Chapter 66

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I lost track of time.

We walked and walked through the pitch black cave, leaning on a single lantern for light. There were no forks in the tunnel, which was a mercy, but the floor was uneven and my ankles kept twisting. When the passage narrowed I had to hunch and crawl on all fours. By the time we paused my whole body was a wreck.

‘Isn’t it supposed to be only half a day from here?’

It felt like at least a day had passed. I began to suspect Gareth’s “half a day” was measured by someone who wasn’t me.

“Ah!” the village chief in front tripped and fell with a splash.

He’d stepped into what looked like a shallow puddle that turned out to be far deeper. People scrambled to haul him out but the lantern went out when it fell into the water.

“This is awful. I’m sorry,” the chief murmured.

“It’s not your fault. We’re all exhausted,” someone answered.

“We should rest and check things before going on,” another suggested.

The old and the little ones slowed our pace. The fact that the people who had been guarding the entrance still hadn’t come after us meant something had happened back there. Could we keep running like this and survive. Were the governor’s soldiers tracking us already

Our strength and spirits were drained, and whispers of despair started to leak out.

“What are we going to do? We just barely settled into this hideout,” someone lamented.

“We’re all going to die. The governor won’t let any of us live,” another said.

I covered the ears of a child who crouched beside me. The kid looked up at me with bright, clear eyes.

“Sis, why are you sad?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I said.

The grownups fell silent when they realized the children were here. Even in that blackness I could see the resignation on their faces.

‘If only we could get out of here alive…’

I felt as rotten as anyone. My body hadn’t healed from the long ride. The air was damp and cold, food was almost gone, and walking with children left my limbs numb. I wanted to collapse and give up, but I kept forcing my vision to focus. I couldn’t abandon them.

“If nowhere else will take us, why not come with me?” I offered.

“What…?” someone hesitated.

I pictured the small villages beneath the outer wall monasteries. Berry’s hometown North Belln had fierce but generous folk. A bit farther west was my birthplace Caldrick. It was a larger village among the western towns and not a bad place for newcomers.

I smiled with more confidence than I felt.

“Didn’t Gibson tell you? I’ve got money. The merchant guild needs workers and that’s perfect. If you come with me you’ll at least be safe.”

“If that’s true…” a voice started, then brightened.

“We can live. All of us can live,” I said.

Relief and joy spread over their faces. At the edge of despair a path had opened. Leaving their ancestral homes was terrifying, but hope made them cling to each other. One woman suddenly realized she’d never asked my name.

“I haven’t even asked your name. You’ve done us such a kindness,” she said.

I hesitated. The name Elicia would give me away across the continent, so I offered the little name that had popped into my head.

“…Elze,” I murmured.

“How modest,” a woman said. “You seem like someone who would live tucked away in a library.”

“Pretty faces don’t need grand names,” another laughed. “The kids like Elze because she’s pretty.”

They all laughed heartily. When you’re given a second chance you have to survive to hold on to it.

“Get up. Standing still only uses up energy. Move quick and get out of here,” I urged.

“Right, let’s go,” they replied.

Everyone forced themselves up. I forced my aching body to take the lead. The ground felt unsteady under my feet.

We walked and walked. It really felt like a day had passed. Just when impatience and fear were about to return, a sliver of light appeared in the distance.

“Light!” a child shouted.

“Mom, I see light!” another cried.

The children ran ahead, shrieking and cheering. The adults joked weakly at how spry they were. Then the cheering ruptured into blood-curdling screams.

“…?!”

It wasn’t sunlight leaking in but torchlight. Before anyone could realize it the cave flared with light and soldiers’ spear tips glinted as they swung toward the children.

Damn it.

I ran without thinking. My ankle twisted with a sick crack but I didn’t have time to care. I scooped up a frozen child and braced for the blow.

Then a sound cracked the air. Someone’s wrist went limp and clattered on the floor.

“Who dares.” a voice said.

“Your grace?!” someone gasped.

“Do you value your lives so little?” a low voice seethed, barely controlled anger behind it. It was a voice I didn’t recognize. The duke adjusted his sword and barked orders.

“Seize them all. Keep them alive.”

“At once!”

The soldiers hesitated, then the fight began. It was short. Once the people realized who I really was the villagers went flat on the ground, trembling. They’d treated the duchess like any common woman and now expected to be beheaded.

“Madam,” someone said.

I should have felt relief, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn. My head was full of tangled thoughts. The moment our eyes met I feared everything I’d bottled up inside would explode. How long had it been since the duke had possibly sprinted here to save me. What would I say to him when he didn’t understand.

“Are you all right, madam?” the duke asked.

“Thank you for rescuing me, your grace,” I managed. I raised my head even though I looked a mess. My face and hair were streaked with dirt and blood. My clothes were torn and my wounds showed through ragged fabric.

Instead of the formal distance I expected, he wrapped me suddenly in a fierce embrace.

“Your grace?” someone breathed.

“If anything had happened to you I would have…” His voice broke with heat and relief. After the hug I felt truly alive, and at the same time dizzy. Exhaustion and tension hit me like a wave.

“Madam, madam!” someone called.

Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, I collapsed into his arms.