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“Not so fast!” yelled Vex, reaching out to grab Magda’s wrist and swinging her around until she was facing him. His putrid breath blew onto her bare neck. “You’re not leaving. There’s someone willing to pay for your secrets.”

Magda stomped down on his foot as hard as she could, pressing the sharp end of her boot into the soft part of his toes. “Ow!” Vex yelled, wincing and pulling away.

The two other henchmen reached out to grab Magda, but Odie was quicker. Odie leapt onto one of the men, smashing his teeth into the man’s leg. He let out a squeal of pain that rang through the streets. At the same time, the other man slapped Magda across the jaw. Magda stumbled over, crashing into Ravi.

Then Ravi pushed Magda behind him and gave Vex a solid punch, while Odie took a snap at the remaining henchman.

Vex and his two hooligans were sprawled on the ground, holding various body parts in pain.

Magda shouted to Ravi. “Come on!” she yelled. “Odie!”

The three tore as fast as they could away from the town circle and could barely hear the shouting of Vex yelling, “Get them!”

They rounded the corner and turned onto the next block, but Magda had no idea where she was running. Most of the shops in this area were boarded up, and there were no houses or courtyards in the area where she could lose Vex and his companions. A flag flickered up ahead, leading the way into a small alleyway between two buildings.

“This way,” Ravi yelled, beckoning her into the alleyway. They both sprinted into the small space, Odie slowing his pace to remain with them, before they realized they were in a dead end.

“You’re going to get us both killed!” Magda yelled upon seeing the sandstone wall before them.

The shouting behind them was getting louder.

Magda didn’t have time to wait for this young man to think of a better plan. She placed her hands on her thighs, bracing herself to feel weight against her shoulders. Then she shouted, “Odie, up!” as she motioned to the side of the building framing the alleyway.

In an instant, Odie charged towards the building, running slightly up the side of the building, before landing on Magda’s upper-back, using her tall body as leverage before launching himself over the wall. Now that her pet was safely on the other side, Magda frantically searched for anything they could use to boost themselves upward. Next to them, was a large wheelbarrow on giant wheels. Ravi was one step ahead of her and heaved it over toward the wall. He spun it around on the wheels and used all his might to push it up against the wall. Then, Magda threw her leg on top of it and hoisted herself up. She reached up to the top of the wall, but the wheelbarrow teetered underneath her weight, threatening to tip back on its handles.

“I have it!” Ravi yelled, holding it steady.

Magda leapt up to grab the top of the wall. As she did so, the wheelbarrow slammed to the right. “I thought you said you got it!” Magda yelled, too angry to find the words in Flaustran, cursing Ravi’s skills in broken Azuremi.

Magda felt Ravi grab onto her feet, pushing her up. She mustered all the strength she could and pulled herself over the wall. With all the strength she had left she pulled her feet over and jumped down on the other side next to Odie.

Ravi dropped gracefully beside her, as if scaling the wall had been no trouble at all. However, the shouting behind them still continued.

As fast as they could, the two began running alongside her pet. Magda was leading the way, but she felt like a ship with no destination. She didn’t know if she could trust Ravi—for all she knew he was also working with the mysterious group who had tried to take Odie, even if he had been the one to release the dogs. She had no idea where to go or what was the next part of her plan. A few yards ahead, she could see shadows reflecting on and off the walls and bright lines bouncing around the corner of the alleyway. As they approached the next street, a loud shouting and the rumbling of music crescendoed.

They both emerged into a larger town circle, which was full of Flaustrans going to late-night restaurants, clubs, and stores. The streets were dotted with small carriages, whizzing by, and patrons shouting at merchants in the streets. Magda stopped to catch her breath, panting as her eyes dotted up and down the street.

“What’s your plan?” Ravi asked her curiously. “Are you going to just run away from them all night—to the guardians know where?”

Magda had no idea what her plan was anymore. She was on the verge of tears. Not only was she exhausted, but she hadn’t been admitted into Queen Sanyal’s palace, and on top of that, Odie had almost been taken.

Ravi repeated his questioning. “Where were you heading when I found you?”

Magda continued panting. “I don’t know,” she said with a sigh. “I was trying to find a place to stay for the night.”

“You don’t have a place to stay?” Ravi asked, curiously. “Come with me.”

Ravi began walking away, but stopped when he realized Magda wasn’t following him. “Do you trust me?” he asked.

Magda hesitated. She didn’t trust anyone right now. For all she knew, Ravi could have been associated with the assassins who killed her brother and father. Although she knew that was a ridiculous thought, for they were proven to have been Ilusaurian.

“Do you trust me?” Ravi asked, extending his hand to her. This time, the words flicked across his tongue in broken Azuremi.

Magda was so taken aback, she almost didn’t know how to respond.

“I’ll help you avoid those men,” he continued in her native language, although grammatically incorrect.

Magda nodded. If anyone knew the streets of Flaustra, it would be someone like Ravi.