Mine to Fear (Mine #3)(6)

“This is Chardonia?” she asks, surprise tinting her words.

I glance over the forest. Rightness hums through me. This is where I belong. Where I need to be. “This is Chardonia. A place of repressed dreams and trodden hopes. Dreams and hopes we will help set free.”

“I like the sound of that.”

I do too. Except the problem will take more than just saying a few words to be fixed. I don't even know where to begin with helping them put the idea forward except by continuing with what I was doing before. Helping Serena with whatever she needed while trying to place hints she was worth more than she thought. It wasn't enough, but at least it was something.

A few Chardonians may have come to accept some women have the same rights as a man does, like owning themselves and land, and that women can do magic, yet there's a long, long way for them to go. The women need freedom from men. A say in things. A right to do what they want. And if most of those in power had it their way, the little progress we've made would be stomped on. The Grand Chancellor will use any means necessary to do the stomping.





Chapter Four





“What's this place?” Tawny asks.

“It's a house owned by a Chardonian who helps our cause. My friend is here also.”

My skin tingles as I hurry toward the building. Suddenly, someone grips my arm and yanks me to the side. I whip my hand out, slamming it toward the side, just stopping myself from spelling Cynthia.

“You scared me.” I embrace her tightly with a laugh. “It's been too long. How are you?”

“Shh.” She pulls me further into the trees, Tawny following. “This house has been compromised.”

“What?” I whisper, but roughly. “How did this happen?”

“I don't know. We think there's a mole.”

A mole? My heart twists. Who would do this to us? Why would they do this? Everyone who's helped us acted so genuine.

She flashes a message spell that darts away. “I tried to get word to you but didn't know where you were. Lukas will meet us somewhere safer.”

Not safe, but safer. Too bad I have Envadi royalty with me. What was I thinking, letting her join me? We follow Cynthia through the trees until we reach a clearing that can be seen from the house. She stares at it, biting her lip.

I almost ask how bad it is but clamp my mouth shut. If she wanted to talk, she would have said something. Seemingly satisfied with whatever she's staring at, she motions for us to run. We take off.

Once we get going, I see what is making her so stressed. Law officers. And they're coming this way. I move faster, only in my haste, I run into a bush. Drat!

“This way,” I hear one of the warlocks behind us call.

Land sakes! How are we going to ever get out of this? We're going to end up captured. My chest burns with more than the need for air as we run.

I glance back. The warlocks are closer now. I duck my head, not that it helps hide my tall height, and place myself behind Tawny.

“What are you doing?” she demands.

“Keeping you safe.” I throw a spell behind me, black and thick. A blinding spell. If they can't see us, they can't hit us.

My heart pounds as we make headway. When I peek back, one of the law officers is in sight, and another comes into view, the black spell hovering behind them like a fog. They're further away than they were but still not far enough.

A golden spell flies from the closest one, straight at me and Tawny. I jump on Tawny's back, throwing us both to the ground. The spell soars over our heads, and crashes into a tree beyond us, making the inner layer visible. That could have been Tawny or me. I shiver.

But there isn't time to do more than that. I'm pulling Tawny to her feet as Cynthia bursts an emerald spell at them. They slow as it hits, coughing.

We press harder, running until my already sore legs burn. Cynthia turns and aims a burgundy spell at our pursuers. It slows them enough that they are out of sight, but they zap several spells our direction. Cynthia throws a dark red shield spell up, protecting all three of us from the attack.

As we continue to run, I can't help but wonder what I've done by bringing Tawny into Chardonia. This isn't the welcome I wanted for her or me.

“Get back here, wenches,” one of them calls.

Yeah, like that'll entice us to stop.

Tawny flashes a pink spell behind us. It goes out of sight for a moment, only to flare up.

“Got them,” she says.

I gasp for breath as we continue to pull ahead. Cynthia covers our tracks with a spell I don't take time to study, though I'd love to see how she does this one. My own track-covering spell isn't what it should be.

After we've been running off and on for what seems like all day but is probably closer to an hour, Cynthia stops us. She looks around and then moves a dead bush to reveal a cave entrance. Despite how hard the cave floor is, we all collapse on it, heaving for breath.

“That was not fun,” I say.

Tawny nods. Oh lands, her parents will never trust me again when they learn how serious of a situation I've dragged their daughter into. Why did they ever agree to let her come? They know things are unstable here and getting worse.

Suddenly, Lukas is hugging Cynthia, gripping her tightly and whispering in her ear. I stare the other way, trying hard not to intrude on their moment.