Cloud Piercer

Twenty Five

As if on cue, the carriage rolls into the street, the horse as dark as the night. The curtains are pulled across, covering the darkened interior. I twist my head in jerky motions, searching for an escape. But too many people will notice if I run. I don't even have time to run. The crowd shoves against me, assembling in front of the carriage. I stumble into Killian's back.

"I have to get out of here," I whisper, grabbing his sleeve. "Killian, Tetterman can't see me."

"You said he didn't see your face—"

"He didn't, but his son did." I let out a shaky breath, watching as his face shifts, dawning with realisation. "What if he's here looking for me?"

Killian's gaze darkens as he glances over his shoulder back at the carriage, the horn still ringing through the air between us. I stumble backwards, trying to shove to the back of the crowd.

"You have to get away from me," I say, "if he recognises me and sees you with me—"

"Calm down—"

"—I promised Trina I wouldn't let them know who the informants are. I can't risk—"

He grabs my shoulders, forcing me to look up at him. "Listen to me. Don't move. It's too late to run. You have to calm down."

I clench my hands by my sides, trying to slow my breathing, my eyes drawn over his shoulder as the carriage door opens. Killian follows my gaze, stepping sideways so he's beside me. I want him to step in front of me again, to block me from Tetterman's view, but before I can say anything, Tetterman has placed his feet upon the earth, his chin lifted.

He looks so different than he did in the forge. More important, less afraid. And his expression of disgust is better concealed.

"Good evening, residents of Veymaw." His voice echoes over our heads. "I am pleased to see you all celebrating the night prior to the Red Moon. I have come to remind you all to give yourselves to what the night wants. What happens will happen. If you resist, there will be dire consequences. I'm sure we would all like to avoid what happened last year."

My father. He tried to stop them from taking Samu.

Tetterman's gaze scans the crowd. My heart pounds as he gets closer. Jakob, Cadence, Cicily, Raven, Aleyx—one by one he scans. He pauses when he looks at me. My stomach tightens in fear. Instinctively, I hold my breath, right hand reaching for the dagger sheathed at my thigh.

"Our only goal is to keep you safe," he announces, stepping foot from his carriage and into the crowd. His gaze flits over my shoulder as the crowd parts for him. My heart hammers against my chest as I pull both my hand behind my back, gripping the hilt of the dagger so tight my fingers grows numb.

"Which becomes difficult, you see," he continues, taking slow, steady steps in our direction, "when you do not follow the rules."

The crowd falls away, any hint of the music lingering in my mind coming to a screaming halt as Tetterman reaches the row of people standing in front of us. Like the rest, they part, giving Tetterman a clear path to Killian and I.

My mind screams as he stops his parade just before me, casting his gaze over the crowd once more. I glance to the ground as if it's the most interesting thing I've ever seen.

"What's your name, child?" he asks.

My breath catches in my throat as I risk a glance up. Tetterman stares directly at me. "My name is Freya, sir."

"Freya," he repeats my name with a wrinkle of his nose, like it tastes sour.

Last night, I'd been clothed in all black. My hair was swept back, tucked neatly in my hood. Is it possible for his son to identify me just by my eyes, a mundane common brown? What seemed unlikely before crashes over me with increasing pressure.