Page 68 of Veinblood
Two guards stand beside the main gates, but their attention is more on the people entering the city than leaving. One of them glances at my paper without any real interest.
“Purpose for leaving?”
“Returning to Millhaven after staying with cousins for a wedding.”
He hands my paper back and waves me forward. Just like that, we’re through the gates. The city walls fall behind us as we join the main road leading away from Ashenvale.
“That was almost anticlimactic.”
Corwin releases a quiet chuckle. “The best escapes usually are. It’s when things get dramatic that people end up dead.”
We walk in silence for a while after that, leaving the main road to follow smaller less traveled paths that wind between fields and patches of woodland. The exercise feels good after days of hiding, and gradually the tension in my shoulders begins to ease.
“Tell me about them. The families, I mean. What should I expect?”
“Caution, mostly. They’ve survived by trusting very few people. Don’t be offended if they don’t welcome you warmly to begin with.”
“How many will I be meeting?”
“One group. There are more, but I’m taking you to someone who can speak for the others, and will decide if they want to talk to you.”
“How do they stay in contact with each other?”
“Very carefully. The Ashenvale Knot often acts as messenger between the different settlements. But the less contact there is, the safer everyone stays.”
The path leads us toward what appears to be a farming village nestled against the side of a hill. Small cottages with thatched roofs, barns and outbuildings, fields that look like patchwork quilts, and smoke rises from chimneys.
“There.” Corwin points toward it. “That’s where we’re going.”
I study it, searching for some sign that people with magical abilities live there, but it looks completely ordinary.
“It doesn’t look special.”
“That’s the point. The best hiding place is in plain sight.”
When we reach the village and walk through, people stop what they’re doing to watch. A couple nod to Corwin, their eyes on me, but no one asks who I am, and Corwin doesn’t explain. Instead he guides me toward the largest building. A woman steps out once we’re a few feet away.
“Corwin.” Her voice is rich, almost musical, and makes the hairs on my arm stand on end.
“Kessa. I’ve brought someone to meet you.”
Her gaze shifts to me, and I feel that look in ways that aren’t normal. This woman is reading me, looking for threats, for deception, for anything that might endanger her people.
Whatever she sees, it sharpens her focus. Her back straightens, her head lifting a little higher. “Follow me.”
She turns and walks back inside, without looking back to see if we’re following her. I glance at Corwin, who nods and waves me forward. Taking a deep breath, I follow the woman.
The building she takes us into seems to be a common hall. There are tables and chairs, shelves holding parchment and jars, but something about the room feels off. Like nothing is quite what it appears to be.
“Sit, please.” Kessa waves a hand toward chairs arranged around a central table. “Why have you brought her here?”
“A proclamation has been issued out of the Lirien Spire.”He reaches into his cloak and pulls out a sheet of parchment. Unfolding it, he hands it to her. I catch a glimpse of the Authority sigil, and the sketches of me and Sacha.
Her eyes move over it, but her face remains blank.
“She has confirmed the rumors that he is alive and free.”
Her eyes flick to me, then back to Corwin. “Anyone could claim that. What proof do you have?”
