Page 34 of Of Flames and Fallacies

“Did he see you?”

“Of course not! I didn’t take more than a few seconds. I wouldn’t still be here if he had—”

“Gentleman.” Our lead came up behind us and clasped me and the guard beside me on the shoulders. I tried not to choke on the food in my mouth.

Our lead called an urgent meeting, and we all gathered in the training room.

Once everyone was settled, he called two names forward. I watched in surprise as the two broke from the group. The two who had sat next to me whispering.

Our lead ordered them to kneel—a custom standard for promotional ceremonies. Excitement danced on their faces. It was the last thing we saw before their faces twisted in anguish as they were decapitated.

My hand flies to my throat, my pulse skittering under my skin. I slap the journal shut, and Daeja’s head jolts up from where it was tucked into my side.

“Sorry, girl,” I whisper and stroke a thumb over her head.

She wiggles herself back into my ribs, and I slide the journal under my pillow.

That wasn’t something I wanted to end on, but the light in my room starts to dim as the last light of the day fades. I stare up at the ceiling until sleep eventually pulls me under.

Something wet grazes my cheek. I use a hand to swipe it off and turn to my opposite side. A sniff pulses in my ears, and another wet flick tickles my face. Except this time, it doesn’t let up.

My eyes flash open, and I shrink away from the sensation.

Daeja’s wide eyes twinkle in the starlight. Staring directly at me.

“What? What is it, girl?” I grumble.

She whines, nudging her nose under my hand. I pat her, and she grabs a mouthful of my sleeve and pulls.

“What are you doing?” I whisper.

She tugs until I sit up, before she pounces off the bed and scurries over to the door. Dragging her front claws down the wood, the grating sound shoots me to my feet.

As I dart over to her, she scratches more insistently. Frantically.

I grab her, pulling her into my arms and placing an ear against the door.Did she hear something I couldn’t?

But it’s quiet.

I flick a look down at her. Cautiously, I open the door a few inches to peer out. An orange glow of a fire pulses from the center of camp, blocked by shadowy silhouettes of soldiers gathered around it.

Daeja moves fast. Too fast for me to stop her. She jumps from my arms and slips out the door. Her body flickers, as if testing her newly acquired disappearing skill.

Cursing, I sprint after her. She skirts left, away from the center of camp and around the backside of the storage tent facing the forest beyond. The farther away we get from the glow of the fire, the harder it is to track her in the night.

As we reach the outpost’s crumbling stone wall, I jet a glance over my shoulder toward camp. No one follows us.

Daeja disappears into the shadowy forest beyond.

Once I’m in the thick of the trees, I call her, “Daeja?”

I tip-toe around shadows stretching across the forest floor. Scanning every lifted tree root or pile of leaves.

“Daeja,” I whisper again, hoping she will reveal herself.

My breath is stuck in my lungs as I scan the stillness of the trees. My eyes search the shadows, my heart sinking with every passing second. I reach a break in the tree line giving way to a glittering lake. Off in the distance, a soft glowing moon hovers above Dragon’s Back Ridge. As I cup my hands to call for her again, the shadow of a large fallen tree shifts. White ghostly eyes blink at me, and my breath loosens.

I close the distance between us, scooping Daeja into my arms. “What has gotten into you?”

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