Page 120 of Wingless Crow: Part 1

His eyes glistened in the darkness. “Power. Lots and lots of power, Sparrow. Back then, it was all I wanted.”

“And now?”

His chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “And now it’s too late to do anything about it.”

The regret he carried, I realized, was for his life as much as it was for mine.

He’d given the promise to obey the orders of the royals. If he didn’t deliver me to the queen, he’d end up losing his mind and eventually his life, just like the promise breakers King Tiane put up on spikes in his Garden of the Cursed.

“I have an order to bring you back to Elaros,” he said. “And I will deliver on it, whatever it takes. There is nothing you or I can do about it, little bird. Wherever you hide, I will find you. If you run, I will follow. I’ll follow you everywhere.”

“I’ll follow you everywhere.”

He would, because he’d have to. He had no choice. And neither did I. There was no escape. The realization weighed heavily on my shoulders.

As if sensing my mood, he drew me closer to his chest. There was little comfort in that gesture, but I didn’t refuse the little I could get.

With his other hand, he steered the horse around a dark object on the ground. It was the body of one of the men who’d taken me. The sickening smell of fresh blood invaded the fragrance of the night forest. My throat tightened as my stomach lurched.

“Did you kill them all?”

“The scum deserved it,” he replied breezily, with no remorse whatsoever. “Don’t look.” Cradling the back of my head in his large hand, he guided my face to his chest to shield me from the gruesome sight. “Your stomach is too weak for these things.”

He spoke from experience. Voron was the one who’d held my hair while I retched into the king’s Garden of the Cursed in front of the entire court of Elaros. The memory of that was no longer as mortifying. I had way too many other things to worry about now to keep fretting about the courtiers’ opinion of me.

“Are you afraid I’ll throw up all over your boots?”

He chuckled. “These boots have suffered enough already. Did you know that I had to pull out a slug from one after you tossed them into theleatherleafbush?”

“Just a slug? What a pity,” I quipped. “I was hoping for at least a toad and some very spiky thistle.”

His body vibrated against mine from his soft laughter. “You’re a menace, little bird. Your sweet looks are so deceiving.”

I smiled, too. It helped ease the tension that was squeezing my chest like a thick, rusty chain. It helped me think more clearly, too.

Voron was too smart, too determined, and too motivated for me to escape him. He also had the power and resources to track me down, no matter where I went. He’d follow me anywhere, even to the Below if he had to.

But there was one place where Voron wouldn’t go after me. He wouldn’t follow me into the River of Mists. No one from Sky Kingdom would.

I had no memories of my life or my family back home, but I retained the knowledge of my old world and its people. I knew about its many cultures, the customs, and what dangers to watch out for. I was also generally familiar with its history and all the time periods I could possibly land in.

Going back would be extremely dangerous, but it would give me a chance to survive. A better chance than certain death at the queen’s hand.

“Do you think Queen Pavline would show me any kindness if I asked her forgiveness and begged for leniency?” I asked.

Voron pondered my question way too long for my anxiety not to spring up in a new gear.

“You said the king didn’t die,” I prompted.

“No. But the dagger that you stabbed him with was cursed. According to the royal hag, the king’s spirit is now suspended between life and death. He can’t move or speak. No one knows if he can hear.” He tilted his head to catch my eye. “Where did you get that dagger, Sparrow?”

There was no reason to keep that information to myself. Maybe if Voron knew everything, he’d be able to advise me on what to do next. His hands were tied by his promise to the crown, but other than that, I believed he wished me no harm.

“The dagger belongs to King Tiane. He kept it in a black metal box in a trunk in his bedroom. He took it out to…” I swallowed hard, recalling that night again, and rubbed the sore spot on my breast where the king had scored my skin. “He planned to use it on me. For fun.”

Voron went still. So still, he seemed to become one of the shadows in the forest.

“What kind offun?” His voice came out hoarse and rough.

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