Page 152 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
The rogue burst out of Alice’s shadow with a set of Veralyn’s Enchanted Restraint Manacles. Unlike last time, however, Alice was prepared. She grabbed John’s wrist and struck a dagger in his chest. John made a gurgling sound as he fell to the ground. Even Julian’s [Divine Heal] didn’t save his friend.
We would need to retrieve the body and resurrect it, and soon.
“Break,” Visha said. Jeffry activated his flight powers, launching himself into an aerial attack. Pram tried to cast an attack that froze its target for thirty seconds, but Alice dodged. Her racial trait as a celestial gave her angel wings, and she’d used them to fly just out of reach.
Her voice fell over us. “Lay down your weapons. I’m your friend.”
The charisma-driven command hit me like a brick.
Julian shook himself, but Jeffry dropped to the ground and Visha lowered her blades. Tully looked like he was struggling with himself.
Pram just pointed at Alice and shot her with a, “By Sleek Blades of Frost, [Ice Javelin].”
The long icicle cut Alice’s cheek as she tried to dodge. Angry eyes met mine.
“Your friends won’t always be there to guard you,” she said, then portaled away.
“Yes, we will—” Julian tried to tell me something poignant, but there was no time. I grabbed Julian’s hand and ran with him to John.
The dagger I pulled out of his heart was coated in belladonna poison, so I summoned my unicorn horn and dumped a Resurrect potion down his throat. Julian helped the man to stand and told him he had the rest of the day off.
Then he gaveeveryonethe day off.
Except for me.
“Gerda, we have to talk.”
CHAPTER 82
You Don’t Know What I Think
Julian
Gerda portaled them into her cottage.
As usual, they divested themselves of their winter gear first. Traveling north meant heavier layers and ice-caked boots. She’d put out a thick mat at the door that caught the worst of it. His bridge troll shed layers fast, and immediately after, wandered into the kitchen.
Julian followed her.
The window over the sink looked out into the gray rock and snow of the Northern Ice Fields; there was a bit of cold air from the frost on the pane of glass. He waited until she’d lit the stove and put the kettle on to boil before wrapping his arms around her from behind and burying his face in her neck.
“That was frustrating.” Julian’s muffled voice carried a hint of annoyance. “And you face her once a week?”
“It’s not so bad,” Gerda said. “Since I moved my bridge door where she can’t find it, I just portal away.”
“I know there are a hundred reasons why you’re facing Alice alone. Least of all because the duke of North Sumbria shouldn’t be crossing the border unannounced to hunt down international criminals. Iknow, and I respect that. But I have to ask …” He stopped, searching for less accusatory words. None came. She turned to face him, and he stared into defensive brown eyes. “Are you doing this on your own because you’re worried about what the celestial will say to me?”
Gerda tensed. “It’s not what you think.”
Alice had outright told them that Julian would’ve already found the dungeon by now if Gerda wasn’t here. From one future seer to another, there were probablymanythings Alice could tell him that Gerda didn’t want him to know.
“You don’t knowwhatI think,” Julian replied.
She wasn’t expecting the kiss and gasped. He slipped his tongue into her mouth between her tusks.
“I know you aren’t telling me everything.” He lifted her onto the clean counter across from the stove. “And I don’t care.”
He kissed her again, this time soft and sweet. Her hands were in his shirt when the kettle whistled and Julian cursed. They broke apart and he said, “I’ll set the table.”
