Page 29 of Voices in the Stars
“Oh, I promise, you will all be paying for this later.”
With that, they all dispersed, scrambling to get their gear and armor back on. All except one.
“Commander, did you not hear me?” I asked, walking up to where he was leaning up against a tree.
“I heard you perfectly clear. You aren’t the one who gave us orders to be here, though.” He finally looked over at me. “I worry over his consequences much more than yours.”
I leaned up next to him, crossing my arms. He was right. I could run these men through fights and exercises until they collapsed. Eris would just kill them and enjoy every moment of it.
“Don’t take them back to him,” I spoke, knowing he was truly one of my men, already prepared about what was to come. “Stop outside of Kilrest. Keep them there until I send word.”
“There are patrols around there. I’ll make sure we keep out of their path,” he said, nodding in agreement with the plan.
“Good, and keep quiet there.” He rolled his eyes at my comment. “I need to focus here. I need to deal with this witch first.”
“Is she really the one?” he asked. “We all watched her bumble her way around like a newborn fawn.”
I grimaced at that. He wasn’t wrong.
“I’ll take care of her,” I finally said before leaving them.
At least taking care of her was my plan.
“Fuck!” I yelled out, cursing up to the skies.
She was gone. The dried meat I left her with was sitting on the ground, looking like it had been torn apart by animals. I glanced around with a small hope that she was still around here. That was lost when I saw her tracks, wandering off.
I ran my hands through my hair. I couldn’t tell if she was an idiot with a death wish or smarter than I’d given her credit for. Her stepslooked like they were headed right toward Kilrest. The exact opposite direction I was taking her for many reasons. Some for the monsters that lived between us and the city. Mostly for what Eris’ men would do to her when she reached the river.
Even without the dangers, I never would have taken her on the direct route to my father. It would cut our time together in half. There would be no way I could convince her to betray him and join me with such little time. It was difficult trying to wrap my mind around a way to convince her now with all the time we did have.
My legs froze as I stared at her tracks. With the way she acted, it would be easy enough to just let the creatures here make my decision for me. If they killed her, then I had nothing to worry about. I could spin some tale to my father that I did everything I could to help, but she still died. Any form of torture would be better than giving her to him.No.I knew what I needed to do.
I took off running in her direction as my heart clenched at the thought of what might happen to her. I didn’t have time or the want to try to break down my feelings toward her. At least out here, she could wander until she collapsed without finding others to kill. Not without having the map in my bag, at least. I just still couldn’t understand why she was lying about what she was, why she was acting so clueless. Maybe she was even lying to herself. I’d never know, though, if I didn’t get to her first.
Walking helped with the cold.My skin still crawled with each sound around me. Somewhere, hopefully far away, animals hissed and growled. I kept glancing back, wondering if I’d find a set of brown eyes chasing after me. Atlas was nowhere to be seen, though, as I kept going. All I needed was to get out of this damn forest. It would be easier to find a town when I could actually see everything around me. Then I just needed someone to give me directions to Donnaway.
The trees appeared farther apart the deeper I went. My breathing came easier as the sense of being trapped started to fade away. A cool breeze blew across my face as I finally broke through the last of the trees. Bubbling and splashing came from in front of me.
I slowed to a stop in front of a small creek that ran through a meadow. Reflections of the moon and stars danced across the clear water. Long blades of grass brushed against my knees as wind whistled through the small clearing.
My dried tongue licked at my lips as I looked at the water below me. Sliding my cloak off, I set it on the ground as I kneeled on the grass. Cold water seeped through my pants as I scooped handfuls of water into my mouth. It was ice cold as droplets trickled down my chin. I was breathing heavily by the time I finished, sitting fully on the wet grass.
I was in a circular clearing surrounded by large trees. They were closely pressed together, their branches twisted and weaved together. It was difficult to see where one started and another ended. The weavingwent all the way up to their large canopies. It felt like I had walked into a cage. A naturally made trap.
No, more like safety.
This small break was a relief. My skin no longer felt like it was too tight across my body. The urge to keep checking behind me was gone. No monster could get me now. I glanced back at the wall. There was no hole showing where I had come in at. Did Atlas ever end up coming back for me? How pissed was he when he couldn’t find me? I stood; I had no idea where I was going. I was lucky to find this place. I needed to go back.
Why does he matter?
Before I could blink, I had sat back down. No, he didn’t matter. He left me for dead. He almost killed me. If I went back now, that would be it. The end of my story.
He’ll kill you if he finds you.
I stood up again, chewing on the bottom of my lip. He would. I knew I got lucky last time. Even now, I couldn’t see why he didn’t kill me. It was obvious he wanted to. Just thinking about his hands closing around me had bile rising to the back of my throat. No. I couldn’t just stand here and wait for him to find me again.
The river wound through the clearing and disappeared off to the side of me. Following it would provide a steady source of water. I could also keep going straight and hope I was close to the edge of the forest. I could find a town from there.
