Page 15 of Secrets of Graves and Gold

More rain pelts down on us, pounding almost as loud as the horses’ hooves. Stavros urges his stallion to the head of the group, veering to lead us toward the nearest stretch of forest where we can disappear from view.

With an unnerving whine, an arrow shoots through the air just inches from his shoulder. It thuds into the grass instead.

“Faster!” Alek calls out raggedly.

I don’t think Toast can gallop any harder than he already is. Clutching the reins, I sneak a peek over my shoulder in time to see all three of the guards on the wall drawing bows, with more soldiers racing to join them.

The arrows careen through the rain. Two fly wide, but the third is shooting straight toward Stavros’s back.

Panic jolts through my veins with a chill that has nothing to do with the water seeping down my back. My magic leaps up alongside it.

Before I can second-guess the decision, I fling my arm out.

Like with the king this morning, there’s no time to beg Kosmel for guidance, no time to even question the decision. I can’t stand to see Stavros killed over my mistakes.

So possibly I make another.

My power slams the arrow to the side. It hisses harmlessly into the grass.

And on the wall behind us, a cry of pain rings out.

The backlash of my magical shove must have struck one of the guards. My head is whirling too fast for me to rejoice or regret the act.

I duck low against the growing downpour and hurtle between the welcoming trees.

Five

Ivy

By the time Stavros slows his stallion ahead of us, I think I’m drenched right through to my bones. The rain has started to ease off, but a steady drizzle continues flecking my cheeks through the gloom.

The former general wheels his stallion in a small clearing and looks to me first. His face is taut with worry. “Are you all right?”

I restrain a shiver and paste on my best unflappable smile. “I’ll survive. What do we do now?”

Stavros lets out a rough breath. “We’ve covered a lot of distance quickly. As unpleasant as the rain has been, it’ll have covered most of the signs of our passing. I brought us around the city and onward in nearly the opposite direction from where the guards last saw us, which should help keep us beyond their initial searches.”

Alek wraps one arm around his chest over his sodden uniform, which is plastered to his lean frame. “They aren’t going to give up any time soon, though. Not as long as the king is afraid of a riven sorcerer on the loose.”

Casimir taps his gelding to bring it up beside me and rests a comforting hand on my arm. “The royal family does have plenty of other things to focus on at the moment, though. I’d imagine the attack on the palace will be their most immediate concern.”

“Unless they’re going to blame that on me too,” I mutter, with a shudder I can’t suppress at the memory of King Konram’s accusing question.

Julita sniffs in disdain. That’s ridiculous. Surely the king has at least enough of a brain to realize you weren’t responsible for that. Why in the realms would you have protected him from attackers you’d sent to murder him?

A very good question, and one I’d like to hope will occur to Konram when he’s had time to think things through.

Rheave glances around us, his eerie eyes gleaming in the thickening darkness. “This body is hungry. None of you have eaten much today—you must need the energy too. Can we stop for long enough to have a meal and relieve ourselves?”

Part of me wants to cling to Toast for dear life and ride to the very edge of Silana, but even as the urge passes through me, my stomach gurgles.

Alek’s gaze twitches to me. “Yes, we should eat. If we get back under the trees, they should keep most of the rain off.”

The muscles in my legs protest as I dismount. Toast shakes his mane with a snort and ambles to the edge of the clearing to snack on some grass.

Casimir retrieves a bundle of food from his saddle bag, and we gather under the denser branches. As he hands a cheese-stuffed roll to me, another shiver ripples through my body, too intense for me to suppress it.

The courtesan pauses. “You’re freezing. Your cloak is in one of the bags, isn’t it? You could change back into your dress and?—”

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