Page 19 of Journey to the Elderoak
Before she had a chance to rise, something cold pressed against her neck and a voice sounded in the dark. “Don’t. Move.”
A stone dropped in her stomach when she recognized the voice. Corvus. And he had a dagger to her throat.
“Get up,” he said. “Don’t make a sound.”
She did as he instructed, hands trembling as she folded back the sheets and stood in the bedroom. He moved behind her and gripped her arm, pressing the dagger harder into her flesh. The warmth of blood trickled down her neck as the edge of the blade cut her skin. Ava gasped at the stinging sensation, hoping he hadn’t cut too deep.
“If you scream or struggle, my assassins in the others’ rooms will slit their throats in their sleep.”
Fuck.
“What do you want?” she whispered.
“Oh, I think you know, Ava dear.”
Ava dear. It was what Andras, Deidamia’s second in command, used to call her.
“Andras sent you?”
“Mmm. You’re a smart one.”
“You’re bringing me back, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Here’s what’s going to happen. You will come with me outside. There’s a boat waiting to take us to Deidamia’s camp. If you don’t cooperate, I will not hesitate to kill your friends.”
Her mind raced as she tried to figure out an escape plan. She refused to go back. Did Astrid and Soren know Corvus was working for Deidamia? Surely not. She had to warn them. Maybe he was bluffing. Maybe there was no one waiting to kill Raine and Casimir. But she couldn’t risk it.
“What if someone sees us?” Ava said, trying to stall.
“I’ve already taken care of that. Walk,” he ordered as he pushed her forward.
He removed the dagger from her throat and tightened his grip on her arm as he positioned the weapon at her lower back. “One wrong move and this dagger goes right in your side.”
They entered the living space, but it was empty. Quiet. She begged for Casimir or Raine to wake and notice something was amiss, but didn’t hear anything and wouldn’t risk their lives by making noise.
Corvus pushed her into the hallway, turning right. No guards or soldiers were around. No one to help her. Where was everyone? She scanned the darkness for a solution, a way out.
He led her through a side door with a hidden staircase and shoved her forward. “Walk.”
Perhaps she could trip him and run. But what if he stabbed her in the process? He was much stronger than she was. She needed a distraction.
Reaching ground level, they emerged through another door into a cave under the mountain with a small dock leading to the ocean. Two soldiers waited next to a boat, eagerly watching. Ava’s eyes drifted to a set of chains in one of their hands and was almost overwhelmed with fear as her mind returned to the time she’d been put in shackles and thrown into a prison wagon.
She couldn’t fight off three of them and the panic she was keeping at bay threatened to overwhelm her.
She scanned the area and her eyes caught on a familiar raven. Gisela’s.
“Go get help. Hurry,” she pleaded in her head, though she doubted it could hear her since she could only directly speak to her own animal companion, Luna.
It tilted its head and cawed, flying away. Maybe it had understood. Or maybe it recognized her and saw she was in danger. Either way, she hoped it would somehow bring assistance.
As they approached the boat, Ava squirmed, trying to get away before he got her on board. Corvus yanked her hair back and pushed the dagger harder, piercing her flesh. She gasped and stopped moving. He hadn’t cut deep, but the warmth of blood seeped into her nightgown as he pushed her forward, freezing and barefooted.
Corvus shoved her onto the boat, her knees smacking the wooden floor so hard, she cried out. She pushed herself up, scrambling away, but one of the soldiers grabbed her ankle and yanked her back. She screamed and gripped the rail, her fingernails digging into the wood.
With a swift kick to the soldier behind her, she slipped from his grip and clamored over the side of the boat, landing in the icy water with a splash. She inhaled sharply, muscles tensing at the frigid temperature.
Oh, god it’s so damn cold.
