Page 176 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“You’re right. I am the Queen in Waiting now. You should show me more respect. I doubt Gideon would be happy to hear of you treating me this way.

Erissa scoffed, pointing a long, elegant finger at Baylis.

“I made you, girl. Don’t forget that. I’ll take orders from you when dragons roam the sky again.”

Baylis stomped her foot into the damp soil but did not retaliate. She needed Erissa to get through the wilds. Still, the seed of discord had been planted between the two.

Alwin stood, wiping his mouth on his cloak.

“Go fetch us some wood for a fire,” Erissa ordered.

Kita returned, chest heaving. “They’re just watching us out there.”

“Yes, idiot, the Night Folk are always watching. This is their land, and we are being granted the privilege of walking on it. Now, tie these two to a tree and get some rest. We’re moving out first thing in the morning.”

Alwin tied us to a tree a short distance from their camp. Before he turned to leave, I whispered, “I have something for your stomach.”

“What?”

“Yarrow leaves to help with your stomach. They’re in my pocket.”

Alwin eyed me suspiciously.

“Why are you helping this oaf?” Caiden asked. “He should suffer for what he did to us.”

“He’s still a person, Caiden. I know what withdrawal feels like.” I nodded toward my pocket. “Go ahead, take it.”

Reluctantly, Alwin reached into my pocket, pulled out the rhubarb leaves he thought were yarrow and sauntered back to camp.

“Thanks for that,” I whispered.

“What’s the plan? I know those weren’t yarrow.”

“My hope is he gets violently ill, and then we can take out the other two.”

“And how do you propose that? We’re tied to a tree and have iron blocking our magic.”

“I’m working on it, but if I know anything about addicts, and I do, they do things half-assed to get back to whatever high they want. Alwin is a drunk and going through withdrawal. He will do anything to stop the hurt. I bet he didn’t even tie our ropes correctly.” I tugged on the ropes binding us a bit. They weren’t tight, and if we both moved in opposite directions, the knot would likely come undone.

“How do you know that?”

It’s what I would’ve done if I were going through withdrawal.

“Because his head is probably killing him. You’ve had a hangover before. Now, just imagine it being ten times worse. Your vision is blurry, and your movements are shaky. We’ve been walking all day. He doesn’t have Illya’s gift and he probably just wanted to rest.”

“That still doesn’t solve our problem with the other three. And these chains.”

I looked at Baylis and Erissa, their rigid movements and cold words led me to believe they were both stewing on theearlier exchange. I hoped I’d done enough to build the pressure between them.

“Alwin will hurl, and I’m hoping Baylis and Erissa’s hostility boils over into a full-blown fight.”

“And what about the Night Folk? I’ve seen what they can do.” He motioned to his shoulder.

“We’re healed now, and we can run. This forest can’t last forever, and they go underground at dawn. We just need to pick the right time. They can’t touch the light.”

“This is a ridiculous idea. Your sister could kill us with one arrow.”

Yes, it was a ridiculous idea, but it was the only one I had. They wouldn’t risk undoing my shackles, and night was the only time we would be left alone.

---