Their little company advanced in silence and at a declining pace. The two dozen fae had been fast at first, eager to put the burning city behind them, but as time passed, cold, tiredness, and thirst prevailed. No one had left entirely prepared, not even Vale, although he'd had a little more time than the rest of them. The dried meat he'd offered Devi was the last of the provisions he'd packed before leaving Carvenstone. What he had, he shared, not taking a single sip from his own water bottle.

This part of the realm was known for its beauty; the eastern road was seldom used, as it led nowhere of note. There were a few villages here and there, planted every other hundred miles to ensure those traveling that way may find food, water, and shelter.

The road led south to the seas, and east to the forest of Graywoods, which marked the borders of the elven realm.

Neither destination was safe at the best of times. Tonight, they had plenty of reasons to be tense.

Valerius could feel Devi struggle to remain upright, forcing herself to stay conscious.

“You should sleep,” he told her. 

She snorted. “Yes, I ought to take a nap. Never mind the fact that our city has fallen, our realm is at war, and there are probably soldiers after us right now.”

He smiled because she'd retained her sharp tongue, despite everything. He wondered how long it would last.

“We are indeed at war, Devira. And wars are won by well-rested, well-fed soldiers. Sleep when you can.”

She attempted to relax, he could tell. Then she gave up.

“Will it help if I order you to get some rest, as your direct superior?”

“I can't. Not on horseback.”

Vale chuckled. After a month of this, she'd be able to. As long as she was still alive. The thought was sobering and forced him to look to the future.

They could already see the borders of Elham on the horizon. It was but a small irrelevant town that may not get completely razed by the enemies, with luck. It wasn't strategically placed, and the hundred or so peasants, merchants, and clerks who inhabited it posed no threat. But there were so many reasons why it might fall nonetheless: because it was the first village out of Asra, because the army just happened to pass it by, because they were bored, because they wanted to stretch their muscles.

Elham might fall. He was going to leave the flock of commoners who now traveled with him there regardless. They considerably slowed him down; he had no other choice.

Valerius’s mother had told him to head to Wyhmur, and to Wyhmur he intended to go. But not alone with Kal.

Devi had wanted to remain behind with the commoners. She might express the same wish again, but Vale was bringing her with him if he had to knock her out and drag her unconscious. Who knew what she'd do when left to her own devices? Attempt to take on an entire army, no doubt. No, she was to go with him. He just had to convince her that it was a good idea.

“After Elham, what was your plan, little elf? Do you intend to follow your orders?”

“Little elf,” she repeated, “is going to the elven realm as she was told. They need warning, and I need resources if I am to join the queen.”

Vale wasn't surprised that she wished to join his mother. Not surprised, but still somehow annoyed.

“How convenient. It also happens to be where I'm headed.”

Devi turned sharply to watch him, her expression confused. “You? To Wyhmur? Elves and fae don't mix.”

“And yet here you are,” he said, quite amused. “Surely they must mix occasionally.”

She rolled her eyes and faced forward again.

“Tell me of your parents. How they met. It must be quite the story. A seelie princess and her woodland elf.”

“Oh, I think not. You demand I tell you everything about me, and yet you give me nothing in exchange.”

Bartering. He wholeheartedly approved.

“And what would you ask of me, little elf?”

“That you stop calling me that, for one.”

He could, but getting under her skin was a pleasure he wasn't inclined to deny himself. “Request denied. Find something else.”

She sighed. “Well, I suppose you want me to sleep. You could tell me about you. It ought to be sufficiently boring.”

He gave it some thought. “I'm the sole heir to the crumbling unseelie throne. Pretty certain most of my life has been bared to the entire world.”

The parts he talked of, in any case. Something told him he could trust Devi with the secrets of Carvenstone, but now, more than ever, they had company. He would not speak of it with so many ears around.

“Everyone has secrets. Tell me something that's not common knowledge.”

He gave it some thought.

“All right. This is no secret, but I wouldn't call it common knowledge either. I was born in battle, during a time of war. It was two decades before we were at peace again. Both of my parents were invested in my safety, I’m sure, but my father already had an heir. My mother took the matter more seriously. She kept me hidden in plain sight as a servant boy. Pretended that my ‘master’ was her son. She doted on him openly. Many a time, that child was attacked. When peace came, and I was presented as Valerius Blackthorn, her son and heir, all were surprised. None as much as me.”

“You didn’t know? Not at all?”

Vale smiled. “The child, Kallan, was told, of course. I wasn’t. And I could never have guessed. My mother didn’t spare me a glance in nineteen years. Yet I recall once, after an attack on Kallan, when I’d gotten hurt attempting to defend him, she came to me and bound the wound herself. I didn’t question why. Later, I knew. My mother might just care a little.” He shrugged. “In her own way.”

There was silence for a few minutes. She finally broke it to say, “How fucking messed up is that? No wonder you're a head case.”

He laughed. She certainly never disappointed.

“I mean, now you totally should be over it, but I get why it would have fucked with you as a child. And yet I understand Shea. I might have done the same in her place, to ensure my boy was safe.”

Vale found himself thinking of a boy standing next to Devi. A boy with violet eyes.

He smiled. When had he seriously thought of having a child? The spells of the queen were fucking with his mind again, no doubt.

He recalled that his mother had clearly professed to having nothing to do with his infatuation, but trusting anything the queen said was foolishness.

“Yes, Shea does use everyone around her as pawns on a chessboard, but she does so with the best of intentions.” 

“Indeed.” Devi laughed. “You know, I once told her I was willing to be used, so long as I got to be a knight rather than a pawn. She told me I could even be the queen if I wished.” Before he managed a reply, she said, “Ah, look. We're almost there.” 

They'd reached the border of the town, and a few alarmed folks met them, walking right up to Kallan with water, food, and plenty of questions about the smoke coming from the city in the horizon.

"Prodire," Vale said, charming the word as it escaped his lips. The horse picked up his pace until they reached Kallan. “We don't have time for this,” Vale told his second. “And no answer to give them in any case. We need to change the horses, or at least make these ones drink if the horse masters are out, and we're out of here. Agreed?"

“No argument here.” Then, looking at Devi, Kal made use of his best charming smile. “I don't think we've met. Kallan. Second to His Highness.”

“My, I've heard of you. Just now, in fact.”

“Have you? Funny that. I might have brought you up a time or twenty over the last few days, and yet I haven't heard a word about you. Not even a name.”

“It's Devi.” She was smiling freely, charmingly, and she hadn't given Kallan so much as an insult.

Vale dismounted and held his hand up to help Devi get down.

The wind blew a little harder, making him notice that the temperature had gone down considerably. He thought of undoing his coat and giving it to Devi, but dismissed the temporary fix. She'd need something warmer if she was to reach Wyhmur without freezing to death first.

“Come. Let us see if we can get you a warm coat.”

“I'm fine.”

He lifted a brow. “You're wearing a cotton shirt. It'll snow before morning, and we may not find a roof to sleep under.”

She shrugged, repeating, “I'm fine.”

And now that he paid attention, he saw she truly was. She wasn't shivering, and her skin hadn't reddened at all. The temperature bordered on freezing; she should be entirely blue and begging for warmth.

“Devi?”

“Hmm?”

“Pardon my asking, and you may find it rather odd… but what the heck are you?”

It might seem rather rude, but the question was valid nonetheless.

She chuckled humorlessly. “Let me know if you figure it out. All I know is that I'm not normal. I'm just pretending to be. Or I was, I guess. But we're not in the city now. We're out here by ourselves, in danger and in a hurry, so I'm not going to make us waste precious time pretending I need a bloody coat. Let's get horses.”

“You don't feel the cold at all.”

She just shrugged. “No, I do. It's simply that it can't harm me.”

The towns along the path of Duran existed to supply travelers with what they needed. They had provisions, food, and horses, and they also happened to have coats. He bought her one.

Devi rolled her eyes. “I said—”

“That you didn't need it. But this isn't cutting into our timeline, because we do need to stop for supplies. Besides, we'll pass another five towns before reaching the forest. How many eyes would fail to notice a female rider in nothing but a shirt as the snow falls? Can you be sure that none of these eyes belong to someone who'd give our direction away for a purse full of coin, or under torture?”

She shut her mouth and followed him to the horse master’s domain at the eastern edge of the village.

Thain Fairfolk was the man to talk to when it came to horses, and his children ran a shop that provided travelers with whatever gear they needed, as well as other random things they might sell to the villagers.

“We have ten minutes,” Vale said, gesturing to his left where the ladies' clothes hung.

Thain came to greet him directly, and with Kallan, they talked in low voices about their requirements.

“We need three horses, the fastest you have.”

“We’ve seen the smoke, and we got them all ready in case the queen requests our services,” the horse master announced proudly.

That would help.

As they carried on discussing the matter, Vale watched Devi from the corner of his eye. She looked through the racks of coats and pulled one out within a minute.

She tried it on; it was a dark coat lined with fur. Its hood fell down to her eyes when she pulled it up to try it in front of a mirror.

Catching his own reflection, as well as Kallan's, Vale frowned. He preferred understated tones, but everything about his dark habit still screamed unseelie; there were slashes of green through the black fabric.

Once they’d agreed on a deal for the horses, the master left to get their mounts prepared, and Vale asked Thain’s son to show him to the males’ coats. None were displayed in the front of the store.

The merchant shook his head. “We ran out, sir. We have brown capes though. Nothing fancy, and it won't help with the cold, but I reckon you could wear them over your coats.”

“It's perfect, thank you.”

Vale moved to pay the man, but Kallan stopped him. “A moment. Just one of the capes, please. And some hair dye too.”

Valerius stared at his second, his first and perhaps only true friend. He needn't ask what Kal had in mind. They knew each other too well by now.

He grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the front of the shop, out of hearing range.

“No.”

“Yes. It will gain you some time. Besides, I need to return to Carvenstone and see the damage there. You know this.”

“I will not have you do this. Not again.”

Devi joined them, interjecting, “What am I missing?”

Vale didn't attempt a reply, too busy staring Kallan down.

“I'll play the decoy, so you and Vale may slip by unnoticed. I’ll ride north along the border of the Graywoods until I’ve reached Carvenstone. There, I’ll be safe. It won't pull everyone off your trail, but this should at least divide anyone who'd follow us.”

“You're not doing this,” Vale insisted.

“Of course I am. Don't get worried on my behalf, it's insulting. I'll be just fine. I know these roads, and they don't. They'll never catch up with me.”

“These aren't wayward orcs from the walls. These aren't seelie foes. These aren't even elves, Kallan. We're facing something entirely new.”

Kal shrugged. “I've seen them fall. I've seen them bleed. They're as killable as anything else. Sure, they're fast, but we have a head start. And if you're right and they truly are beyond our skills, we're all dead anyway. Let me do this.”

Valerius couldn't bring himself to reply for a moment, not when he knew he had to say yes.

“You will go as soon as the horses are brought to us. Take the most direct road, and stay alive.”

They exchanged coats to make the deception more believable, as Vale's was imbued with his scent. Kal retreated to the back of the merchant's shop to apply the hair dye, with the help of a shop assistant.

Too many eyes had seen the exchange, but still, it may work.

For the sake of his first companion, Valerius hoped it wouldn’t.