Destiny Written

Chapter 7

Arden startled awake. His body jolted him out of sleep. The crack of the curtains showed him that it was still night. He turned over, ready to sleep again, seeing how it was still dark.

A soft thud. Arden blinked his eyes and scrunched his eyebrows. Thinking that it was someone else maybe leaving their room, he returned under the covers.

Another soft thud. This time, it came from the roof.

Who in the blaze of Evran is running on the roof?

Suddenly, his body reacted as it struck his mind. Did they finally find him?

Frantically, Arden pulled his shirt on and then pulled his leather jacket over him. He threw his hood over his face. His boots were laced up faster than lightning. He tightened his knapsack across his body and strapped his sword to his back.

He slipped out of the door quietly.

All the lights were off. A perfect escape. Thankfully, no one was guarding the front desk, so he left easily. He already paid for the room.

It must have been well past midnight. The entire street was dark enough to let the stars shine. He stuck to the shadow of the buildings as he planned to sneak into the stable and grab the horse.

A shadow of a human being caught his eye and Arden pushed himself against the wall and held his breath. He glanced up and saw a figure dressed in black, a mask across the bottom half of his face and a hood over his head like him. Arden recognized the outfit. It was a standard thief's garb, similar to the Shadows that the Everrainian army employed.

They shared eye contact for a brief moment and Arden's fingers trailed against the handle of the sword, prepared to fight for his freedom.

But the figure held up two fingers to his brow, saluted him, and then slid behind the roof.

Arden was as still as a statue. He watched the outline of the roofline and saw the figure dashing across. What provoked him to follow, Arden didn't know, but he followed the shadow through the starlit streets.

Something curious intrigued Arden. The shadow was chasing something else, too. A glint shimmered against the crescent moon. Arden squinted. It was too small to identify.

The shadow perched lithely on a windowsill. A windowsill of a building that had flowers carved into the wooden trims. The words CHILDREN'S REFUGE were carved onto the attached sign.

The edge of a knife flashed against moonlight. Arden's heart thumped in his ears.

The girl.

The shadow slipped the knife between the panes and pushed the window open in silence. Arden ran forward, boots echoing in the stillness. The shadow turned, saw him, and then slipped inside.

Arden hopped over the fence. When he did, the shadow slithered out of the window, the girl in one arm.

"Hey!" Arden yelled.

The shadow turned, brown eyes widening. He pulled up with one arm over the roof. Arden began the chase. Although the shadow was carrying a human being in his arms, he was swift across the uneven platforms, clearly accustomed to running on rooftops. Arden, on the ground floor, was trying to keep up. He kept his eyes on the shadow while navigating the streets.

He veered into an alleyway, finding a ladder. Arden climbed up the rungs, landing onto a rooftop. He lost the shadow. He turned in a circle before he caught the glimpse of the shadow. Arden hesitated before he ran along the edge of the roof, careful not to overstep or fall.

Who was this girl? Why was a shadow sent after her?

Arden leaped forward, vaulting across a platform. The other shadow vaulted with ease, even with one hand. Arden bounded across the small platforms, feet barely fitting on some edges.