Page 13 of Of the Stars and Sea

Keeping my head low, I shuffle along the cobblestone street, glancing forward every few steps. When I put my head back down, I miss the man who runs straight into me.

“Fucking hells!” I seethe as a burst of pain cuts through my left shoulder. I look up to find an older man clutching onto his cane to keep from tumbling over. His white beard is muddled with remnants of food and some other sticky mess—likely lager, by the looks of his protruding belly.

He sticks a boney finger into my face. “You ran into me, you scoundreling little bitch!” His yellowed teeth are illuminated from the lantern’s glow hanging from the building next to us.

I unsheathe my dagger and draw it between us. “Well, aren’t you pleasant?” I retort with a sneer, before raising the edge of the blade higher. The flame from the lantern catches the edge of the blade, sending an array of oranges and yellows dancing across the silver metal.

White spots freckle the irises of his once blue eyes as he peers down at my dagger with a scowl. He opens his dreadful mouth for a retort and then I hear it—the pounding of dozens of footsteps sounding from further up the street. We both turn to look where a crowd starts to form a few blocks north.

I look back to the old man and smile. “Tonight’s your lucky night,” I say before sheathing my dagger and leaving him to his misery. The sound of his cursed goodbyes grows more faint the faster I run.

Heavy footsteps meld with the echoes of metal armor clattering against moving bodies.The King’s Guard. It has to be them.

Then I hear, “Catch her! Catch her before she flees!”

For a moment I think they’ve spotted me, but as I look around the crowd, no one seems to notice me.

My stomach sinks.

Raven.

She must have been seen stealing the Serpent’s Key from Blythe, and now the guards are huntingher. Like a thousand of the king’s stallions, my heart gallops in my chest as I start pushing my way through the horde.

As if every worry that entered my mind is destined to come true, I see Raven burst through the crowd and turn down one of the side streets. A hush falls over the people as the King’s Guard finally makes their way around the bend.

“Where has she gone?” the guard leading the charge yells into the crowd. “Where is she?”

The throng of people stills as everyone looks around, wondering who may be the one to give up Raven’s location. The city of Esoros and its people have suffered under the reign of King Renard, who’s attention is only drawn for his own needs and desires. He has abandoned his people and the consequence is their silence. Even in this moment, the only sound the crowd makes is a haggard cough here and there while the lot of them just try to avoid stepping in someone else’s mess made on the cobblestones.

The leader of the King’s Guard draws his whip and raises it into the air. From here I can make out the bulging of his veins lining his neck as he screams, “Where is she?” Still, no one says a word.

Like a strike of lightning, the guard snaps his whip over someone in the crowd. A scream splits the night air as someone falls to the ground. Hushed murmurs skitter about, growing louder and louder with each passing second.

I need to get out of here. I need to find Raven.

Slowly backing away, I watch as the people of Esoros turn on the King’s Guard before their leader can snap another crack of his whip. As the guards’ swords are drawn, I turn around and run for the nearest side street to find Raven.

The sharp pain in my shoulder begs for me to slow down. Instead, I pick up my pace, darting through street after street trying to pick up on any signs of where she might have gone. When I reach another intersection, I see a group of people looking behind themselves toward the docks.

Yes! She got out. She must be heading toward the ship.

I have no idea where Amara and Wells are, but they were meant to stay on the rooftops, watching from above as Raven’s shadow.

Pushing my body further, I run down the open street toward the docks. When I make it to the end, a sharp darkness settles over my vision. The lantern lights have all been blown out along the seawall and there’s only a few stragglers compared to when I made it off theReaper.

An eerie feeling churns my stomach as I try to slow my breathing. Squinting, I look around the docks to see if I notice Raven’s figure.

Nothing.

And then, a scuffling sound of boots against rock comes from my left. Turning, I peer down the long stretch of darkened buildings and my heart plummets. A large shadowy figure holds Raven up against the wall of one of the buildings, her feet kick beneath her as she struggles to get the person’s hands away from her neck.

“Raven!” I scream, not caring about the attention I might draw.

The hooded figure shifts his gaze my way as he continues to hold Raven in the air by her throat. Blythe’s piercing eyes cut through the inky night and straight to my soul. And when his white teeth gleam in a wide smile that sends a chill skating over my skin, every fiber in my body screams at me to run the other way.

Instead, I unsheathe my daggers and force my feet to carry me forward. Raven’s eyes grow larger as she notices me. There’s a slight shake of her head and I know she’s trying to tell me to go away. That we’ve lost and there’s nothing I can do to stop Blythe’s vengeance on our interference.

But I don’t stop. Not when he has his hand around the throat of the young girl I saved. The girl who has become a sister to me. If he takes her down, I will be right there with her. We will fall together.

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