Page 68 of I Ran Away to Evil #3

I Could Listen to Julian Give Orders All Day

Gerda

It turned out John was bidding his family goodbye and would meet us on the road outside the city.

We were able to join the rogue in good time, despite how busy it was.

The regular gate was crowded with festivalgoers who’d gotten in line to leave after the closing ceremonies.

Traveling with Julian meant we were able to exit without waiting in line, and crossing with the duke meant that no one asked too many questions.

Not that I had anything to hide anymore.

“So,” Sir Tully barely waited until we were five minutes from the front gate before he asked, “did you foresee any trouble on the road today?”

“No,” I replied, not even attempting to look back, as I was still getting used to riding Berry-Berry. She was a very good horse. I added, “But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”

Behind me, Sir Jeffry mumbled to Visha, “What am I missing?”

“Miss Gerda is Madame Potts,” Visha explained dryly.

“ WHAT? ” The fact that he’d somehow managed to go without hearing the news already was astonishing in and of itself. “ Since when? ”

“Since she started her Cast five years ago, I imagine,” Sir Pram replied. The ice mage didn’t sound like he was being sarcastic. He was sincere in his reply and happy to help.

Julian told Jeffry, “Miss Gerda’s identity was revealed when she stepped forward to save everyone at the wedding. Which you skipped.”

“I was busy.” The half-hearted excuse didn’t fool anyone. This was the half elf John had had to bribe with a Rare-class treasure to attend the ball last night, and only long enough to distract Miss Penny Bracken from lighting people on fire.

“Either way,” Julian continued. He pitched his voice into a firm command. “Miss Gerda is not to be bothered. She may or may not choose to warn us with her powers, but that is entirely at her own will, and we will respect her privacy. Is that clear?”

I couldn’t help it; I replied with everyone else. “Yes, Your Grace.”

He shot me a look as I covered a laugh with the back of one hand, leaning forward so I didn’t tug on the reins I held to do so. I could listen to Julian give orders all day. And I would, now that we were traveling together.

“I’ll let you know if my perks react to anything important,” I offered.

“Though most of my abilities focus on the future of Valaria itself and not what’s happening to just me.

” While the area immediately outside the city had been bustling, the further north we rode, the less people there were.

The only other group within sight was an envoy from the Empire of Sands, who were outpacing us quickly.

We were traveling down a proper stone road. It was made with large purple-gray slab rocks and some magical equivalent of binding concrete. The road wound off in the distance through gentle slopes of rolling hills with patchwork forests.

John met us in the shade of a small grove of trees that came within arm’s length of the road.

“So far, the road ahead looks secure,” John said, bowing in his saddle. “Your orders?”

Julian looked at the clear blue sky and patted his horse. “We will stop every hour to water the horses while it’s this hot. And we’ll break for dinner in Fell.” Fell was the last decent-sized town between us and the border, though there were a few smaller villages tucked away here and there.

“Good,” Jeffry sighed. “I have to speak to my sister about last quarter’s silversmithing inventory log. There were three more helmets ordered for the watch than normal, but no new hires.”

Jeffry was the viscount of Fell, though his entire family helped manage the region.

“How long until we’re there?” I asked.

“We will reach my lands in two hours, but it’ll take three to get to the city.” Jeffry pulled the map out of thin air. “This is where we are now, here is my city, then north of that is Borrow Grove.”

“It’s already later than we planned to leave,” Sir Tully piped up behind me. “Why don’t we just stay in Fell tonight?”

“We must leave from Borrow Grove tomorrow if we want to make it to the border by nightfall, Tully,” Sir Pram said.

“No, we—” Sir Tully started then stopped. I noted that Visha was glaring at the paladin and waving a hand at me. Tully changed on a dime. “Ah! Of course. Much too far.”

Whether it was my slow pace or for another reason, I accepted the schedule as it was. No sense worrying about what I couldn’t change.

“One more question,” I asked. “Does Fell have a drawbridge?”

I was excited to go home.

Fell did not, in fact, have a drawbridge, but there was a river west of the town that had a nice, sturdy bridge I could use. So while everyone else went into the city to walk around and stretch their legs, Julian followed me down a short path to the bridge.

“You don’t have to worry,” I told him when he insisted on joining me. “I’m not going to capture any North Sumbrian bridges.”

That wasn’t technically a lie.

The duke smiled. “I understand that.”

“I’m just going to use it to go home for a bit,” I added, my conscience niggling at me.

To make something a troll bridge, it had to be properly magicked with dimensional troll magic …

but with [World Bridge], any bridge I crossed became a save point.

I could teleport to a bridge, to my home, and between captured bridges.

But telling the leader of a foreign domain that I could freely teleport around his lands without a permit or a by-your-leave probably wouldn’t sit right with him.

“You should leave your spell up here,” he said, surprising me. The look on my face must have given me away because he added, “If you end up in trouble, I don’t want to go all the way back to the palace to fetch you.”

“Don’t worry, I can make my way back on my own if we get separated.

” I had a phoenix feather that would bring me back to life if I died and an inventory of antidotes.

So in the worst case, I would just portal to the sky bridge and make my way north alone.

We reached the bridge, and I stopped just short of stepping onto it.

Julian walked up close behind me. Very, very close.

He leaned down, his silver eyes searching mine. “Don’t say that. How could I not worry?”

“I could send you a Crystal Cast,” I offered, pretending like I wasn’t going to melt into the floor any second now. “Do you have a crystal?”

“I do.” He summoned a crystal in the little space between us, and my system logged it for me. “But I still think we should keep tabs on any bridge nearby, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay,” I agreed, turning away quickly so I could get some space and breathe easier.

I crossed the bridge.

With distance between us, it was less awkward to face him. He was standing there, arms crossed, watching me from the path.

“Do you want to come in for tea? Or are you going to wait here until I return?”

The warm smile that lit up Julian’s face made my heart pound in my chest.

“I would love to join you, Miss Gerda.” He stepped onto the bridge, and we met in the middle.

With purpose, I reached out a hand to take his arm so that I could teleport us together.

Instead, Julian’s hand wrapped around my own, and then he deliberately laced our fingers together.

I stared at our hands. Then up at him. He seemed perfectly calm.

Instead of saying anything, I walked us into my kitchen.