The Princess of the Poison-Wastes by M. E. Batt

Author:M. E. Batt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 4 Horsemen Publications, Inc.
Published: 2023-06-02T14:03:39+00:00

Chapter 15

“Fuck!”

Aedra’s eyes snapped open, and for a disoriented moment, she searched around, panic coursing through her at the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Get up. We have to move,” Finn said, jostling her. He raced around the cottage, slamming things into his pack. “Someone’s found us.”

She blinked the sleep from her eyes, hopping out of bed. “Who’s found us? What do you mean?” Her heart hammered, but she didn’t waste time. She pulled her boots on and tied her knotted hair before donning her cap and refastening her cloak which had somehow come loose during the night. The fire was still burning strong in the hearth, the temperature finally warm.

“I put up magical barriers when we first arrived. Someone’s just crossed them. We’ve got about five minutes to get out of here.”

Aedra groaned, glancing out the window. A million stars dotted the sky, the dim light glinting across the snow. “How do you know it’s not just a coincidence?”

“This far from town? The timing is unlikely. Let’s go.”

They hurriedly grabbed their packs and supplies before bursting into the night air. Aedra gave the cottage a final glance, sad to leave the little refuge and its warmth, and spotted the ragdoll on the floor next to the bed. It must have fallen in her haste. She darted back inside, earning a hiss from Finn, and tucked it in her cloak pocket, before running back out.

They mounted the horses and rode away from the road toward spindly trees. Finn cleared a path in the snow to hasten their speed. Roughly a half mile away from the cottage, he stopped, turning in the direction they had come. Raising his hand, he closed his eyes, the brightness of his magic blinding Aedra in the darkness. With meticulous precision, Finn eased the snow to cover the trail, erasing all evidence of their travels. He smiled at the result, then turned his horse, and continued leading them forward. They repeated this pattern over and over. He parted the snow, they rode hard, then stopped, and waited for him to fill the snow back in, erasing their path. After the sixth or seventh time—Aedra had stopped counting—he broke a sweat.

“Let’s hope that’ll be good enough,” he muttered, wiping the dampness from his brow. He looked Aedra over, his face dark in the night. “We’ll keep heading southwest for a while, skirt around the main road and wait for whoever this is to pass us unawares.”

“Do you think my aunt sent men to follow us?” Aedra asked. After spending the prior day on the road without any signs of being trailed, she had assumed they were clear of any followers. Her aunt was blood, and Aedra hoped the woman wasn’t that evil. She cut out non-mages tongues for talking back, she remembered, her stomach flipping.

“It’s the likeliest scenario.” He ran a hand over his hair before lifting the hood of his cloak. “We haven’t made it through the first night of our journey, and we’re already facing obstacles.”

Aedra shifted in her

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