Page 58 of Savage Crown
‘Godric says to keep going. Meet up with him later. Dammit, Brynn, I’m worried about you.’Kaelric’s message told me that Godric had reached out to fill him in.
I didn’t wait. I took off running again, knowing Godric would want me to get away, get Val, and then come back for him. There was no sense in both of us being captured. I only hoped they would choose to capture him and not kill him. If they killed him… I would never live with myself.
I skidded right and leaped into the first gated courtyard I could find, landing hard and crouching behind a wall of ivy. The shouts of soldiers echoed down the lane, boots striking stone, voices overlapping. I pressed myself lower, forcing my breath to quiet.
‘What’s going on now? Are you okay?’Kaelric had the absolute worst timing ever.
‘I’m fine. Just a lot going on. Will check in when I get Val. Love you.’
As I sent the thought, a tiny movement beside me made my heart leap into my throat. A small feathery thing popped up beside me, and I slapped both hands over my mouth to muffle the scream trying to tear free.
A chicken.
A black and white speckled hen.
She pecked lazily at the grass, utterly unbothered by my presence.
A variation of my original Plan A crept into my thoughts like a sly fox.
I waited a full ten minutes until the guards’ voices faded. Every heartbeat felt like a drum in my ears. I’d never actually asked Valkaryn about how her power worked with our bond. I wondered how much power she could draw from me at a distance? Could she incinerate the Elite hunting her from where she was without me? Obviously not, or she already would have. That meant proximity mattered. I had to get closer. Instinct told me that.
“Hey, I need you to come with me,” I whispered to the hen, and gently scooped her up. She squawked once, wings flapping, but settled once I tucked her firmly under my arm. Her feathers were surprisingly warm. I hoped she didn’t peck my eyes out before this was over.
I waited another full minute, then peeked over the stone ledge. The road was deserted, lanterns swaying in the night breeze. Quietly unlatching the gate, I slipped out with the hen tight beneath my elbow. Moving low and fast, I made my way toward the tavern by memory, sticking to shadows, letting the dim moonlight paint my path.
‘Godric’s been caught,’I told Val.‘I’m almost to you. Get ready to fight.’
A sudden drain hit me, like someone had unplugged my soul. My knees nearly buckled, and across the street I heard a male groan, low and pained.
The Elite.
The tavern swam into view at the end of the lane, warm light spilling from shutter cracks. Half a dozen soldiers stood at the perimeter, hands on hilts, eyes sweeping the street.
Damn.
‘Six soldiers outside, and whatever you are dealing with in the back,’I told her.
‘Take any metal off your body, now,’Val sent sharply
I opened my mouth to say I didn’t have any metal when my gaze caught on the Aerlyn wedding band gleaming on my finger. My breath hitched. I slid it off and tossed it into the flowerpot beside the front door of the blue house. The metal clinked against stone and disappeared beneath the leaves.
Then I whispered to the chicken: “I’m sorry for this.”
I yanked out one of her feathers, and the hen exploded in my arms, screeching with the fury of a thousand dying souls, wingsbeating my ribs. She launched away from me, screaming like she’d been stabbed, and I tore after her.
Every single soldier snapped their head toward the noise at once, helmets tilting, hands rising.
Perfect.
“Josie, get back here! Mother will kill me if I lose you again.”
I opened my arms and charged after the hen, which only caused her to run harder, wings flapping as she bolted straight toward the tavern. My feet slapped stone as I chased her, heart hammering. The guards jerked their swords up, looking between the shrieking chicken and me like they were witnessing the most confusing battle of their lives.
With a burst of chaotic flapping, the hen, now named Josie, launched herself over the four-foot wall edging the tavern courtyard. I didn’t have time to think. I hurdled after her, fingers grazing the stone as I vaulted over.
“Stop, you can’t go back there!” a guard shouted behind me.
I pretended not to hear, landing hard on the packed dirt and taking off again.
