Page 16 of The Eye of the Fifth
But she would be a slave no longer. The wolf had fought its last fight. ‘Maybe it’s high time Liliondidlose.’
Rosary’s head snapped toward her, a daring smile playing on her lips. ‘Does that mean what I think it means?’
Kyra couldn’t help but grin; Rosary’s building excitement was contagious. ‘Let’s get the fuck out of Avaldale.’
She had never seen Rosary Talbot so jubilant.
Before she could get ahead of herself, Kyra said quickly, ‘But not without Oslan. I know where he is now, I know he’s alive. I can’t leave him in Lilion’s whorehouse.’
‘Kyra… if he’s been branded, as all of her whores are, he won’t be able to just leave. Lilionhasto be the one to release him. And I doubt she’d do so without a really fucking good reason.’ Kyra bit the inside of her cheek to keep tears from filling her eyes. Rosary cautiously continued, as though she noticed Kyra was on the verge of a breakdown, ‘You’renot bound to Lilion. She’ll follow you, of course she will, but you’re free to leave without any real repercussions. I say we leave this afternoon, way before she comes to check in on you. And we’ll come back for Oslan once we’ve figured out how to release him from her without getting ourselves orhimkilled in the process. I promise, Ky.’
Leaving Oslan behind felt like a betrayal, for she’d just found him again, the brother that had been lost for so long. And she’d found him fractured beyond her comprehension, a broken shell of the male she’d loved and grown up with.
The choice was to either leave him behind, or remain stuck as Lilion’s pawn. Lilion, who had shattered her trust and used her like some wild, fighting animal all for her own gain.
Perhaps Rosary was right. Perhaps now was the time to be selfish.
She finally nodded her agreement. Rosary tentatively wrapped her arms around her, and Kyra, despite the pain lancing through her slowly healing body, returned the tight embrace. She couldn’t help thetears that spilt over then, but Rosary did not comment, or even acknowledge them, much to Kyra’s gratitude.
‘Will you tell your family?’ Rosary asked moments later as she pulled away.
‘No,’ Kyra said darkly, swiftly wiping her face with the back of her hand. ‘I owe them nothing.’
Rosary hesitated. ‘Don’t you think-’
‘No,’Kyra repeated. ‘I won’t see them, Rose. I doubt Win would give a flying fuck knowing that Oslan and I are even alive. Dovella will be just as insufferable as she always was, and Aeliah…’ Kyra sighed then as her youngest sister appeared in her mind, four years old and the spitting image of their soft-faced mother. Aeliah had the kindest heart of them all, even at such a young age. Though she would not be the little fae girl that Kyra remembered so fondly anymore; she would be nearing adolescence. ‘I don’t know if Aeliah would even remember me. I’m sure she’s just a miniature version of Dovella now.’
‘I think they’d want to know, Kyra,’ Rosary said quietly. ‘You still have a family… that’s more than I ever had. If it were me, I’d want them to know I was leaving.’
Kyra replied fiercely, ‘You’remy family, Rose. You have been from the second you found me at the Arc. I don’t need them because I have you. You’re more of a sister to me than Dove ever was.’
Rosary smiled slightly. It didn’t quite reach her eyes. ‘And you’re sure that’s enough?’
‘It’s enough,’ Kyra promised.
Rosary blew out another long breath and Kyra felt every bit of the emotional turmoil she was attempting to release. ‘So, we’re doing this then. We’re getting out.’
Despite the unknown, despite the guilt that wrapped itself around her stomach at the thought of leaving Oslan behind, a hopeful smirk pulled on Kyra’s lips.
???
With a heavy hooded cloak covering her ears, and a small satchel flung over her shoulder with only the essentials, Kyra was ready. It physically pained her to leave behind all the lovely clothes she’d amassed over the years from Lilion’s payments, but it was necessary to abandon them. Trekking to Taru with a whole case of expensive gowns, armour and garments was not quite the inconspicuous and slick exit she and Rosary had planned.
Kyra leant against the outside wall of a closed down florist and waited for Rosary, puffing her breath against the cool air and watching the tiny clouds that formed and quickly disappeared before her. She grimaced as she felt a few drops of rain land on her head. ‘Oh, fuck off,’ she told the raincloud above and pulled the cloak tighter around herself.
‘I’ve heard that talking to yourself is a sign of madness,’ Rosary said as she emerged from a side alley. Avaldale was full of them, narrow passageways that linked all the main streets together in a sort of navigational horror. Extremely easy to get lost down if you didn’t know where you were going, for they all looked the same.
‘You must be insane then,’ Kyra replied dryly. ‘You talk to yourself more than you talk to other people.’
‘That’s because I am incredibly insightful and other people are fucking annoying.’ Rosary glanced at her, then added, ‘Except for you, of course.’
‘I’m flattered.’
Rosary grinned, then peered up the street. ‘You want to wait till this deluge passes? The Drunken Crow is on our way to the road. We could get a drink.’
The rain was getting heavier by the second, the droplets becoming larger and forming puddles in the gaps of the cobblestone path. Kyra’s fingers were like blocks of ice, even beneath the cover of her leather gloves. The idea of a warm hearth and a goblet of wine was suddenly very appealing. ‘What if I’m recognised?’
Rosary shrugged. ‘I’d be surprised if Lilion doesn’t already know you’ve left the house. But she wouldn’t cause a scene out in the open, that’s not her style. We’re going to be in a shitty carriage for the next couple of days… I’d like to lap up one more tiny luxury before then.’
