest without glancing back. Even without a pack, the heaviness of my own body was a great weight to carry. I trailed after Tess with Puck and Nik on my heels, feeling our way through the thicket by the glow of the moon.

We walked for another hour, at least, before we stopped at an outcropping of rocks.

“We rest here for the night,” Liss broke the silence when she spoke, a cold chill running up my spine.

The blooming of the trees and the lack of snow meant it was likely spring by now. We had been locked in the Stormvault longer than I thought. Nik and Puck unpacked blankets from their packs, creating a spot for us to lay down beneath the stars.

“No fire, it will draw too much attention. Liss’ spell will keep us hidden from any soldiers that come searching for us, but it will only hideus, not the fire,” Puck explained as he settled down onto one of the blankets.

We would have to sleep close together to keep warm without a fire. Tess reluctantly laid beside Puck and let out a soft groan as her muscles got to rest for the first time in hours.

Liss was busy with her border protection spell, her back turned to us as she waived her arms in the air and her lips moved in a silent spell. Nik laid on the edge of the blankets and finally met my eyes in the darkness.

I needed to rest, but the thought of lying next to Nik made my stomach turn sour. I was grateful they had broken us out of the Stormvault and snuck us out of the castle, but I wasn’t ready to let my guard down.

“You can’t stand there all night,” Nik spoke softly for the first time, and the sound of his voice threatened to undo me. It was both gentle and cutting at the same time. The emotions he drew from me were completely opposite one another.

I rubbed my hands along my arms trying to warm myself as my eyes narrowed. I hated him.Hated him. He was the reason forallof this, but it was my own fault that the sound of his voice could still send a shiver coursing down my spine. Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I swore under my breath, cursing my body for betraying me. I was thankful for the cover of darkness what would hide it.

“Says who?” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest in defiance.

A ghost of a smile crossed his lips at my response, as if he hadn’t expected me to still fight him. To push back. I might have been tortured and starved, but the fire never left me.Not once. Donika would not break me.

“Diana, you need to rest. I promi—” I cut a cold glare at him as he spoke.

I didn’t want to hear any more of his empty promises. He swallowed, his eyes moving to his hands which were woven tightly together in his lap. He paused before his next words came. “We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow, and you’ll need your strength.”

I had no choice. I knew he was right, despite not wanting to admit it. I reluctantly curled up next to Tess on the blanket, staying as far away from Nik as possible. Liss finished her spell and joined us on the blankets, curling up on her side. I didn’t know her, but I hoped we could trust her. That we could trust Zion. That we weren’t being led into another trap.

I held Tess close to my side to keep warm, and she let out an exhausted sigh against me. I had to admit, it felt incredible to touch something as soft as a blanket for the first time in weeks, despite the ground being cold and hard. With Tess wrapped in my arms sleep took me quickly, and I slipped into familiar nightmares of the Stormvault, and Donika’s cold, dead eyes.

I woke to someone shaking my shoulder vigorously, my eyes straining against the dawn kissed sky. No more than a few hours could have passed since we had fallen asleep, and thequick respite hadn’t been nearly enough to soothe my sore muscles.

“We need to go,now.” A harsh whisper sounded against my ear.

My eyes popped open and took in our surroundings with a sleepy gaze. Puck and Tess were hurriedly packing the blankets back into the pack, and Liss was on her feet, anxiously biting her lip.

“They’re on our trail,” she explained, motioning for me to hurry.

Puck grabbed the blanket as soon as I made it to my feet and hastily stuffed it into his pack.

“Ten Nightshade soldiers, maybe more. Only about ten minutes behind us. My spell must have worn off in the night, it’s quite complex and takes a lot of energy. I don’t have the magic left to reinforce it, we need to move.”

I nodded in understanding as I steeled myself for the brisk pace we would need to maintain to evade them.

“Are you ready?” Nik asked, his voice close enough to me that I flinched away.

I couldn’t meet his gaze, I only nodded in return and moved to join Liss. She had begun to pave our way through the forest once more.

“We have two options,” Liss spoke, but didn’t turn to see if we were close on her heels. “You either run back to Silver Oaks and pretend none of this ever happened, where Donika and her soldiers will simply capture you again. Or hurt your family. Or option two…you join the resistance. As Zion wanted.”

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