Page 84 of Reckless
But it was all pretend, after all. At least, that is what I keep telling myself.
I run a hand through my hair before pulling the bandanna over my nose. “Ready?” I ask, walking us over to the edge of the roof.
“It wouldn’t matter if I wasn’t,” she says cheerily.
I shake my head and swing over the side of the building, gripping the tall lip of the roof while my legs dangle beneath me. Paedyn does the same, straining as she begins to carefully climb down. We struggle down the wall of the building, using every crack in the stone as a place to fit our fingers and feet.
The chain clanks between us when we finally leap to the ground. My hand stings, and I look down to find a thin line of blood blooming across my palm, courtesy of a jagged stone. Ignoring it, I watch her wrap most of the chain around her ankle before she straightens. Then she’s hesitantly threading her arm through mine as we set off through the backstreets of Dor.
The edge of the city is eerily empty, housing only the homeless and crippled. To live this far from the main market streets is not a choice—it’s a punishment. Outcasts are pushed to the outskirts, leaving them to fend for food or make the trek to the market alleys.
But it’s safer to travel along the border where there are less people to recognize us, especially with the news of our escape from prison likely spreading. We make good time, only needing to dodge a few persistent peddlers as the day wears on.
It’s only when we pass the fourth flyer of her face that she tears it from the shop’s wall. “What?” she bites out, catching the glance I throw at her. “I’m sick of staring at myself.”
She’s about to crumple the poster when I snatch it from her. “Let me see this.” I easily avoid the swipe of her hand, lifting the parchment above my head.
“You are insufferable,” she huffs, finally giving up. “What could you possibly want with that?”
“Comparing it to the original,” I say simply, holding the picture beside her face. She almost allows herself to laugh at that. My eyes flick between her and the poster, scanning each feature. I hand it back to her in a matter of seconds. “Not enough freckles.”
“Not enough…” Her head whips in my direction, confusion crinkling her brow. “What do you mean, not enough freckles?”
“I mean,” I say without looking at her, “they didn’t draw enough freckles.”
She huffs. “Yes, I heard that, but—”
A burly man steps out from an alley, blocking our path. Paedyn’s arm tightens slightly around mine as his eyes skim over us, stopping at the sight of a chain clamped at my ankle. I take a step, urging Paedyn to move around him when his face suddenly splits into a smile.
“Damn,” he bellows, “you’ve really got yourself a ball and chain, eh?”
For once, I’m relieved by such a comment. Let him think what he wants, so long as he doesn’t know who we are. With that in mind, I play along. “Yes, and she’s clearly quite the handful.”
I’m going to pay for this later. I can feel it in the way she’s squeezing my arm.
I rest my hand on Paedyn’s back, guiding her forward as the man laughs. “You certainly put her on a leash!”
Her entire body tenses, ready to rip the man apart. I slide my hand around her waist, trapping her against me so she doesn’t do anything rash. “Well, I can’t have her running away from me, now, can I?”
His laughter fades behind us as we hurry past him and down the alley. I expect the elbow she throws into my ribs before the blow lands. “That,” she says softly, “is the least you deserve.”
“What exactly did you want me to do?” I murmur. “Tell him why you’re chained to me?”
She doesn’t bother answering as we step in time down the street. We walk in silence for several minutes, keeping our heads down and our pace even. It’s only when a group of men step out in front of us that we falter.
There’s four of them, all large and lumbering. A man steps forward with a jeering smile, the one we escaped from just minutes ago. “You know,” he says, shaking a finger at us, “I thought you looked familiar, girl.” He pulls a crumpled piece of parchment from his pocket, holding it up for us to see Paedyn’s face staring back. “So this is the infamous Silver Savior, eh?”
I brace a hand on Paedyn’s back when he takes a slow step toward us. “And that must make you the Enforcer sent to fetch her for your little king. We heard about your escape from Rafael. But he captured the both of yous easy enough.” His smile only grows. “We’ll get a lot for these two, boys. The Elite freak can’t take down all of us. In fact, I don’t think the Enforcer is half as powerful as we thought.”
I glance to the right, eying the empty alley there. “I’d hate to say it, but…”
“I know,” she murmurs back before lurching into a run.
We skid into the alley, tripping over the chain as Paedyn struggles to unravel it from her ankle. Shouts echo behind us, closely followed by the sound of thundering footsteps. I grab her hand as we zigzag through the uneven streets, focusing on keeping our feet beneath us.
“We won’t lose them like this,” she pants, pulling me in a new direction.
“I know,” I say, swiping at the sweat stinging my eyes. The next right we make has us heading for one of our pursuers, forcing us to skid to a stop and turn around. “Any brilliant ideas?” I ask breathlessly.
