Page 103 of A Monarch's Fall

I turned to look at Valen and knelt beside his still body to check for his pulse. He was alive.

“I hope so, too,” I whispered to myself as I stood up to follow Ana.

Chapter twenty-five

No Place Like Home.

Percy Flores

Ana never spoke much for the rest of that day other than to confirm we were heading to Borealis.

We walked fast, and I was worried that Valen would appear for us at any moment, but I think Ana was simply angry.

She had said we needed to avoid people at least until we could get some new clothes. We looked too much like soldiers. We had stolen some work clothes from a village drying field, and soon we were off, with two sets of black work jeans and a couple of brown, wool jumpers. Everything was too big, but at least we weren’t so conspicuous.

We asked a young woman who looked friendly where we were, and Ana asked for directions to the nearest train station.

We settled for the night in a village called Pothetos, finding our way into a farmer's disused barn up in the hayloft. We grabbed a tarp and made a nest in the hay. The farmer wasunlikely to come checking during the winter, and I was confident we wouldn’t be disturbed during the night.

“Do you want to visit your family?” she asked quietly.

“It’s out of the way,” I said, but we were in Maria, and I hadn’t been so close to my village and family since I left with Selene in the spring.

“That’s not an answer, and it’s not that far out of our way. A day, maybe. We should do it. Selene can wait a day. You might not get another chance to see them,” she said in a chastising tone. “We don’t know what’s going to happen,” she continued, quieter. “If I get the chance to see my family again, I’m going to take it.”

“I’d like to go, yes,” I told her.

“Tomorrow, we head east, then,” she stated. “They won’t mind you turning up with a blood witch?” she asked.

I laughed.

“No one will even notice, or ask, because we don’t care,” I assured her.

“Good,” she said, and her tone softened towards me for the first time since Valen.

“We’re okay, right? We’re still friends?” I asked, anxiously. I’d never had a true falling out with a friend before, never over something that felt so big and consequential.

“Yes, but I’m angry with you, and I’m not just going to stop being angry,” she huffed, upset. “I don’t even know who I’m angrier with; you for practically begging me not to kill him, or myself for giving in to you,” she said.

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t feel exactly good about the situation. I know better than most what Valen is capable of, but I also know what it does to a person to be so involved with the taking of a life,” I said.

“That’s you, Percy. Not me. Not everyone feels the same way as you. There are people like you, and there are people likeValen and a thousand places in between. I wouldn’t struggle with regret or guilt or whatever it is you think would take hold of me. Not for someone like him,” she told me.

“Maybe you’re right,” I replied. In the darkness of the barn, I questioned whether I had done the right thing or not. Had I been selfish, trying to protect myself, putting my own fears onto Ana, and now, how many people like the man on the boat would there be?

It was warm under the tarp, surrounded by hay, comfortable too, and despite my ethical turmoil, it wasn’t long before exhaustion dragged me to sleep.

I awoke, startled and panicked the next morning. Ana hovered over me, one hand shaking my shoulder and the other covering my mouth.

“You were screaming,” she said as she took her hand away and allowed me to breathe, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you worse; I didn’t want to attract attention. I’ve heard voices calling across the field.”

“Sorry,” I said as I sat up.

“It’s okay. We should get moving. Hopefully, we’ll see the sea by lunch, see your village by evening. What were you dreaming about?” she asked.

“I can’t remember.” I shrugged.

Screaming myself awake wasn’t out of the ordinary for me, not since the summer.