Page 61 of The Court of Thorns and Wings

My side ached, reminding me I far preferred swimming to running. Eiric and I had a lot in common, but she didn’t find swimming as enjoyable and much preferred to pound the ground with her feet. Maybe that had something to do with the affinities of our magic.

Tavish and Finnian were slowing as well. I could feel my mate’s exertion, and I wished there was something more I could do for him.

“Unless they wanted to hide behind a cottage while we went into the woods,” the woman countered. “Because they know we’d expect them to head for the trees.”

Even though our gait had slowed, the end of the village was in sight. Luckily, most of the lights were off, blanketing us in complete darkness. Most of Gleann Solas was asleep for the night, and this village wasn’t on the edge of the kingdom, so no guards had been allocated here to watch for the dragon prince to circle back.

“She has a point,” the higher-voiced male countered. “And they’ll get away if we continue to argue amongst ourselves.”

We were near the woods on the other side of the village. My heart hammered. Us reaching the trees didn’t mean shit. I knew better than to believe that Fate would bless us with a reprieve.

My magic was running low, making me move slower. I wouldn’t let Tavish know, or he’d beat himself up for draining me. He needed to be focused and not riddled with guilt.

As we stepped through the tree line, I waited for the next obstacle we’d be forced to face together.

The guards had slowed as they carefully tracked our movements, allowing us to get deeper into the woods. Their voices faded, indicating we were gaining distance from them. But there was no telling for how long.

The tingling of the darkness vanished from my skin, leaving me exposed, and the funneling of my magic stopped.

No.

Had Tavish realized I was growing fatigued?What are you doing?

Before he could answer, the woman exclaimed, “I lost his magic.”

Now that we’re deep enough, I don’t need to hide us, which will make following us far more difficult,he replied.

I glanced over to see that Eiric hadn’t noticed that the magic was gone and was continuing forward. Her breathing wasn’t labored at all, while I felt sweat beading on my brow.

We continued our trek with Eiric in the lead. My legs became heavy, and I struggled to lift my feet. I bit the inside of my cheek and closed the connection between Tavish and me so he couldn’t sense my fatigue. It covered me like a weighted blanket, and the ground felt a little off-center like I was on a rocking boat.

The guards’ voices got farther away as we continued deeper into the woods. Still, none of us risked speaking. I had nodoubt that guards were rushing throughout the kingdom to alert everyone that Tavish and Finnian had escaped.

After what felt like hours but had only been minutes, we slowed. Finnian blanched and hunched over. There was no way we could make it off the island, not with Tavish, Finnian, and me drained. We needed rest.

Nonetheless, we couldn’t risk staying here. The guards would be searching for us in this area.

“Let’s find a place to hide so the two of them can eat and rest.” Eiric ran a hand through her curly hair, which bounced when she removed it. “They can’t fly for long, and we can’t bear that much weight for hours.”

I hated that she was right, but worse, I was now part of that equation. I sighed as the trees closed in on me. “Where do we go?” Everywhere I could think of meant my parents would think of it too, and they’d find us. Eiric would be in the same boat as me. We were at a clear disadvantage.

Again.

“I have an idea.” Tavish inhaled deeply. “If we can get there.”

Eiric grimaced, but my heart leaped with hope. Neither set of our parents would know Tavish’s habits, and he’d spent time in Aetherglen, the kingdom’s name when both Unseelie and Seelie had occupied the lands here.

“Let’s go,” I said, taking Tavish’s hand. Eiric wasn’t likely to argue against him if I agreed. “We’ll follow your lead.”

He nodded. “We shall travel slowly and steadily because it’s a ways away.”

Of course it was, and I noticed Eiric flinched at that as well.

Finnian used the bottom of his tattered, soiled tunic to wipe the sweat from his brow. “Let’s go, or I may fall over. Slowing down makes my body want to rest.”

With no disagreements, Tavish headed south, away from the castle and guards.

The moon rose high, the light shining down on us. Thankfully, it illuminated the ground, so we didn’t struggle with the path or require additional lighting to move fast.

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