The Ashen Raven's Treason

Chapter 46

My eyes flutter open, an orange hue of evening sunlight immediately shocking my senses. I squeeze my eyes shut and register the world around me from a different point of view than clinging to Cloak's front. No, this time, I'm on the opposite side. On his back. My arms dangle helplessly around his neck, the warm bleed of his hands pressing into the backs of my knees, my legs once again wrapped around his waist.

How did I get here? As I wait for the initial wave of nausea to pass, I recall my brief moments of consciousness. Aela's hands lifting me up underneath my arms—onto Cloak's back. My head dangling, body useless. Searing heat crawls up my neck and pools in my cheeks, one rested against Cloak's shoulder and the other exposed to the setting sun. Have I been asleep for nearly a day?

My neck is as stiff as a board. I don't wish to lift my head to show them I'm awake, nor is the experience of ironing out the kinks in my muscles an enjoyable one. So I remain where I am, opening my eyes just enough to discover we're on a trail in the thick of woods. Not like the palace woods; these are pine trees and mountain brush. We're heading north.

Cloak weaves around and below branches with ease, climbs over small boulders after Aela with no indication of being exhausted. I want to ask if he's tired of carrying me around yet, but the multitude of questions I'll face about my month spent with the Void Queen is not a subject I'm ready to face. My gut churning doesn't result from hunger and exhaustion alike, but my stupidity, too. How could I have trusted a woman that stole the lives of thousands? That is her specialty, I suppose. Making the world believe she is doing these things for the greater good.

No longer. I won't be so stupid as to—

"We should reach our destination in about two days," Aela sighs. The weariness in her voice is caused by still-bleeding wounds and boredom. Traveling on foot is much less exciting than doing anything by dragon. "Although, I don't remember how long it actually takes. I've only been there once."

"Two days sounds right," Cloak confirms, his voice reverberating through me. My empty stomach grumbles and I squeeze my eyes shut. When was the last time I ate anything? The morning of traveling with the Void Queen, I suppose. Unless I ate something in brief moments of consciousness. Either way, my body needs the fuel. "Then we can find a decent hiding place."

I hear a pebble hit against the toe of Aela's boot when she kicks it. A moment later, the soft clunk of that pebble hitting the trunk of a tree ignites a squawking bird. They must not be too worried about being followed. "The enemy could already be there, you know. Waiting for us. It's odd that no one has come looking for us yet." With an added sigh, she continues. "I fear they all died at Wyetta's hand."

"That's not true," Cloak intercepts, cutting off that possibility before it manifests. "We prepared for something like this to happen. At least one of them has to be alive, and they'll find us eventually if they are. We didn't go through countless evenings of training just to die immediately. Mother expects more than that."

As if she'll appear out of nowhere and slap them both for not surviving. Even if they're dead, she'll punish them in the afterlife.

Aela, standing on the other side of Cloak, hesitates. I can't see her expressions or the way she moves, but I have been around her enough to know that when her voice raises, she's jerking her chin. In my direction. "It's a miracle she's still alive," she says. "She should've died as a sacrifice."

Cloak's hands tighten on the backs of my knees. His body stiffens at once like he's preparing to slam directly into a brick wall. Muscles clench, breath hitches. "She is stronger than what she appears to be." After a moment of careful deliberation, he adds, "I should've paid closer attention to Mutes. I should've known something was amiss."