Page 92 of A Thieving Curse

She laid there a moment more, fighting with herself. Was it worth the risk? What if she got lost—or worse? The last time she had run into the mountains hadn’t ended well.

“I’ll put my sword through this monster’s heart,”Tristan’s voice echoed in her mind. She recalled Alex’s smirk, Lucas’s laughter, Meredith’s embraces. She had to warn them.

Before she could lose her nerve, Raelyn sat up and looked about, pulling her cloak around her shoulders. Gareth snored lightly next to her, and a sea of sleeping men surrounded them. She cautiously moved into a crouch. A fire burned at the far end of the camp with two guards standing near it, their backs to her. Careful not to step on any slumbering knights, she crept in the opposite direction, scarcely breathing for fear of getting caught. As she approached the edge of camp, she straightened.Almost there.

Someone moved ahead of her. She froze. A soldier stepped out of the trees, moonlight dimly illuminating his frown.

“Your Grace? What—”

“I, um.” Her face heated. “Need a moment of…privacy? For…you know… I’m having some…stomach discomfort.”

The guard startled and averted his eyes. “Oh. Be careful. These woods are dangerous.”

“I know. I won’t go far. But…I may be awhile.” She clutched her stomach and grunted.

“Perhaps I should alert one of the princes—”

“Oh, my brother knows.” She grimaced and grabbed at her middle again. “If you’ll excuse me.” She rushed past him. The soldier didn’t follow.

As soon as she was hidden from his view, she headed in the direction Tristan had pointed when he talked about Mount Klainar. Once she felt she was out of hearing distance, she ran.

She used the stars, waxing moon, and glimpses of the peaks over the trees to assess if she was traveling the right way. Her heart pounded. A stitch developed in her side, but still she ran. Things moved in the darkness, shadows of trees or something more sinister, she didn’t know. She pushed herself harder, even as her lungs burned, and tried not to think about beasts ripping her apart before she could warn Alexander.

The pinch in her side forced her to a walk as every muscle in her body twitched. The trees creaked around her, leaves whispering. Something growled, and she swallowed a scream.No, no, no; I have to get to the cave.She held her side and hurried onward toward Klainar, eying the shadows, but nothing moved. Maybe she had imagined it.

Raelyn walked for hours. She could hardly keep her eyes open.If I fall asleep, I’ll get eaten. After considering, she decided to climb a tree to see how much farther she had to walk.

She found a pine she was able to climb with some difficulty. Panting, she sat on a high branch and leaned against the trunk, her dry eyes itching as weariness pulled down on her.

The familiar peak of Mount Klainar stood out against the star-filled sky. A defeated sob squeezed her lungs. Pine needles poked through her sleeves and caught on her skirt. It was still so far, and her energy was depleted. She chewed on her lip, considering her options.

She should be much too far from the camp for any of them to hear her if she yelled. And if they did, they’d only take her back. The bigger problem was attracting the attention of beasts. But she couldn’t stay awake much longer, and something might find her, anyway.

So she shouted at the moon. “ALEX! ALEXANDER! ALEXANDER TALLON! ALEX!” Desperation built in her. There was no reason to believe he would hear her. He was probably sound asleep in his room, deep in the cave, with the door closed.

Foolish, Raelyn.She hit the tree and screamed all her pain and fear and brokenness into the night sky. Gareth’s doubt, Tristan’s coldness, Alexander’s peril, the love she couldn’t have, all of it crushed her. She rested her forehead against the rough bark and wept until she was too exhausted to keep crying.

She couldn’t remain atop the tree. Not this weary. She would fall asleep and tumble to her death. After taking a few steadying breaths, she began to climb down.

The beat of giant wings stilled her.

Raelyn’s heart leapt. Can it be…?She pulled herself back up. A large dark shape moved nearby. Huge wings spread wide as Alex surveyed the surrounding treetops. She cried in relief and waved.

“Alex!”

Glowing red eyes fixed on her. He sped over the trees, swooped low, and scooped her out of the branches, holding her against his chest. “Raelyn?” He kissed the top of her head. “I’ve got you.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Alex…”

“Raelyn.” He tightened his grip on her as he turned toward the mountain. His wings beat the air with a fury as he soared upward. His purr vibrated into her. She closed her eyes and relaxed against him, too tired to even speak.

Gareth

“WHERE IS SHE!”

Gareth snapped awake as someone grabbed his tunic and lifted him partly off the ground. Torchlight cast deep shadows on Tristan’s enraged face.

“You let her wander off?” Tristan shouted.

---