The Bound (Ascension #2)(27)

“I have to agree with the woman,” Orden said.

“What about Maelia?” Cyrene asked. She looked back down the stairs with regret. The sounds of feet stomping up the stairs behind her made her jump forward. “Guards.”

“Another day for Maelia,” Orden advised.

“Yes, I think so,” Avoca agreed.

“This way,” Orden said.

They hurried after Orden, who revealed a side staircase as a group of guards appeared on the landing. She heard shouting behind her, but she didn’t stop to ask questions.

A minute later, they landed in the kitchen, which was bustling with people. She could hear the guards coming down the stairs after them.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a large woman in a cook’s dress asked.

“Just passing through, my lady,” Orden said. He dropped a gold piece into her hand, and then as the rest of the group ran past, he dropped two more into her palm.

They had made it out onto the street when Cyrene heard the greedy woman giving the soldiers instructions on where they had gone. Their group rounded a corner away from the square and took off at a dead sprint.

“Avoca and Ahlvie, go east. Orden and I will head west. We’ll loop back around and meet you at the docks. We’ll have a better chance if we are separated,” Cyrene instructed through breathless pants.

Avoca nodded without question, taking instructions like a soldier, and disappeared behind the next bend with Ahlvie. Cyrene and Orden went the opposite direction at the next fork.

After another minute of jogging, Orden put his hand on her shoulder. “Try to act natural. We need to blend in.”

Despite her shaking hands and rapidly rising chest, she slowed her steps and tried to follow Orden’s lead. She had given him directions to the boat earlier in case they were separated.

Now, they just had to get there.





Cyrene caught her breath when their boat came into sight, bobbing softly on the rushing Huyek River. Ceis’f was impatiently pacing the docks, and Orden and Cyrene hurried to reach him. The captain and crew of their vessel were already setting up the rigging for the destination, and now, all they needed was Avoca and Ahlvie to set sail.

Ceis’f stalked over to Cyrene and growled in her face, “What’s taking her so long?”

“Soldiers followed us after we got Ahlvie out. I’m sure they’re just dodging patrols. What happened out there? You weren’t in your position, and I barely made it out alive.”

“That would have been all the better for me,” he snarled.

Cyrene fixed him with a pointed stare.

“That Byern royal showed up and messed everything up. Avoca ended up shooting an arrow at him. He shifted at the last second, and it only grazed his arm. I don’t even know how he moved that quickly or how he heard the arrow coming. It caused chaos after that, which was the distraction, but by then, I was engaged and couldn’t get to you.”

Cyrene’s mouth hung open. “Avoca shot an arrow at Kael?”

“That’s what I said. What about your other human?”

“We…we had to leave her behind.”

“All this work, and you couldn’t even manage to get both. Then, you leave Avoca,” he accused.

Cyrene ground her teeth and almost left, but she couldn’t just walk away. She knew what Ceis’f was feeling right now. Even if he hated her and treated her terribly, he had helped her.

“Thank you for helping today. I know how you feel about me—”

“You know nothing,” he snapped viciously. “And, until you do, you can keep your mouth closed.”

Cyrene sighed. So much for trying to be nice. She strode aboard the ferryboat that Avoca had secured for them. As she waited, she tried not to think about the sidelong glances from the crew or the large sum of money she had seen Orden hand over to the captain for his silence. Instead, her thoughts strayed to more dangerous territory. She worried that war between Byern and Aurum was imminent, because of the brawling in the streets and the number of guards on foreign soil. It would be in Byern’s best interest to send Kael on to the capital city in Aurum to smooth things over with his sister, Queen Jesalyn.

But Edric would never have sent him in the first place. That made her think that Kael had come of his own volition. But to what end?

Her history with Kael was rocky at best. They had wavered between lust and hatred and revulsion and sometimes even friendship. His obsession with her only infuriated her more because of the uncanny pull she felt for him, even when she did not want to.

Just like with Edric.

No. She shouldn’t think about Edric right now.

She closed her eyes and remembered their shared kisses and the stolen moments away from the prying eyes of court. She had been willing to give herself over to him, and she would have if she had not fled Byern. In the end, nothing could change the fact that Edric had all the power, and he already had his Queen.

“Cyrene,” Ceis’f called from the dock.

She turned around, ready to reprimand him for using her name. They were so close to getting across this river and out of trouble. She couldn’t have the captain or crew recognize her now.

“Ceis’f, watch what you say!” she snapped, storming to the railing.

“You might want to see this.”

Her eyes widened as she took in the scene before her. Two figures were racing down the dirt road that led from Strat. Farther back, just visible, coming out of the city gate, were more than a dozen Byern guards running after them.