I ask Anna, peeking out from behind a tree and looking at the people mulling around.
“Yeah, we just need to go to the market and then we can port out,” she replies, her hair covered by the hood of her cloak. We are all wearing them, Josh, Taylor, and I. We can’t be spotted, especially with the Elites hunting us.
I look out toward the town, the sun high in the sky as I take in the farm animals out in their enclosures. Children in rugged clothes feed them, their skinny frames carrying buckets of water. Glancing toward the pathway that will lead us to the center, the homes look well built, their thatched roofs and stone walls seemingly in good condition. Unlike its inhabitants.
“Will there be guards here?” I ask her and she shrugs.
“I can’t see any, but you can never know. The Highers usually have some guards posted at every town, making sure no one steals or smuggles. They also collect taxes for the Highers, but that is on any given day they see fit.”
I nod and look over to Josh, his eyes hard as he scans the town. He doesn’t look at me, he hasn’t done so since I finally told him about Sarah. It took a while for him to calm down, he was angry, rightfully so, because I kept it hidden from him in fear of him running off without thinking. Josh wanted to leave straight away. He did try to, just like I knew he would, but Belldame managed to convince him that I needed to heal fully and try to get at least some grasp on my Heir magic. He agreed, but he wasn’t happy about it, he’s still not happy about it.
“Do you want to see if we can get some clothes while we are here?” I ask him. Belldame gave us coins that have the Highers symbol on them, a howling wolf face with two daggers resting on either side of it. Josh shakes his head. I reach out a hand to him. “We could get some thicker pants—“ He shrugs off my hand, a growl coming from him.
“I want what you can’t give me,” he replies harshly, moving out of the tree line and making his way toward the town.
I swallow roughly, feeling a stab of pain in my chest at his rejection. I reach out through the link in my desperation, but it’s like I’m hitting a brick wall. A whimper escapes me.
It’s okay, Rhea, it will take time, shove it down.
Kade is with the Highers or his family, your pack is Gods knows where, Josie and Danny were killed and your brother, the only one that is left of your little family, barely even speaks to you. But it’s fine, you will be okay.
Shove it down.
I clear my throat, ignoring the pitiful looks from Taylor and Anna and follow him to the town.
I pull my hood further down on my face, making sure all of my hair is hidden, placing the mask I have on the bottom half of my face, so only my eyes are visible. We walk down the dirt path toward the center, our booted feet sinking slightly with every step. People scatter around, busy with their day, and the closer we get to the stalls I can’t help but marvel over all that they are selling. Wares, jewelry, furs, and clothes. Fruit and vegetables. I bump into someone, a hard-faced man with a few teeth missing.
“Watch it, bitch,” he mumbles as he stumbles away, and I pull my cloak tighter around me.
“There is the stall I need,” Anna says under her breath, and I look toward the long line that stands in front of it. Crystals and herbs dangle on straps from the top of the wooden plank that runs over the stall. A woman with graying hair shuffles around, grabbing items and wrapping them in some sort of paper as she talks to her customer.
“I’ll wait here, you and Taylor go and get what you need.”
“Is that wise?” Taylor grunts, and I nod.
“You’re more out in the open there, so stay with her just in case anyone recognizes her. I’ll stay over here.” I tilt my head toward one of the homes.
They agree and move to get in line. I make my way over to the stone walls, leaning back against it, just on the cusp of the alleyway that runs through it. The line moves slowly, and I wait, observing the people around. Witches, wolves, children. This town seems to be busy at this time of day. I look around, wondering if by chance I will see Edward like I did all those years ago. I haven’t seen him since Wolvorn Castle, and I wonder if I ever will. Knowing Edward, he will find a way.
“By the wolf of the high, take my prayer and save the night.” I look over at two women praying near the Highers’s symbol carved into a tall, wooden totem. “Clear the madness and take our thoughts, take the grace of Vrohkaria’s hopes.”
The Highers are the madness, the Highers are taking away your hope, I want to scream at them, but I don’t.
I look away. A board across from me catches my attention and I glance both ways before I make my way across to it. Requests for help are pinned there, notices for the crops they need to harvest for tax. That’s not what gets my attention though, no, it’s the drawing that’s there.
My face stares back at me, my features defined and true and my heart hammers into my chest.
“She’s a looker, isn’t she,” a male says as he slides up beside me, and I tense. “Do you wonder what she’s doing now?” He points to my face, his finger tracing my nose. “The reward is a big deal, shame no one has seen her. Could use that homestead.”
He’s right, the reward is a good one. The title of lord or lady, a homestead and acres of land. Plus a hefty deposit of coins.
I move away subtly from him, and he places a large arm on my shoulder. I move to the blade I have on my hip beneath the cloak.
“Well, if you see her, let me know and I’ll help, we can split the rewards.” With that he walks off, whistling to himself and a shaky sigh of relief leaves me. I should have stayed where I was.
I turn to head back, but I pause, feeling eyes on me. I look around subtly, seeing if anyone is looking at me, but there is none. I move back over to my spot against the stone walls, shivers racing up my spine with every step. Once I reach it, I turn and lean back, looking around beneath my lashes for any sign of someone recognizing me. All there is are people going on about their day and I shake my head. There is no one there, Rhea, calm down.
I’m on edge until Taylor and Anna appear at my side, a pack over her shoulder. “All set,” she says, and she nods her head toward the other end of the town. “We will go out the opposite way,” she whispers. “I overheard talks of guards coming to collect taxes, it’s better to not risk it with the way we came.”
We move behind the stalls, staying closer to each other and avoiding anyone the best we can. All the while, I still feel eyes on me, feel them following me. I don’t dare look back.
When we reach the end of the stalls, we follow Anna down an alleyway, the dirt turning into mud. We move down small walkways and hop over people slumped against the walls. I swallow as I look at their dirtied bodies, their hollow faces as we pass.
It shouldn’t be like this. It shouldn’t be this cruel.
We round a corner to a small courtyard, a well in the center, as people gather water. We skirt the edges, trying not to draw attention to ourselves when a young girl appears in my sight. She’s holding a dented bucket, her face covered in dirt, but I can see streaks in it from where she has been crying. I look at her hands, the bloodied fingernails and something sinks in my chest. Breaking away from Anna and Taylor, their hushed protest following me, I go to the girl.
I crouch down, and dull, blue eyes look at me, holding the bucket to her chest protectively.
“It’s mine,” she says, and I nod at her. Reaching into my cloak I feel the coins in my pocket. She moves back suddenly, and I reach out, grasping her gently by the shoulder and bringing a single finger to my mask-covered mouth to ask her to keep quiet.
She looks at me with wide eyes and I rub her shoulder in reassurance. Reaching back into my pocket, I take out the coins, subtly looking around to see if anyone is paying attention. They’re not. I lift my hand and go to her pocket. She flinches, her body trembling.
“Get some water, and go get some food, okay?” I whisper, and she looks at me with wide eyes. I’m sure Belldame won’t mind me spending the coin how I want.
Her eyes fill with tears, and she nods rapidly. Shouting comes from the front of the line of the well and I look to it, seeing a larger man shouting at a woman, pointing at a bucket on the floor. I stand, giving the girl’s shoulder one last squeeze.
“Don’t worry, Zahariss will eat all the bad men. Excuse me while I teach someone some manners on her behalf,” I wink at her, and she gives me a wobbly smile.
Walking toward the front of the line, the woman begins to cower under the man’s threats of punishment, and my own anger rises to the surface. Seeing her shrink back, hearing her pleas, apologies. I sneer under my mask at the male.
“Stupid bitch, I asked you to get water and you can’t even do that! Do you want me to take you home and show you, again, what you are?”
Coming up in front of him as he raises his hand toward her, he pauses, looking down at me. “What do you want, mutt, out of the way.” His hand lands on my shoulder and I move.
I grab his wrist in my palm and twist, putting some of my power into my hand until I hear bones break. He lets out a yelp, his other hand coming for me, but it’s already too late. I lift a foot and push him back. He crashes into the waist-high wall of the well, and with an extra push from my hand to his chest, he goes toppling over.
A shout and then a splash is heard as he hits the water, and the courtyard is now silent.
Oops.
Looking around, I see nervous eyes all on me, on what I just did. My gaze goes to Taylor and Anna before they go to the woman. “You are a wolf,” I say softly. “You hunt, you protect, you defend. That includes yourself.”
She blinks, shaking her head in confusion. “What?” she whispers.
“No male, no matter how much larger, no matter how much taller, no matter how much stronger, can take the will of the wolf out of you. He may be able to quiet it down, he may be able to soften it, but he can never take it. Understand?“ She blinks, her hands fisting at her sides, but she nods. I return it, moving closer to her, feeling the need to. I hesitate for a moment before my forehead rests against hers. I grip her shaky hand in mine, ignoring the male in the well that is cursing and calling for help. “Zahariss is within us all,” I tell her, and her eyes widen in shock. “She is all we embody to be. Kind, graceful, a giver, a survivor. But most of all,” I tell her, my eyes bouncing between hers. “She is a fighter. Let her will guide you to fight for yourself, and take the balls of the next male who tries to put a hand on you.”
With that, I turn and walk away, back over to Anna and Taylor who are looking around nervously. We rush down the walkway at the sound of guards being called. We don’t stop until we come out of the town and we run across the open field, aiming for the trees on the other side. All the while, I feel eyes on me. I spot Josh leaning up against one of them, scowling in our direction and my feet stutter in their pace.
“That was stupid,” Josh barks at me when we reach him, and I tense at his harsh words. He finally talks to me, initiating the conversation for the first time in days and this is what he says? “You could have brought down the guards on us!”
“I wasn’t just going to let that male hurt her,” I hiss at him, and he shakes his head.
“We cannot be caught, we need to get Sarah,” he growls, fists clenching at his side.
“I know that,” I say between clenched teeth, before taking a deep breath. “Josh-”
“Then think about what you’re fucking doing.”
“I can’t just stand there and watch that happen when I can help!”
“You can help by getting Sar-”
“Okay, lets go and cool off,” Taylor says, coming to stand next to me and taking out a port stone.”
I hold my tongue and nod, gripping Anna’s hand and ignoring the daggers that are coming my way from Josh.
I couldn’t just let that woman be hurt, not when I saw other pack members in her place, coming from a home of those who would put their hands on them.
I not only saw that woman there, but I saw Katy, I saw Sybil, I saw Sarah.
So no, Josh can be pissed at me, he already is anyway, but I don’t regret what I did, not if my words could save her.
Because no one is saving me right now.
