At the gates they argue with the Hunters. Her words echo over the cobblestones. I look around; there’s nobody but me to overhear them. My blood is rushing though my body, pounding in my ears. My pulse throbs in my throat. What if they need help? I don’t dare run over and do anything—Raven would never forgive me for following like this.
I stand in the shadows, watching Raven draw her sword, demanding to be let out of the gates. This makes my heart fill with pride. My girl will be all right.
Then they’re through the gates, disappearing into the darkness at full speed. I grab on to a nearby post to prevent myself from running after her. What I want to do is to hurl Tui from his horse and ride Pango myself, alongside my Woman King. Damn him for showing up here. Of course she’d go with him, to make sure her family is safe. As much as I despise watching them ride off together, it’s why I love her.
Hunters return from dinner. They lock the gates.
My chance is gone.
Chapter 10
I must have eventually fallen asleep; it seems like only minutes later Rosie’s tapping on my shoulder to wake me.
“M’lady. Have you got anything to eat? I’m hungry.”
I look up at the sky above. A few stars are left, but dawn is definitely here. Tui’s still snoring loudly. I smile at the girl. “Sure, let’s see what we’ve got.”
Fifteen minutes later, the tiny thing has wolfed down half a pot of porridge and several pieces of fruit. At this rate, we’ll have to buy more food in a week. No matter, Imogen has given me plenty of coins to do so. It’s just the matter of shopping unnoticed that troubles me. I’ll have to get Tui to do it, despite the chance of him coming back with armloads of sweets instead of real food.
I hand half-asleep Tui a mug of strong tea, and he gulps it down. Once he’s fully awake, we share a pot of porridge, then pack everything up. It’s best to get going as fast as we can.
We make our way back to the road, and I’m relieved to see it’s still empty. The sky above is clear, and as the sun rises over the mountains before us, we warm quickly. Soon Rosie and I take our coats off and stow them in one of Pearl’s saddlebags.
Even though I’m dying to nudge Pearl into a gallop, I know she’ll never be able to keep that kind of pace up for days and days, so we stick to a canter. The last thing I want is to injure her. But still, I have to restrain her from going faster. She’s as eager to be far from the Bastion as I am.
I ride up next to Tui so we can talk.
“How far until the first checkpoint, do you think?”
“It’s not far at all from what I remember of my last trip this way. We’ll be there in another hour or so.” He looks at me sideways.
“What?”
He sighs and then begins. “I think … I think you should let me talk to them. You and Rosie should keep quiet.”
“What do you mean? You want me to act like a good, obedient wife? Is that it?”
He shakes his head so hard his hair goes flying. “No, not at all. It’s just that—that’s what they’ll expect of a husband. We don’t want to stand out in any way. You know that.”
I can feel my face burn. Maybe Leif was right. I don’t like this pretend-family thing either.
“I’ll do my best,” I snap. Immediately, I regret it. This is not Tui’s fault. It’s simply the way things are. And he is right: the less attention we draw to ourselves, the better off we’ll be.
Sure enough, the violet uniforms come into view within the hour. As soon as they do, my heart starts pounding wildly. I wipe my sweaty palms on my skirt so Pearl’s reins won’t slip out of them and then pull the blue scarf up around my head.
“We need to keep quiet, okay?” I whisper this in Rosie’s ear, and she nods eagerly. She’s leaning against me, her body stiffens with anticipation.
How can I possibly keep quiet, knowing the terrible things Araroa and his Hunters did to her and her family?
But I must.
Tui leads as we ride up to the checkpoint. A small camp has been set up, and a dozen Hunters mill about, mugs in hand. They look incredibly bored.
I stop Pearl behind Tui, pulling my scarf farther down around my face. Beads of sweat have started dripping down from my hair. I feel one slide down the back of my neck. The mid-morning sun has grown hot, and my wool skirt feels suffocating now. I grasp Pearl’s reins tighter so the Hunters can’t see my shaking hands. I can feel eyes on me—all of them, it seems.
A Hunter greets Tui. His shirt is untucked underneath his violet coat. Like he’s just climbed out of bed. Probably has.
“Morning, sir,” the Hunter grunts.
“Indeed, lovely day to you.”
“Sure. Where are you off to?”
“Ah yes. This is my wife, Anna, and my daughter, Lydia. We’ve been visiting relations at the Bastion. We’re on our way back home to Southville. Down by the sea. Do you know it?” Tui speaks confidently, not missing a beat. My brows raise involuntarily; I’m impressed by his newfound ability to lie. He could only have been rehearsing this story all morning in his mind.
“No, never heard of it.” The Hunter seems to be more awake now, he’s inspecting Tui’s face carefully. He looks past Tui, to Rosie and me. I place a hand on her shoulder, trying to appear motherly. Rosie turns and smiles up at me. It must work because the Hunter returns his hard gaze back to Tui.
“Are you carrying anything illegal?”
“No, sir. Only some food and clothing and other travel supplies.”
“These are awfully nice horses.” The Hunter strokes Pango’s neck with two fingers.
Another bead of sweat begins to slide down my forehead. My heart is throbbing so hard I start to feel lightheaded.
Pango reaches over and nips the Hunter’s collar. The Hunter jumps backward.
“Sorry about that, sir,” Tui says. I hope the Hunter doesn’t notice his voice wavering, because I can sure hear it. “He’s a loyal stallion.”
“I see that.” The Hunter pauses. It’s agonizing. I just want him to let us go.
Finally, he nods and steps aside. “I grant you passage, then. Continue straight to Southville. Do not detour. There will be further checks as you go.”
“Thank you, sir. Good day to you.” Tui nudges Pango, and his horse sets off at a trot. I so want to glare at the Hunter as I pass him, but I don’t. I keep my head down and hope it’s concealed enough by my scarf.
We continue down the road at a gallop. I keep my eyes straight ahead.
We don’t see another human being for two more days. I ask Tui about this, and he tells me that very few people are traveling at all anymore. They usually get turned back at checkpoints, or harassed endlessly. And those who do aren’t using the main routes, and travel during the cover of night. When he tells me this, I begin to wonder if we should be doing the same. But I know this would take us far longer, and we might get lost, besides.
On our fourth evening, we camp by a small creek running a little way off the main road. We drink the cool, fresh water deliriously. I throw my boots off and soak my feet in the stream. The golden evening sun filters down through leafy branches above, giving our little camp a magical glow. Rosie is stomping through the shallow water with utter delight.
With most of her soaking wet, she runs up to me, beaming. “I’ve never been in such a beautiful place!”
“Haven’t you?”
She shakes her head, smoothing her dripping skirts back down. “No, I’ve never been outside the Bastion before. And you don’t want to play in any water there.”
I remember the foul sewage-filled drainage ditches running all through the Bastion. And the smell. “Definitely not. This is a much nicer place to—hey, look over there!” There’s a splash, not far from us. A silver flash, as the fish’s tail dives back into the water.
Tui’s already rummaging in his pack for some line and a hook. I get up to help him, but he waves me away. “Get a fire ready, Raven. Dinner’s on its way!” His face is alight, as eager as always to cat
ch a meal.
Rosie watches with fascination as Tui patiently shows her how to tie the line to the hook, then cast it out in the water. She squeals when Tui’s got the fish in his hands, and shrieks even louder when he whacks it on the head with a rock.
“Are you okay?” I ask her. I remember how upset I was the first time I went fishing.
But Rosie looks up at me with a wide smile. “Oh yes, m’lady. This is going to be the best dinner I’ve had in years!” I smile back at her. She’s clearly not worried about a dead fish. After all, her childhood has been much harder than mine ever was. Hopefully we can change that.
Our dinner is excellent. Fresh fish and potatoes roasted over the fire. I nearly forgot how good food tastes in the wild, after a long day of travel. With full bellies, we all crawl into our blankets and watch the stars come out. The perfect dessert.
When we wake the next morning, the sky is covered with dark clouds. Ominous. The air is filled with light mist, and we bundle ourselves in our coats again. Something feels off.
We wolf down some stale bread, then get moving. I push Pearl hard. I feel like we haven’t been moving fast enough. We have such a long way still to go.
With so many empty hours to fill, I can’t help my thoughts of Leif. I hope I’ve done the right thing. I hope he’s okay back at the Bastion. But how will I know if he’s not? And what could I do about it anyway, now that I’ve left him?
But maybe he and Nile are together, on their way to me right now. Both of them know their way around this country like I know the back of my hand. We wouldn’t have to deal with these checkpoints. All these lies.
I’m kidding myself—I just want to see Leif again.
I probably should have made him come with us in the first place. Then we wouldn’t be apart and he could help us find our way back to Baldachin, off the main route and fast too.
Eventually, I get tired of my circular thinking and concentrate on Rosie’s curls bouncing in front of me. Her head keeps sagging forward, and I can tell she’s struggling not to fall asleep. I gently push her forehead back so she’s resting against my chest more comfortably, and she finally gives in. The kid’s a real fighter.
I try to calm my growing anxiety at something I’ve also realized: now I have to keep her safe too.
It’s nearly dark and we’re looking for a spot to camp in the trees off the road. But they are so close together there’s no chance of squeezing through them. The sky is still overcast, and it’s getting more difficult to see with each passing minute.
But when I spot them up ahead, they are unmistakable—their violet coats luminous in the gloom.
I stop Pearl, and Tui rides up next to me.
“Well?” I sigh.
“Don’t worry, Raven. We’ll get through. Just do what we did last time. It worked then, right?”
It did work then, but I feel it was only by chance. My stomach turns into a hard knot.
I sigh again. “All right, let’s get going.”
We continue on, reaching the Hunters a few minutes later. There are only four of them this time, and there’s no camp in sight. I wonder where they are staying—the line of trees beyond them continues unbroken.
“Halt!” The tallest one puts up his hand. As usual, his face shows no emotion, his mouth a straight line. Tui and I stop as ordered.
“Where might you be headed?” he asks.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Tui sit up a little straighter. “Southville, sir.”
The Hunter hesitates for a beat. Considering.
I can only hope he doesn’t know that we have no idea where Southville is. Or if there even is a Southville at all.
His eyes travel to Rosie and I. Inspecting us. “Is that your child?” he asks.
I start to open my mouth to reply, but Tui beats me to it. “Yes, sir. She is.”
The Hunter leans closer, studying Rosie’s face. When he peers up to study mine, I hope he cannot hear my thudding heart. “You don’t look old enough to have a child this age.”
I feel a bead of sweat forming on my upper lip, despite the cold evening air. “That’s right. Sir.”
His brow furrows in confusion, so I continue. “She’s my sister’s child. Who died in childbirth. My mother took care of her until she died herself a month ago. That is why we’re going to Southville, where we have relatives to help us.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see half of Tui’s mouth turn up. He’s not the only one who’s improved the ability to concoct stories at the last second.
After a very long half minute, the Hunter announces his verdict. “You cannot continue to Southville.” He’s still looking right at me.
“Why not, sir?” Tui asks.
“You need to go back the way you came.” His eyes are burning into mine now. I can’t help but return his look. My heart slows when I see it’s not one of malice. Strange.
I quickly glance at the other three Hunters. They’ve got their hands in their pockets and are busy studying their boots.
“But—” Tui starts.
I interrupt him. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate your consideration of our situation.” Tui’s glare burns into the side of my face. I glance at him and tilt my head to indicate that we should turn around. Now.
Tui gives me another questioning look, then he nods at the Hunter in thanks. We turn, riding back the way we came.
The very way I most definitely do not want to be heading.
A half hour passes. It’s grown so dark we give up trying to find a place to camp off the road and simply tie the horses to a couple of trees. We roll out our blankets nearby.
I pass out some cheese and bread to Tui and Rosie. She squeals when I toss her an apple for dessert. It’s our last one. Our packs, once filled with food, are alarmingly light now. We had expected to reach the first town in another couple of days, on the other side of the pass. But now … now I have no idea how we’re going to keep this child—never mind ourselves—fed.
Rosie finishes the apple quickly and then tosses the core into the bushes with a deft throw. She curls herself up into her blanket next to me, holding her little doll close. “M’lady?”
“Yes?” I crawl into my own bedroll; the night has grown very cold.
“Are we going back to the Bastion? Because I don’t want to go back there. It’s full of bad people. I only want to find my brother. And my mum and papa if they … if they are still alive.”
Her words bring tears to my eyes. “No, Rosie. We’re not going back. I don’t want to go back either. We’ll find another way.”
“Okay,” she mumbles. “That sounds good. Sweet dreams, m’lady.”
“Sweet dreams, Rosie. We’ll find your family. I promise you.”
But as I’m falling asleep, I realize I’ve made yet another promise I have no idea if I can keep.
In the morning we reluctantly keep moving back the way we came. With every step, my anger grows. This is not the direction I want to be going: farther from Baldachin with every passing minute.
After a couple of hours, the trees around us have thinned a bit, nearly enough so we can ride through them.
“M’lady! Look!” Rosie is pointing into the trees.
I don’t see a thing. “What is it, Rosie? What do you see?”
“It’s a marker, m’lady. A blue one.” I peer again, and this time I see it: a slim blue ribbon tied to a lower branch of a tree.
There’s no trail; it can’t be marking that. But the trees are surely wide enough apart that we can ride through them. I look at Tui. He shrugs. Leaving it to me to decide.
It’s not a difficult decision: there’s no chance I’m going back to the Bastion. Not yet. I turn Pearl, and we disappear into the trees.
It’s overcast again and dark inside the cover of the forest. Tui follows behind me, even though I have no idea where I’m going. I only know to lead Pearl away from that road, the Hunters, the Bastion, and toward the mountains before us.
“Is there another pass, do y
ou think?” I shout back to Tui.
“There is,” he calls back, and rides up closer to me and Pearl. “The bearcats took me through one. It won’t be easy to find, but it’s not a hard pass. Easier than the road, in fact.”
“You don’t remember how to get there?”
“Ha! Wish I did. Cecil was running so fast that the entire trip was a blur. Maybe we’ll run into one of his mates.”
“That would be nice.” Which is true. I have no idea how we’re going to find our way out of here.
We keep moving in what we hope is northwest. Hours pass with no other sign that any other creature has ever traveled this way. “Keep your eyes peeled for more ribbons,” I tell Rosie. She nods and continues scanning as we ride.
The trees grow closer together again. It becomes impossible to ride between them, and eventually we’re forced to turn directly north.
We stop for lunch, and I dig through my pack hoping to find more food. All that’s left are a few stale biscuits. I toss one each to Tui and Rosie. They wolf them down.
No doubt their stomachs are still as hungry as mine as we pack up and continue on.
These summer evenings stretch on and on. We keep riding, weaving through the trees until late. By the time it’s nearly dark, I am exhausted and sore from riding. We’re all glad to stop and stretch our legs, wandering around in the last bit of light to gather some wood for a fire.
After a few more bites to eat, we huddle around the small flames, sipping our tea.
Tui and I keep our conversation light until Rosie is tucked in and fast asleep.
But once she is, I ask the question I’ve wanted to all day. “We’re out of food, Tui. What if we can’t find any? We can’t keep going like this for days and days. Should we turn back?”
Tui’s playing with a stick in the fire. He pulls the end out and studies the bright-red tip smoldering in the dark. The smoke rises up, joining the smoke from the main fire. He blows on it, watches it flame up.
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