It was impossible to predict the future that lay ahead on the road she had chosen. All she knew was that she’d only find out if she dared take this step forward.
She remembered then why she was risking it all—her life, her time with Dhalia. She waved those thoughts away, the sense of courage rising within her again as she made the effort to move. She kissed Dhalia’s cheeks and hugged her tight and long one last time, her arms memorizing how the little girl felt between them.
“I love you,” she murmured.
When she walked away, glancing back at a sad little girl waving at her through the house’s window, Alissa made a promise to herself.
I will be back in time. I will not let this be the last time I’ve seen my daughter alive.
Alissa had agreed to meet Freyah at her family’s tavern at midnight, where she stood waiting. Her friend was ten minutes late when she opened the tavern door. Freyah was wearing a long-sleeved white dress, a brown leather belt cinching her waist. A dark brown cloak was tied around her shoulders, and she wore boots that matched her dress and reached up to her knees. Her purple eyepatch was the only thing that didn’t match the color palette of her outfit.
They went to the underground of the tavern, where Freyah placed the wooden horse-drawn cart at the tunnel entrance andloaded it with the five barrels of ale they dispatched once a month to send out of Bryniard. Only last night, when they were coming up with a plan, did Alissa learn that the Weller’s family tavern exported ale across the wall every month.
So many questions went through her mind when she first heard about the existence of such tunnels, but she’d only managed to ask,“Why didn’t you tell me about it before?”
“To keep you from wanting to do exactly what we’re about to do now, Alissa.”
Freyah did have a fair point; Alissa probably would have wanted to explore the tunnels if she had known they existed when she was little. Alissa grunted.
“And besides, no one but my family knows of the existence of the tunnel that leads from the tavern to the outside of the wall. We kept it a secret to prevent people from attempting to cross it and ending up dead.”
The plan was to add four barrels full of the beverage, along with an empty one, so that Alissa could travel inside it in disguise. A man always came by at night to pick up the carriage, accompanied by a horse to lead it outside. To excuse her sudden disappearance from Bryniard for the time she would be away, Alissa had asked the Wellers to spread the news that she had decided to go onIshlor. That was what they called the quarantine the people of Bryniard occasionally chose to follow, secluding themselves from society willingly from one siren day to another to pay respect to all the victims of Senectus Subita. That decision was not going to be questioned—going onIshlorwas seen as an act of appreciation by her people.
Only when they finished loading the wooden cart of the carriage and Alissa was already inside the barrel did she hear a loud noise next to her. She lifted the lid of the barrel to peek outside, curious about what could have caused such a loud noise.To her despair, when she glanced up, she watched Freyah climb inside another empty barrel.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a loud whisper, her brows furrowed and eyes wide.
“Did you think I was going to let you go alone, Lissa?” her friend answered while positioning herself inside the barrel.
They whispered, arguing with each other, only their eyes peeking out of the barrel, the lids balancing over their heads.
“Are you out of your mind? It’s too dangerous. That’s not what we agreed on last night!”
“This is non-negotiable, Lissa. I’m coming with you,” she stated. “Unlike what you clearly believe, you are not the center of this universe, and you will not tell me again what to do with my life.”
Alissa felt a sense of pride in seeing her friend speak her mind without filters, following her heart above all else.
Freyah started closing the lid until she stopped to say something else. “Don’t worry about Dhalia. My parents will take care of her.”
Alissa sighed in resignation. She was mad at Freyah’s unpredicted audacity and nonsense, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to talk her out of her decision.
“Now close that damn lid. The man will be here at any moment now,” Freyah said at last.
Disturbed, Alissa did as her friend ordered. Ten minutes later, when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching, her heart thundered and her stomach turned. Anxiety for the future threatened to overtake her senses.
There was no going back now.
Part Two
Chapter 7
Hostages First
179 DAYS UNTIL DHALIA’S DEATH DATE.
It took them several minutes to cross the walls of Bryniard through the tunnels. Alissa could hear the heavy stomps of the horse pulling their carriage away. The road became bumpier, her body was being abruptly tossed sideways inside the barrel, and her head banged against the lid. She realized then they were on the other side.
She carefully opened the lid for a brief second, trying to focus her sight through one small breach of the carriage wood that allowed her a glimpse of the exterior. She needed to know if there really were monsters lurking around, as everyone else seemed to believe. But she knew there weren’t any. She knew because she hadn’t heard any sound resembling a beast since the carriage emerged from underground. In fact, deep down, she knew the rumors were false the night her father died. And it was for her father, in his memory, that she made the effort to peek through the hole.