“Come on,” he said.

“Why? Did they discover our hiding spot?”

“No. But we need to leave now if we’re going to make it back by daylight.”

“Leave for where?” My thoughts felt as if they’d been dipped in honey.

“To visit your sister.”

Chapter 12

I snapped awake. Did Kerrick just say…? “Visit my sister?” I repeated.

“Yes.”

“And what do I have to promise you in exchange?”

“Nothing.”

I stared at him, seeking the real truth. But he returned my gaze with a rare open expression. Belen stood behind him with a wide smile on his face. Interesting. Not one to waste a golden opportunity, I threw back my covers, yanked on my boots and wrapped my cloak around my shoulders.

“You’re in charge until we get back,” Kerrick said to Belen.

“And if you don’t arrive by morning?”

“Come find Avry at the training camp. Don’t worry about me.”

“Yeah, right.”

Kerrick muttered under his breath.

I gave Belen a quick hug. “Thanks,” I whispered in his ear.

He tried to act innocent. “For what?”

“Belen, promise me you won’t ever play poker.”

“Too late. The monkeys cleaned me out months ago.”

“Oh, Belen.”

“It’s only money, Avry. Get moving or Kerrick’ll leave without you.” He waved me off.

Now it was my turn to mutter as I followed Kerrick from the cave and into the dark forest. No moon hung in the cloudless night sky.

Kerrick turned to me. “Do you want to…?” He held his hand out. “We can move faster if…”

I blinked a few times. Kerrick being shy? Normally, he would just grab my wrist and drag me along. Nice Kerrick was scarier than Mean Kerrick.

In answer to his unfinished question, I laced my cold fingers in his warm ones. Magic buzzed up my arm and the objects in the forest became clear as if the sun had just risen.

He set a quick pace. For the first time, keeping up was easy. Through his magic, I sensed we were alone in this part of the woods, and I had a number of questions. “How do you know she’s my sister?”

“I’ve been watching the camp.” He glanced at me. “She resembles you, and she fights with a familiar tenacity. I’ve seen her take on bigger opponents and win. If she isn’t your sister, then I’ll relinquish command to Flea.”

Hope mixed with pride. A dangerous combination, but I couldn’t suppress those feelings anymore. “How am I going to talk to her?”

“The security around the barracks is lax. I’ve gotten inside without trouble, encountering no one. It’s an old facility that used to house thousands of soldiers so all the recruits have their own rooms.”

He’d been busy. I considered. Being able to talk to her would be unbelievable, but what if she was unhappy? How could I leave her there? “What if she wants to come with us?” I braced for his answer.

“Then we’ll come back for her.”

I skidded to a halt. “What’s going on?” I demanded. “I told you before, I won’t promise—”

“I know. Despite what you think, I wouldn’t be that cruel.” He drew in a deep breath. “My behavior has been…inexcusable. This is a way I can show you that you’re more than a means to an end.”

Even though I remained suspicious, I couldn’t refuse his help. “You’ll let her travel with us?”

“No.” He held up a hand to stop my protest. “It’s too dangerous for her. Hell, it’s too dangerous for us. I thought we’d leave her with Mom.”

He’d thought this through! Going back to Mom’s would add weeks onto our journey. I should be terrified about how he might use this act of kindness in my future, but Noelle’s safety was all that mattered.

“What should I tell her, then?” I asked.

“To pack a bag and hide it. When we leave this area, we’ll come for her. Warn her, it’ll be in the middle of the night again, and it may be a couple weeks before we can leave.”

We continued to the training camp, slowing as we drew closer. As Kerrick had said, only a few security guards patrolled the dilapidated wooden fence. When two of them disappeared around a corner, we climbed through a gap between boards. Just inside the fence, a ring of torches burned, creating pools of light. We sprinted into the shadows hugging the barracks. Sliding along the wall, we reached one of the side doors.

Kerrick used his lock picks and popped the lock. He slipped inside and I followed, closing the door behind us. He headed straight to a door halfway down the corridor. I didn’t bother to ask how he knew where Noelle’s room was located.

“I’ll wait here,” he whispered. “Don’t be long.”

Suddenly nervous, I turned the knob, entering the room. Kerrick shut the door. A single bed, night table and desk decorated the small space. A weak yellow glow shone through the window, illuminating black hair spilled over the pillow. Stepping closer, I worried. What if she wasn’t Noelle? What if the girl screamed? Not wanting to scare her, I stopped about two feet away.

“Noelle,” I whispered.

“Hmm?”

Some things never changed. We had shared a room, and I used to wake her up in the middle of the night to discuss a matter that, at the time, seemed so important it couldn’t wait for morning. I sank to my knees at the familiar response.

“Noelle,” I said a little louder.

She jerked up with a yelp.

“It’s okay. It’s me.”

“Me who?”

“Avry.”

Shock replaced fear as she met my gaze. “You’re alive?”

A silly question, but considering the circumstances… “Yes. I’ve been searching for my little shadow for years.”

She lunged. For a split second, I thought she meant to attack me, but she wrapped me in her arms and squeezed so hard, I feared for my ribs. Noelle buried her face in my neck. I held her, drinking in her scent as a flood of emotions overwhelmed me.

Aware of Kerrick waiting outside, I reluctantly pulled her away. Her eyes glittered, but, unlike me, she hadn’t cried.

“How did you—?” she started.

I cut her off. “What happened to Mom and Allyn?”

She stiffened as her gaze turned icy. “Dead.”

I jerked as if she had punched me. Suspecting they were dead felt far better than the truth. The confirmation cut through me, rendering me unable to draw a breath.

“Why didn’t you come home?” Noelle demanded.

In that moment she no longer resembled my little shadow, but acted like a stranger.

I gazed at her in confusion. “I did come home, but you were gone.”

“Why did you wait so long? I sent you a dozen letters as soon as they got sick, begging you to come home.”

“Letters?”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t get them. I described their symptoms in detail. You knew they had the plague before we did. I can’t believe you’d listen to the Guild. Nothing’s more important than your family.”

It took a long moment, but I realized Tara must have hidden or destroyed Noelle’s letters. She knew I would run home to help my family despite the Guild’s directive about the plague.

“Noelle, I don’t have time to explain right now. But give me the chance.” Talking fast, I outlined our plan to rescue her, giving her a brief summary of Kerrick and his men.

“Prince Kerrick of Alga?” she asked.

“He’s no prince. Believe me.” I took her hands in mine. “Please come with us. We’ll have lots of time together and I can tell you everything.”

“Of course I’ll come. I hate it here.”

I hugged her as relief melted my heart. “I missed you so much.”

The door opened. Noelle pulled away as Kerrick poked his head in.

“We need to go,” he said, then ducked back out.

I relayed his instructions to her. “It could be a couple weeks, but I promise we’ll be back for you.”

She nodded. “I’ll be ready.”

We returned to the cave an hour before dawn. The guys had waited up for us. To me, everything had changed even though nothing had changed. Lying in their bedrolls around the fire, Loren and Quain still argued, Flea greeted me with his lopsided grin and Belen was still Poppa Bear, smiling as he followed us in. He had been on watch.