Page 129 of Oath of Rebellion

Grimly, he nodded and pointed, but the next person he helped up wasn't Scarlet. "If she's in the crowd, we'll find her. She told me to lead them out, so maybe she's bringing up the rear."

Eirwyn felt her heart race, and she bit her lip. The line of people no longer needed her direction so she stepped closer to meet Knox at the end of the Lone Road. She could feel that he was almost done, and he needed to know about Scarlet.

Chapter 45

KNOX RAKED A HAND OVER his head and stared at the village as the blackness began to grow closer. He hoped he could remember what he'd read in the book when talking with Leopol.

He lifted his hands and vines and trees began to grow thick from either side of him. A few more people stumbled toward him, and he kept a break in the living wall to let them through.

He pictured the living wall and extended it in his mind along the forest's edge to the north and south. He wasn't sure how far the curse would extend, so in the north, he took it all the way to the sea, past the mountains.

In the opposite direction, he stopped at the Southern Road, just in case others in the kingdom tried to flee into Glathen. He wanted them to have a way out if necessary.

His arms began to shake as the magic wove through him. The trees grew into massive monoliths, extending four times higher than before and the trunks growing so wide they were as big as houses. He wove vines in the gaps, then pulled up the helrose hedges too.

When there were no more movements in the village and the inky blackness was just a few feet away, he pushed the helroses toward the black sand. The blackness stopped and receded.

He tested more of it with vines, and just before the inky blackness crept toward his feet, he stepped into the gap behind him and closed the magical wall.

A sigh of relief echoed through the quiet of the forest, and he turned to see Eirwyn leaning against a tree. She smiled tightly and then bit her lip.

"I was worried about you," she said with a shrug.

Knox smiled, his shoulders relaxing somewhere. "Where's everyone at?"

She nodded along the road. "I've walled off the road on both sides, and we've decided to camp on the road for the night. It'll be safer to travel to Vidrland tomorrow during the day according to your Robins."

Knox sighed in relief and took a few steps along the road. Not many people had stayed near the edge of the forest, but he could see down the road as people began to congregate into groups. Some were setting fires in the middle of the road, and Knox waved his fingers, pushing the overhanging foliage back so nothing accidentally caught on fire.

"I need to warn you about something," she said, walking up to him and linking their fingers.

He wiped his sweaty brow and walked on shaky legs beside her.

She looked up at him with a frown. "Are you alright? Did you use too much magic?"

He shook his head. "No, pushed myself but I'm alright. Are you?"

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