Chapter 125 -Caylix-
Chapter 125 -Caylix-
\-Caylix-
More are coming.
I can hear them now, somewhere beyond the eastern tree line, horses striking the hard path and men moving quickly through the forest. The three soldiers still standing know it too. They aren't advancing anymore. They don't need to, they only need to keep us here until the others arrive. I tighten my grip on my sword.
Then I see her. Avi stands beneath the trees at the edge of the road. For one impossible moment, every thought in my head disappears.
"Avi?"
The guard looks over from the wagon.
"What?"
She isn't actually here, logically I know that. Her body is safely inside Caelthar, exactly where I told her to stay, but my instincts don't give a damn about technicalities. She is standing in the middle of a road surrounded by men trying to kill me, and every part of me immediately locks onto her.
Her eyes move over me. The blood soaking my shirt… The arrow in my side… The one buried in my shoulder… Her face goes white.
Caylix.
What are you doing here?
You stopped answering me.
Because I'm slightly occupied.
Her gaze snaps to mine.
You were shot twice!
Which explains why I am busy...
I feel her anger flare through the tether, but underneath it is fear. So much fear that I immediately regret the attempt at humor.
Avi, I'm all right.
You are standing there with arrows sticking out of you.
And you're standing in the middle of a battlefield after I specifically asked you not to.
Her expression changes.
Caylix!
The bowstring snaps. I hear it but I turn too late. The arrow punches into the back of my shoulder. Pain explodes through me. My sword nearly falls from my hand as the force spins me sideways.
Avi screams.
The sound is worse than the arrow. My guard comes out of the wagon at a run and intercepts the soldier charging toward me.
I force myself upright.
I distracted you.
Avi.
You looked at me. You looked at me and…
Get out of the vision.
Her eyes fly to mine.
Caylix, I'm sorry.
Another shout carries through the trees, closer this time. The remaining soldiers begin advancing.
Avi, leave!
That stops her. I can see the guilt immediately. I soften my voice.
Avi, please. I need you to leave so I can concentrate on this.
She hesitates for one more heartbeat. Then she nods and disappears. The relief is immediate but doesn’t last long. I block the first strike that reaches me and force the soldier backward. I narrow the tether enough to let her know I'm still here without allowing her fear to consume half my attention. The guard reaches my side.
"More men are fast approaching."
"I know."
"We can't fight all of Veylan."
"Not without making the trip considerably longer."
His eyes graze over the three arrows lodged in me.
"At this rate, you're going to run out of places to put those."
I look toward the trees. There has to be another way out. The thought comes with a strange pull beneath my feet. I still. I've felt that before. Not here… But in Alexander's study. Avi's hand pressed against the trunk of a tree while I reached through her and felt the Veylan mountains beneath her fingers. Except Avi isn't between me and the earth now. I lower my sword. The guard glances at me.
"What are you doing?"
"I don't know yet."
"Excellent."
I crouch and press my palm against the road. The world opens beneath me. There is no other way to describe it. One moment there is dirt beneath my hand. The next, there is everything.
The road stretches beneath me in both directions. I feel the weight of the wagon, the restless movement of the horses, the impact of boots against stone. Farther east, dozens more vibrations pulse through the ground.
Soldiers… A lot of them. But my awareness keeps moving, past the road and into the forest. Roots twist through damp soil... Water threads between stone... Great slabs of bedrock disappear deep beneath the mountains… And between them are paths. Old ones. Some barely more than impressions left in the earth. My magic follows them instinctively.
One disappears toward the river while another climbs too steeply for the wagon. Then I find something else. A road, or what used to be one. Buried beneath decades of soil and forest growth, it cuts between two ridges before turning south and eventually west. Toward Caelthar.
My eyes open.
"We're going through the trees."
The guard stares at me.
"There isn't a road through there."
"There is."
"I've ridden this route twenty times."
"Apparently not this one."
He looks toward the forest.
"How do you know?"
I push myself upright, and the arrow in my side shifts enough to make my vision flash white. I wait for it to clear.
"The earth showed me."
Silence. I look at him and I can’t help but smile. He's staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.
"What?"
"You put your hand on the ground."
"Yes."
"And found a road that hasn't existed in decades."
"Apparently."
His expression changes. It’s not surprise anymore, but something closer to awe.
"I've served Veylan since I was sixteen. I've watched men spend their entire lives learning to read this land."
Another horn sounds through the trees but he barely seems to notice.
"I've never seen anything like that before."
Something uncomfortable tightens in my chest. The three remaining trackers begin moving toward us again. My guard draws his sword. Then he looks at me.
"It's been an honor fighting beside you, Your Highness."
"Caylix."
His mouth curves.
"It's been an honor fighting beside you, Caylix."
I glance toward the approaching men.
"We're not dead."
"I know."
"Then perhaps save the sentimental farewell."
His smile grows.
"I thought I should say it before you found another arrow."
A laugh bursts through the tether before Avi can stop it. I close my eyes briefly.
I'm glad everyone is enjoying this.
Sorry. Love you. Ignore me.
She isn't sorry. I can feel her smiling anyway.
"Get the wagon moving."
My guard climbs onto the driver's bench and snaps the reins. The remaining soldiers move to intercept us. I step between them and the wagon.
The first comes toward me and I force him back with a series of strikes aimed entirely at his sword. The second tries to circle me, but I shift with him, keeping myself between both men and the wagon as it turns toward the forest.
They realize what we're doing too late.
The wagon disappears between the trees. I jump on my horse and retreat after it. Branches tear at my clothes as I follow the barely visible path. Left around the stone outcrop. Down through the shallow hollow. Then west.
Veylan guides me through every turn. By the time the trackers follow us into the forest, the road has vanished behind us. Eventually their voices fade. Elise and Rhydon know what I took from this place, and they aren't going to stop until they get her back.