Page 116 of Lady of the Drowned Empire

I couldn’t control my breathing after everything that had happened. If they spotted me, we were fucked. I’d never escape again and Rhyan would be exposed, sent back to his father. My sisters never saved.

Rhyan’s hand covered my mouth, his eyes catching mine in the dark. “Breathe,” he hissed under his breath. “Slow.”

The soturi were running, their boots hitting the road. How many were there?

Minutes passed. The sounds of the march grew faint, as the soturi moved on.

I swallowed, staring up at Rhyan, a question in my eyes. Were we safe? Were they gone?

He loosened his hold on my mouth but kept his hand over it. “One more minute,” he whispered. “To be sure.”

I nodded and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to breathe as quietly as I could.

Finally, when the only sounds I could make out were the wind and the noises of creatures scurrying between the trees, Rhyan pulled his hand back.

“Fuck,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Sorry about the hand.”

“It’s okay. I think I needed you to do that.”

His eyes caught mine, and for a second, my thoughts flashed back to the last time he’d had me pressed up against a tree. His tongue darted across his bottom lip like he was remembering, too.

Then his expression hardened with determination. “We need to get inside. Fast. Akadim hunt around these parts. And more soturi will be coming through, including those who know your face.”

“Where do we go?” I asked. “How are we going to avoid being seen?”

Rhyan stretched his neck, his face screwed up in pain. “There’s a place nearby, safe and discreet. They, um, they cater to a certain kind of customer.”

“Certain kind of customer?” I asked suspiciously.

“The sort who don’t want to be seen going in there.” He readjusted the cloak over our heads.

“Like us?” I wrinkled my nose in confusion.

“Not like us,” he said quickly, running his hand through his hair. “But good for us. Because they won’t tell anyone we’re there.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a brothel,” he said quietly. “And I know because…I’ve stayed there before.”

I stilled.

“Not for that,” he added quickly. “Just for room and board. But they’re actually, well, a very welcome alternative to the road when you’re forsworn.”

I nodded slowly, taking that in. “You’re sure we can trust them?”

“Keep your hood up and pull an extra gold coin from your bag just in case. But yes. They’ve protected me in the past.” He readjusted his weight, putting pressure onto his right foot. He grimaced, sucking in a breath through his teeth, but he managed to bear weight on both legs. Though he was seriously injured, he was starting to recover. His health and fitness were absolutely remarkable, but he still had a long way to go before he was at full strength again. And if we were going to survive this trip, we both needed him at full strength.

Directing us deeper into the woods, Rhyan moved slowly through the moon trees to avoid getting his foot caught or tangled in the snow-covered brambles. He kept his arm on my shoulder for support, leaning into me while I tried to keep our pace steady.

Once we made it through the clearing, I could see we were in a small village filled with simple round houses. A large rectangular building made of stone stood in the center, its sides painted with orange and purple ashvan horses. We were definitely in Elyria. The more I looked, the more I saw the sigil of Ka Elys represented on orange flags or the corners of signs. Farther down the clearing were more torches and buildings, possibly a small market. Ashvan horses depicted everywhere

“Is that it?” I pointed at the central building.

“That’s check-in,” he said. “There’s a restaurant and kitchen inside. And it’s where the employees live.”