be theft, disobedience, if not outright desertion on Tauran’s part. They’d both end up in jail. There would be no more pills for Kalai. If the withdrawals didn’t kill him, the noose definitely would.
Kalai clung tight to Tauran’s hands in the dark, and Tauran felt a slight tremble in them. Grimly, Tauran realized just how much Kalai had to lose. If they did nothing and the guards found Arrow, Arrow would be captured or killed. If they fled with Arrow, Kalai would suffer once they ran out of pills. Either way, they couldn’t win.
But the guards finding Arrow wasn’t certain. Kalai’s suffering was.
Judging by the sound of dropped glass, the guards had returned from outside and were busy cleaning up in the kitchen. “Maybe you should stay here,” Tauran said. “Keep playing along with Falka. You can keep an eye on things. Just tell them I—”
“Over my dead body,” Kalai whispered, then winced at the turn of phrase. “We’re leaving Valreus together. Your physician friend said the withdrawals can be managed by slowly decreasing the dosage. We can handle that on our own. And whatever happens after that…” He gripped Tauran’s hands tighter. “Tauran, I can’t risk Arrow’s life.”
Tauran swallowed. In the darkness, Kalai’s eyes were bottomless voids, drawing Tauran in. A part of Tauran knew Kalai would make that choice. Tauran would have done the same if he had been in Kalai’s shoes.
“Mister Ro-Ani!” one of the guards called from outside.
Kalai flinched. “I’ll be ready to go. Tell me when,” h3 hissed, drawing Tauran’s hands against his chest.
Tauran pushed through Kalai’s hold and drew him into a fierce hug. “Midnight. Pack for a long journey. Meet me outside the ruins. Think you can get out?”
“Mister Ro-Ani!” the guard called again.
Tauran released him.
“I’ll manage.” Kalai brushed his lips against Tauran’s cheek in a fleeting kiss, then shifted sideways, peeking through the gap in the door. Waiting for the right moment, he slipped out and pushed the door closed behind him.
Tauran peeked through, careful not to nudge any of the items around him. Kalai said something to the guard, then placed a hand on the man’s shoulder and led him back toward the kitchen. The moment they disappeared from view, Tauran darted from the utility closet to the front door, disappearing outside.
Midnight. He had one day to plan an impossible escape. The ridiculousness of it struck him, now.
“We’re all going to die,” he murmured.
* * *
As soon as he got back to the tower, Tauran went about packing for the journey.
He found the largest bag he could comfortably carry, along with a pair of saddlebags and a bedroll. Luckily, the Sunrise Tower had most of what they would need, since guards and soldiers were often sent on week-long excursions out of the city. Tauran filled his bag with dried lake mushrooms and silverhorn jerky rich in protein. They weren’t likely to find much game in the Terror Marshes. He packed knives, rope, medical equipment, spare clothes, flint, and a few utensils from the in-tower kitchen, then spun in a circle by the sink with a hand tangled in his hair because he realized with complete dread that he’d never had to survive in the wilderness before and had no clue what else he would need to bring.
Was he even making the right choice?
Fuck. If he hadn’t been in over his head before, he certainly was, now.
But he wouldn’t be alone. He’d have Kalai, Arrow and Leyra.
“Time to dig up some of that bravery you boast so much about, Tauran,” he murmured, carrying the bags up to the eighth floor.
Leyra greeted him with a rumbling roar when he reached the top of the stairs and bounded toward him. She parted her jaws and snapped them in front of his face with a hollow thump, spun in a circle and leaped away. “At least someone’s in a good mood,” Tauran said, placing the bags by the stairs. She play-bowed and hissed and the reason for her excitement became obvious. She had somehow wiggled both wings halfway free of the straps. They sat crooked, the left one dangling and dragging along the floor.
Tauran huffed and shook his head. “So much for that,” he said, going over to her.
She bounced in a tight circle around him, making the floors creak. Tauran took care to keep his feet out of her path. At nearly the size of a fully grown horse, he was sure a stomp of her four-inch front claws would nail his foot to