by Katy Haye
“Yes.” I looked him straight in the eye. “I can move faster once I’ve eaten. I need more energy.”
He shook his head, despairing at my priorities.
“Please, Jaran. If you really want to help, that’s how you can help me.”
“Does this have anything to do with ‘I have magic, and that’s why he’s doomed’?”
“Do you really want me to tell you?”
He smiled. “You keep your secrets, sis. I’ll get you something to eat.”
This was too good to be true. “Are you really going to let me go?”
“I’m really not going to let Father do as he wants, and letting you go seems to be the only alternative.”
“You’ll be the one in trouble then,” I pointed out.
“I’m his son and heir. He won’t hurt me.”
“He will.” Even that wouldn’t be enough to save him if Father were really in a fury – and his other target had vanished.
“He won’t hurt me more than I can take.” He saw my expression. “I’m tougher than you think, sis. I know I’ve had it easy. That doesn’t make me weak.”
“Good. So, fetch me a pasty.”
“You’ll be here when I come back?”
My stomach rumbled. That was getting repetitive, too. “Yeah, I’ll be here.”
Jaran vanished.
I stepped out of my cell. There was no one else here and no reason to stay inside it. The guards’ seat and table was far more comfortable. I sat down, propped my elbows on the table and my chin in my hands. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply. I was rested, thanks to the sleep I’d got in the cell. I thought … maybe I could feel something. And then my stomach gurgled. It was hunger, not magic that I could feel.
Five minutes later, Jaran returned. He brought a dish piled high with stew and spiced rice, while a rucksack hung from one arm. “Since you’re so worried about having enough to eat, I’ve packed you up something for a journey.”
I began to dig into the stew while he opened the top of the bag. I glanced inside, seeing pasties and cakes and fruit. What a shame I wouldn’t be able to carry any of them.
“Thank you,” I mumbled around a mouthful of stew.
Jaran could have taken the other seat, but he remained standing, leaning against the wall, arms folded while he watched me. “You really were hungry.”
“I really was.” I finished the plate, then turned to the contents of the bag. There was only an apple left by the time I felt truly, properly full.
“Have you not eaten for days?” he asked.
“It’s my magic. I learned how to use it.” And I could feel it inside me, ready to be told what I wanted. “Would you mind turning away for a minute?”
“I … sure.” He spun so his back was to me.
“And Jaran … thank you.” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and commanded my body to change form.
It could have all gone horribly wrong, my first transformation a never-to-be-repeated fluke. But I felt myself shift and when I opened my eyes the world had quadrupled in size. I scampered up the steps.
“No problem, sis, I…” I heard Jaran’s voice trail off, then I was out of range to hear him, running for the gates.
~
Scopgot Lane was still busy with people. It was evening, around the dinner hour. And being market day, there were still people shopping. No one noticed the small cat dodging down an alleyway to reach the stairs that led to the upper floor of a jeweller’s shop. I scratched at the door when I reached the top of the staircase, but it didn’t open, no one inside to answer. I braced myself, then jumped onto the windowsill. That hadn’t been shuttered. I jumped into the room inside and padded around. The place was empty, echoing and silent. No dragonette, no Pell, no Kiri, and no Lyo.
I sat and mewed my distress, while my human brain understood the situation immediately. Of course they hadn’t returned. Guards were searching for the escaped prisoner and those who’d helped him, as well as hunters seeking the dragonette. They’d be crazy to return here. And yet … what was I supposed to do now? I had no idea where they might have gone.
The fae. Pell had as good as said that the fae could teach me how to use my magic, that they’d welcome a woman and her magic, not destroy her. I’d be safe – if I could reach the Firethorn Mountains with no money, no friends, and only ‘east’ to guide me.
It was madness, but what else did I have?
Decision made, I jumped back onto the windowsill. When I landed on the top step, I found I wasn’t alone after all.
“It’s true then,” Lyo said.
If he was expecting a conversation, he was right out of luck. I mewed at him.
“Come on, it’s not safe here. For either of us.” He scooped me up and tucked me inside his jacket. I snuggled against his side, my eyes closing in the warm darkness. He smelled faintly of woodsmoke and I felt truly safe for the first time in days.
He jogged down the steps, then turned sharply left. His right arm supported me inside his jacket and I poked my head out between the buttons. Lyo crossed through the city, hood up, sticking to small, narrow alleyways most of the time. He walked fast enough to signal that he knew where he was going, but not so fast as to catch the attention of the guards we passed. He kept his head down and they let him past, seeming to have no idea that the prisoner they were seeking was right there in the city.
We reached the outskirts where the guards didn’t bother to go, slipped past the city walls and the houses grew sparser.
Trees appeared in their place, and finally a spire of grey marked the air and the scent of woodsmoke strengthened.
Half an hour’s walk brought us to a camp. Pell and Kiri were in a clearing in the woods, two tents pitched around the fire they were sitting beside.
Kiri jumped up when the snap of a twig beneath his foot signalled Lyo’s arrival. “Thank the gods!” She threw her arms around her brother, then froze when she squashed me and I meowed in protest. She backed away, a sour expression on her face.
“You found her, then,” Pell said.
“I said I wouldn’t leave without her,” Lyo said shortly. I guessed I’d missed the argument that must have come before that decision. Warmth snaked through me, reinforcing the sense I’d had earlier that I was safe with him.
Kiri sat down by the fire with a huff, shoulders hunched and arms folded. She didn’t look around as she called behind her, “If she didn’t bring clothes, she needn’t think she’s borrowing any more of mine. I didn’t get the last lot back.”
Lyo grinned, but I didn’t think she was joking. My human brain knew she hated me, while my cat instincts smelled nothing but loathing pouring off her.
“What now?” Pell asked.
“You know the plan.” Lyo stepped around the fire to the tent. “But we can get to that in the morning.” He bent down and pulled the flap of the tent open. He lifted me gently down onto the ground. “You’re probably tired,” he told me softly. “Sleep. When you’re ready to be human again we can talk about what comes next.”
I prowled into the tent, pushing my way inside a folded-over blanket. I wasn’t sure whether my human self would return while I slept, or if I’d need to make a conscious decision to shift. There was so much I needed to learn about my magic.
I kneaded the woollen blanket, then curled into a ball. There was so much … but that could all hit me in the morning. For now, I was safe.
I let sleep take me.
Lyo – Worth Any Price
“You seriously went back to fetch a stray?” Kiri’s tone radiated disgust.
“She’s useful and you know it.” He sat by the fire, bone-weary. It had been a long day. And their target was farther away than ever.
“She’s trouble,” Kiri countered.
“About the same amount as you, I’m guessing.” Lyo reached for a stick and prodded at the fire. Pell stifled a laugh, clearing his expression when Kiri looked up sharply.
“The king will search for her.”
&
nbsp; “The king won’t know what he’s looking for.”
“You think she’ll agree to stay like a cat until we’re ready to leave?”
Lyo looked straight at his sister. “I don’t know. Do you think you’d agree to stop arguing for that long?”
“She’ll ruin everything,” she snapped. She turned on her heel and walked away from the fireside, twigs cracking beneath her soles as she pushed between the trees.
“You two are more trouble than you’re worth,” Pell complained.
“You’re free to walk away,” Lyo told him.
“You know why that’s not true.” Pell sighed. “I’m going after her. When she comes back, play nicely.”
“I’ll try.”
Pell walked away, his movements close to silent. Lyo stared into the fire, then looked up to the sky overhead. “This isn’t going to plan,” he murmured, to whichever of the gods were listening. “We don’t have the egg, we’re wanted in the city, and I just added another mouth to feed to our group. A very hungry mouth.”
The fire crackled, a log shifting. There was no answer from the gods, but Lyo knew better than to expect one. He was on his own. He smiled. Not on his own. He had three people to help him now.
His smile faded. Pell and Kiri would help because they shared the same ambitions. Relle would help because she wanted a way out of Muirland. He’d help her get out of the country if she helped him complete his mission.
It was a practical transaction, nothing more. Lyo touched his stomach where Relle the cat had rested against him. He imagined he could still feel her warmth. He folded his arms, staring into the fire. Prince Ryss was relying on him. He couldn’t afford to be soft-hearted. Surran’s freedom was worth any price.
Even if that price ended up being her.
THE END
Will Relle escape Muirland? Can Lyo avoid execution? Discover what happens next by grabbing your copy of Dragon Flight.
Acknowledgements
Huge thanks to my tribe: the 10k Angels who have kept me sane during the writing and launch of a new series. You are shining stars in my universe, angels!
Thanks are, as ever, due to my wonderful editor, Laura Elliott. Thank you for helping me make this story the best it could be.
Thank you, enormously, to you, my reader. A story is only a half-formed thing when it is written. It needs a reader to truly come to life. Thank you for picking up Relle’s story and allowing her and all the other characters to find life in your imagination. You rock!
Finally, thank you to Gabe, whose patience, good sense and enthusiasm are unbounded. Love you, darling.
What would you like to read next?
The Princess Witch series (fantasy)
Dragon Thief
Dragon Flight
Dragon Fury
Dragon Prize
The Four Kings series (fantasy)
Awakened by Magic
Inspired by Magic
Shattered by Magic
Drenched by Magic
Ignited by Magic
Courted by Magic
A Clockwork War series (steampunk)
The Clockwork War
An Airship from Ashes
The Tinker Queen
The Immortality Device
The Crown of Fane duology (fantasy)
The Last Gatekeeper
The Last Dreamseer
Standalone (post-apocalyptic)
Rising Tides
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