Chapter 22 PLAYING PRETEND

Chapter 22 PLAYING PRETEND
ETHAN'S POV
The door exploded inward.
"The window!" Kiera shoved me toward it.
I grabbed the frame and looked down. Three stories. A fall that could break both our legs.
But soldiers poured through the doorway. No choice.
"Jump!" I yelled.
Kiera leaped first. She hit the slanted roof below and rolled. I jumped after her, landing hard. Pain shot through my ankle.
"Stop them!" a soldier shouted from above.
We slid down the roof tiles. My fingers scraped trying to slow down. We hit the edge and dropped into the alley below.
I landed on top of a pile of trash bags. Kiera wasn't so lucky she hit the cobblestones and gasped in pain.
"Your wound"
"I'm fine. Run!" She hauled me up.
We sprinted down the alley. Behind us, soldiers climbed out the window. More came from inside the inn.
"This way!" Kiera pulled me left.
We burst onto the main street. Even at midnight, people were around. They stared as we ran past.
"There they are!" A soldier pointed.
Arrows whistled past our heads. One hit a merchant's cart, splintering wood.
We dodged into another alley. Darker. Narrower. Harder to shoot into.
"We need Thorne!" I panted.
"He's in room eight. We can't"
An explosion rocked the street behind us. Fire bloomed into the sky.
"What was that?" I spun around.
Through the smoke, I saw Thorne running toward us. His face was covered in soot.
"Distraction!" he shouted. "Keep moving!"
We ran together through a maze of streets. Left, right, straight, left again. I lost track of where we were.
Finally, we ducked behind a blacksmith's shop. We pressed against the wall, gasping for air.
"How did they find us?" Kiera wheezed.
"Someone at the inn must have recognized us." Thorne peered around the corner. "We're not safe here. They'll search every building."
"Where do we go?" I asked.
"The old mill outside town. We planned for this, remember? If we got separated, we meet there."
Right. The backup plan. In all the chaos, I'd forgotten.
We moved through shadows, avoiding lit streets. Every sound made us jump. Every voice made us freeze.
It took an hour to reach the mill. An abandoned building beside a dried-up stream. Perfect for hiding.
The orc warriors were already there, weapons ready.
"Commander!" The youngest one looked relieved. "We heard explosions."
"Silver Covenant found us." Kiera collapsed against a wall. Her hand pressed against her side. Blood seeped through her shirt.
"Your wound opened," I said, kneeling beside her.
"I'll survive." But her face was pale.
I grabbed my pack and pulled out the last clean bandages. While I worked, Thorne paced nervously.
"We have a problem," he said.
"Just one?" Kiera laughed bitterly.
"A serious one." Thorne stopped pacing. "When I set off that distraction, I ran into some of the soldiers. One of them recognized me."
My hands froze. "What?"
"His name is Gerard. We were friends before the war. Before the Silver Covenant imprisoned me." Thorne's voice shook. "He thought I was dead. Everyone did. But now he knows I'm alive. Knows I'm helping you."
"So?" Kiera asked.
"So he'll report it. He'll tell Commander Vex and Lady Seraphina." Thorne sank to the ground. "They'll know I'm not just some random prisoner you rescued. They'll know I have information. Evidence. They'll hunt us even harder."
The words settled like stones in my stomach.
"We're running out of time," I said quietly.
"We ran out of time the moment we escaped that prison." Thorne looked at each of us. "Every day we're alive is borrowed. Every hour a miracle."
"Then we'd better make those hours count." Kiera struggled to stand. I helped her up. "How far to Silverpeak?"
"Four days if we push hard. Maybe five." Thorne unfolded the innkeeper's map. "But the closer we get, the more soldiers we'll encounter. The capital is surrounded by checkpoints. Guard posts. Patrols."
"Can we sneak past them?" I asked.
"Possibly. If we're very lucky and very careful." Thorne traced a route on the map. "There's a merchant road that's less guarded. If we can get papers—"
"Fake papers won't work," one of the orc warriors interrupted. "They check too carefully now. Since the war started."
"Then we need real papers." An idea formed in my mind. Dangerous but possible. "What if we actually became merchants?"
Everyone stared at me.
"Explain," Thorne said.
"We buy goods from local farmers. Cheap stuff—vegetables, grain, whatever. Load it on a cart. Create a real merchant caravan." I warmed to the plan. "We won't be faking it. We'll actually be merchants traveling to sell goods."
"With a ten-thousand-gold bounty on our heads," Kiera pointed out.
"They're looking for fugitives. Not merchants doing business." I looked at her. "And married couples are less suspicious. Married merchant couples with a bodyguard and workers."
"It's insane," Thorne said.
"It's brilliant," Kiera corrected. "Hide in plain sight."
"It'll cost money we don't have," Thorne argued.
"Then we get money." I pulled out the pouch the first innkeeper gave us. Inside was more than food—there were gold coins. "He left us enough to start."
We spent the rest of the night planning. Where to buy supplies. What route to take. How to act like real merchants.
As dawn approached, exhaustion finally caught up with me.
"Get some sleep," Thorne said. "We leave at noon."
I found a corner and sat down. Kiera sat beside me.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?"
"For the window idea. For the merchant plan. For everything." She leaned her head on my shoulder. "You keep finding ways to save us."
"We save each other. That's how this works."
She smiled and closed her eyes.
I watched her sleep. This fierce warrior who wanted to be a teacher. This enemy who became the person I loved most.
How did this happen? How did I go from hating orcs to loving one?
But I knew the answer. I'd never hated orcs. I'd hated what I was told about them. The lies. The propaganda.
Kiera taught me the truth. That orcs were just people. Different but not evil. That war doesn't create monsters—it reveals the monsters who start wars.
"Ethan?" Kiera's eyes fluttered open. "You're staring."
"Sorry. I was thinking."
"About?"
"About how lucky I am. Even with everything going wrong, even running for our lives, I'm lucky to have met you."
Her eyes glistened with tears. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."
"I mean it."
"I know." She sat up and kissed my cheek. "Now stop being romantic and get some sleep. We have a long journey ahead."
I closed my eyes. For the first time in days, I felt something like hope.
Maybe we would make it to Silverpeak. Maybe we'd reach Princess Elena. Maybe we'd actually stop this war.
Or maybe we'd die trying.
Either way, at least I wouldn't die alone.
I woke to shouting.
"They're here!" an orc warrior yelled. "Soldiers surrounding the mill!"
I jumped up, heart racing. Through the broken windows, I saw them. Dozens of soldiers. Hundreds maybe.
Commander Vex stood at the front. He raised his hand, and every soldier drew their weapon.
"Ethan Blackwood!" Vex's voice echoed. "Kiera Stoneheart! You're surrounded! Surrender now and you'll be granted a quick death!"
Kiera grabbed my hand. "What do we do?"
I looked around desperately. Every exit was blocked. The mill was a trap.
We were caught. Truly, finally caught.
Then I heard something that changed everything.
Hoofbeats. Lots of them. Coming fast.
A horn blasted. Not a Silver Covenant horn. Something different.
Through the soldiers' ranks, a group of riders charged. They wore royal colors—Princess Elena's colors.
"Those are palace guards!" Thorne gasped. "Real ones, not Silver Covenant!"
The guards crashed into Vex's soldiers. A battle erupted.
And in the chaos, one rider broke away from the fighting. Rode straight toward the mill.
The rider pulled off their helmet.

It was Princess Elena herself.
"Get on!" she shouted, reaching down. "Quickly, before they regroup!"