Xander glanced at me, a brow raised, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he reached behind him. His mouth twitched as he said, “Before we continue our trek, I thought you might like this back?”
My eyes narrowed, but then my lips tilted up. The sun glimmered on the silver blade of my dagger as Xander withdrew it from the waistband of his trousers. He had obviously wiped it clean, and he was extending the hilt of the weapon to me.
I reached for it, but before I could touch the hilt, he snatched it back. “Just try not to stab me with it again, Ana. Please.”
Grabbing my knife, I tried not to sigh in relief at the familiar weight of my blade. I slipped it back in its sheath before shrugging. “Try not to sneak on me, Xander, and I’ll see what I can do.”
A chuckle burst out of the male, and I could tell I had surprised him. He extended his arm towards me in clear invitation. “I’ll do my very best, Ana.”
“Thank you.” I reached over and grasped his elbow. Over the years, I’d spent countless hours watching couples walking outside my tower, and I understood what he wanted us to do.
He cleared his throat. “Are you ready?”
The question rang through me as I considered Xander’s words. There was no way he could know how much going into Thyr meant to me.
I could feel his eyes on me as I mulled over his words before I let a small smile creep onto my lips.
“More than you’ll ever know, Xander.” Tugging on his arm, I walked towards the river separating us from the city. “Let’s go.”
* * *
After crossing over the large stone bridge separating us from the road into Thyr, it took us another hour on foot to join the thin stream of traffic heading into the city. With every step, I felt a thrill growing within me. This was the life that I had been denied. How dare the king keep me from everything?
Anger, red and hot and fueled by the sight of the stone walls surrounding the city in the distance, roiled through my veins. He had kept this all from me. Beauty. People. Freedom.
Not anymore.
Even though we could see the walls surrounding Thyr, the city was not close. It turned out that walking over rolling hills was far more time-consuming than I had ever imagined. I was lost in my thoughts as we walked, the quiet murmurs of conversation filling my ears as we continued towards the city.
I wondered what we would do if the sun dipped below the horizon and we were still outside of the walls? My education regarding the animals who lived in Ithenmyr, along with nearly everything else, had been non-existent.
When I had made my plan to escape, I had thought my weapons would be enough. I’d thought that if I got away from the wretched fate the king had planned for me, I would somehow figure everything else out. I had believed the skills Matthias had taught me would be enough to help me survive.
Well, it was already clear to me I was wrong. I was woefully under-prepared for this journey. It hadn’t even been a full day since my escape, and there was no doubt in my mind that I had misjudged the entire situation. Not only was Ithenmyr far larger than I had been led to believe, but there were dangers I hadn’t even anticipated.
The road wasn’t too busy, although there were a few wooden carts being pulled by donkeys and horses as males and females alike hurried down the dirt road. The travelers, for the most part, were quiet. A somber mood seemed to settle on everyone as we approached Thyr.
Most of the other travelers were walking by without even looking at us, although every so often, we seemed to attract their attention. At first, I thought it was Xander’s size that drew their gazes over to us, but soon I realized that was not the case.
When the stone walls of the city were still far off in the distance, a plump older female met my eyes before spitting on the ground and crossing her heart.
“Hear me now, Ghemra,” she prayed as she hurried past us, clutching onto the arm of her companion. “Be with us and protect us from this heathen.”
Once the female was out of earshot, I pulled on Xander’s sleeve. He glanced down at me, raising a brow in silent question.
“Xander,” I hissed, “why did that female pray to the Goddess of Virtues when she looked at me?”
He jolted, his eyes widening as they swept over my body. “Dammit,” he cursed. “This isn’t going to work.”
“What?” I asked, but in response, he simply pulled on my sleeve and dragged me off the road. No-one stopped as we hurried past them, allowing us to get off the path with no issue.
Xander ran a hand over his face, his features contorting as he stared at me.
“I can’t believe I didn’t think about this,” he muttered under his breath. “This is going to put us back a day, at least.”
“What is going to put us back?” I tugged on his sleeve, but he continued to ignore me.
Tapping a finger on his chin, his eyes narrowed as he mumbled to himself. “Think, Xander. You need a solution. She can’t go into the city like that. You’ll attract too much attention. But what about—” Suddenly, he stopped, and his eyes lit up. “That’s it.”