Page 116 of A Tribute of Fire

With a sigh I realized that I had gotten prepared for nothing. I had all of my weapons on, my knapsack with a small bag of salt, and a hooded, black cloak.I should just go to bed.

Isidora passed by our window again. “If I was going to still go, now would be the time.”

Ahyana’s face lit up. “You need a distraction!”

She rushed out of our room. I called after her as quietly as I could, but she didn’t come back.

Zalira took me by the hand and we raced together to the front door of the dormitory. We waited several seconds and then I heard someone yell, “Fire!”

I bit back a groan. Was Ahyana going to burn down the complex just to allow me to sneak out?

“Go!” Zalira said with a grin, as caught up in the thrill of this as I was.

I smiled back and then ran out into the night.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

It was a bit different running this time—no one was chasing me and trying to kill me. It didn’t mean that I didn’t have to worry, because I knew what would happen if someone in the temple caught me.

What it might mean for my sisters if they were implicated.

I ran around to the side of the dormitory, peering out to make sure the way was clear. There were raised voices rushing toward where I assumed Ahyana had started the fire. I hoped she was able to sneak back into our room, undetected.

Ducking down, I kept my body low to the ground so that I would be less noticeable.

My heart was beating so loudly in my ears that it made it a bit difficult to hear. I tried to calm my trembling legs and my ragged breathing but couldn’t. I made it to the edge of the temple and was about to round the corner into the courtyard when I heard Kunguru loudly cawing.

He was just above me, on the temple’s roof. I flattened myself against the wall, and two seconds later a guard rushed past me, on her way to the fire.

The raven had just saved me from being discovered. I was going to reward him with extra treats tomorrow.

Running through the courtyard was the scariest part, as it was the most open. There was nowhere for me to hide, no building I could duck behind.

I was exposed.

But I made it safely past the archway, and once I was out in the street, I pressed myself against the stone wall, waiting to see if I’d been noticed.

I waited two whole minutes, where each second was an agonizing torment.

All quiet.

No one had seen me; I wasn’t being followed.

I headed south, doing my best to keep to the shadows. I seemed to be the only person on the street. I was heading past well-lit establishments and could hear singing and lively conversation.

While I’d initially planned on avoiding this area, wanting to go around it, I quickly realized that would be foolish. It was a straight shot to the labyrinth exit I needed.

But it was the exact neighborhood where I’d lost Quynh. I slowed down when I reached the street where she’d been taken from me. My instinct was to hurry past but I couldn’t do it. I had to stand in the spot where she’d had her last moments.

It wasn’t hard to find it. It was forever seared into my mind. The image of her dangling over this very street would never leave me.

I swallowed down the heartache and soul-destroying sorrow I felt and knelt on the cobblestones. I ran my fingers across them. She’d been right here. There weren’t any bloodstains, though. The citizens must have been more diligent about cleaning them than the temple workers.

Or she’d been suffocated instead of stabbed.

“Quynh. I miss you. I think of you every day,” I said softly. I hoped that she could hear me.

A door suddenly burst open not far from me and half a dozen men spilled out into the street, obviously drunk.

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