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this.
Torn between duty and honor, I watched Rufus attack and defend.
    I had to drive Lucy away. She wanted me and only me.
    I grabbed my bow and quickly notched an arrow, then set it loose near Lucy and Rufus. The arrow hit the cobblestone and she looked in my direction.
    Once her gaze was on me, I ran.



a, ya!” I slapped the reins against Brushfire’s side. I had to get out of Daath. Everyone I cared about was in danger.
    “Hurry, girl,” I urged Brushfire on, desperate to be away from the market.
    I was stupid to think what happened at the temple would be over. No one had come after me, and none of Jericho’s men had heard any news of Lucy’s return, but we should’ve been smarter.
I
should’ve been smarter.
    When Brushfire reached Jericho’s, I jumped off her back and raced inside the house without waiting for her to slow to a stop. Raven and Cael sat side by side at the table, laughing, of course.
    “I need to leave,” I said.
    “What’s wrong?” Raven asked.
    “Lucy, she attacked me at the market.”
    Raven immediately stood. “Are you okay”
    “Lucy, Lucino’s sister?” Cael asked as he came to stand by Raven and me.
    I nodded. “She could be here any moment with the guard. I have to go.”
    “I’m coming with you,” Raven said.
    I grabbed her hand. “No, it’s too dangerous. She wants me—only me. I’ll drive her away.”
    “She might kill you. And where do you plan to go? There’s no escape from here. Her men guard the only way in or out of Daath.”
    “I can take you somewhere safe,” Cael said.
    Raven might trust this guy, but not me. “I appreciate the offer, but you don’t realize what you’re getting involved with.”
    “I do, and I can help.”
    “Avikar, we can trust him,” Raven said, placing a hand on my arm. “I trust Cael with my life.”
    “Fine.” We didn’t have time to argue about Blond Boy.
    “Raven, we’ll need the warmest furs you have,” Cael said.
    “Right.” She ran out of the room.
    “Furs? Where are we going?”
    “Over the mountains,” Cael said.
    “Nod Mountains?”
    He nodded.
    “No one has gone over the mountains,” Jericho said as he walked inside. “What’s going on?”
    “I’ll see if Raven needs help packing.” Cael ran up the stairs after her.
    “I’ll get the horses,” I said.
    Jericho followed me outside. “Mind telling me what’s going on?”
    He wasn’t going to agree with the plan, but he had no choice. I wouldn’t risk his or his family’s life again.
    “Lucy attacked me at the market.”
    Brushfire stood by the barn, nudging her nose against the gate. She always sensed when I was uneasy.
    “She’s back?”
    “Yes, and if I leave, she may follow.” I led Raven’s horse, Onyx, out near Brushfire.
    “Going through the mountains is a dead man’s trek. We’ll fight her here. I’ll start gathering the men.”
    Raven and Cael left the house with three large packs. She dropped one on the ground.
    “We’re ready,” she said.
    “No, no, no.” Jericho shook his head. “You are not going over the mountains.”
    “We’ll be fine,” Raven said. “Cael knows a safe passage.”
    I put a hand on Jericho’s shoulder. “Gather the men and take them to the market. Rufus was going after Lucy.”
    Jericho’s shoulders slumped. “You have no idea what’s in those mountains. If the cold doesn’t kill you, the beasts will.”
    Raven hugged him.
    “I won’t let anything happen to her,” Cael said. “I promise you. And as soon as we make it to The Order—”
    “The Order?” I hoped I misheard him. The Order, the superpower of Tarrtainya, next to the king. They took anyone who showed a magical ability, and made sure they were never to be heard from again. They controlled magic, and I didn’t trust them.
    My pulse sped as I asked the question I really didn’t want to hear the answer to. “What do you know about The Order?”
    “I’m one of their priests.”



randfather,” I said as I kissed his