Three days have passed since Amaya, Mathias and Drea escaped from Hiraeth. No one was chasing them, so they were in no hurry. It was suspicious. They had long expected soldiers to come after them, they made sure to cover their tracks, but no one came after them. Drea didn't understand, but Mathias and Amaya kept wondering why. They couldn't believe that Prince Ciaran had just let them go. They couldn't believe that the royal guards had let them go. They sensed some kind of trap and were alert.
They were heading to the place from where they were supposed to contact Prince Tristan. They still had a long way to go. A few days if they hurry. Even a week if they try to be inconspicuous.
They decided to stay for the night in a small inn they found on the edge of the forest. They no longer wanted to sleep on the ground by the fire. They didn't want to keep watch at night to make sure they weren't found or attacked by a bad wolf. They needed to sleep.
"Two rooms, please," Mathias said to the owners.
"I don't know you yet. Do you come from far away?" asked the innkeeper.
You could already see from the look that she is the type of woman who needs to know about everything in the wide and near surroundings. And if she comes across strangers like them, she suspiciously picks up everything that might be useful to her.
"I'm Mathias." he introduced himself. "This is my wife," he pointed at Amaya. Hesitantly, she pulled down the hood that hid her face. Her long sleeves covered her marks, there was no way to recognize her, but she still hesitated to reveal herself. "And this is her sister." he also introduced Drea to them, who was looking at everything they passed with interest. All her life she was closed in a cage and now that she was free the surrounding world fascinated her.
"We are running away from the war on the borders. We are heading east to meet our friends." Mathias said.
"Has the war gone that far already?" asked the innkeeper's man.
"War destroys everything in its path," replied Mathias. "On both sides."
"I wish it was over," said the innkeeper's man.
"I wish as well," said Mathias. "This war does not benefit either kingdom. Only losses."
"They haven't progressed anywhere for years. Neither side." said the innkeeper's man. "Both sides are losing in this war."
"And how long will you be staying?" the innkeeper interrupted their conversation.
"Just one night," Mathias replied. We are leaving again in the morning. We still have a long way to go."
"I expect that there will be no problems with you and that the rooms will be cleaned in the morning. I won't tolerate anything broken," said the innkeeper, handing them the keys.
"Of course ma'am," Mathias said and they went to their rooms.
Drea shut herself in her room and Mathias with Amaya shared one bed in the other room. It was a deep night but Amaya couldn't sleep. Her sleeplessness also kept Mathias awake.
"Sleep, Amaya," he told her.
"I can't stop thinking about why there aren't any soldiers chasing us," Amaya said. "Ciaran doesn't strike me as someone who gives up that easily."
"Looks like the prince got under your skin," Mathias said.
"Never," argued Amaya.
"You think about him all the time," Mathias countered. "You care about him."
Amaya sat up sharply. "Never," she objected to his claim. "I just don't understand him."
"Admit it, Amaya. You didn't dig into his head like in everyone else's you've ever met because you don't trust anyone. You can guess people at first glance, but he is a puzzle to you that you can't solve, and that fascinates you. I also noticed how you look at him, even if you don't admit it." he gave her a daring look. "Admit you like him."
"Never." Amaya refused. "If I liked him, I wouldn't have left."
"Knowing you, that's the exact reason you'd leave. You don't want to care about anyone," said Mathias.
Amaya kissed him, silencing him. Mathias kissed her back. They were gentle kisses, not like when Ciaran kissed her, he claimed her whole being wildly and passionately. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to him.
"I care about you, Mathias," Amaya said through the kisses.
Mathias pulled away from her slightly. A spark of passion and pain burned in his eyes.
"You know I want you, Amaya. I want you so much," he said. "But I don't want you to use me as a way to forget him. I want you to want me as much as I want you."
Amaya stroked his cheeks gently. She gave him a fleeting smile. "I'm sorry, Mathias, but I don't have the love you're looking for in me. That's probably the only thing I can't give anyone."
⸸
"Did you find out anything about Amaya?" Ciaran asked General Marcellus.
He gave him an uncomprehending look. "I thought you didn't want us to look for her," he replied.
Ciaran gave him a look that said, I know what you did and don't lie to me.
"You think I don't know you're looking for her despite my ban?" he told him. "As you said yourself, word travels fast here. Word is circulating through the halls of the palace that Amaya has escaped and that you are trying to catch her. You won't be able to do it anyway, but at least I can know if you found out anything."
"Nothing," Marcellus replied. "She evaporated like a ghost. There is no trace of them. We have no idea where they might be heading."
"I told you you wouldn't find her if she didn't want to," Ciaran remarked.
"I know." Marcellus rolled his eyes. "However, we cannot rely on her goodwill to return. When the king finds out she's gone, we'll all pay a high price for her escape.''
"I believe in her," said Ciaran, convincing himself of those words.
"You're blinded by liking her. What will we do if she's not here on the wedding day?'
"We will put on a good show in front of the people."
Ciaran turned to leave. But before he left, he said to the general one last time: "By the way, they head to the east."
"How can you be so sure?" Marcellus asked him.
"She doesn't want to go back to King Damon or Amorite," he replied. "They will stick to the original plan that Mathias came here with. They will go east and try to connect with Prince Tristan."
"So she chose him over you."
"She chose freedom instead of the cage in which everyone keeps her. She doesn't love him."
"She doesn't love you either, but you have feelings for her anyway, even if you pretend it's just a game."
⸸
Amaya, Mathias, and Drea sat in the inn enjoying breakfast before getting back on their horses and heading off. The innkeeper watched them carefully until her friend interrupted her. She obviously didn't trust the hooded strangers who would appear on the doorstep of her inn under the cover of night.
Amaya ignored their lively conversation full of laughter and the latest gossip until she became part of one of them. All the people became serious and took notice when her name was mentioned. The atmosphere immediately became heavy.
"Have you heard that the witch is supposed to have run away?" said the innkeeper's friend.
"Really?" the innkeeper's eyes widened in shock.
"Yes," said her friend. "Supposedly the prince himself let her run away. They say he forbade the soldiers to look for her."
"Are you talking about the wedding again?" interrupted the innkeeper's man. "You don't even know if it's true that she ran away."
"It's true," the woman argued. "It is being said throughout the palace. My sister works in the kitchen there."
"But the prince didn't admit it, so until he says so himself, it's just conspiracies," the innkeeper's man retorted. "And even if that is true, since the prince brought the witch here, it was clear that things weren't going to go well."
Amaya didn't like being called a witch. But it was common in Deira. She was digging her nails into the wood of the table. She left traces there. Mathias knew her and knew how she was fighting inside not to kill everyone in the room.
"Calm down," he whispered to her.
"I'm calm," Amaya whispered back with coldness in her voice.
She was not calm. Not even close.
"The worst part is that the poor prince fell in love with her and now he's going to die because of her," said the woman.
"Nonsense," Amaya said to herself.
"It's true, miss," Drea whispered to her. "Everyone noticed how the prince was looking at you. It's obvious he likes you."
"And you look at him exactly the same as he looks at you," said Mathias.
"If you're trying to make me feel guilty because I ran away, you won't succeed," Amaya told them. "See this face? Well, the one to whom it belongs doesn't care at all."
"And that's a lie," Mathias smirked.
"The witch and the prince should have been burned a long time ago," said one of the guests.
"The prince should not suffer because of that witch. He's a good person, but she's the problem," objected the innkeeper.
"If you're bewitched by a witch, you won't get out of it alive," the man countered. "Death is only merciful. I heard that she also bewitched the commander of the royal guards, during the celebration of the first full moon of autumn."
"I also heard that she amazed everyone there," said the innkeeper's friend.
"It's just a pity that the witch won't die too when the prince is executed for letting her escape," said another of the guests.
"Can you wait outside?" Amaya said to Mathias and Drea.
"Amaya, please don't do it," Mathias begged her. "Don't prove them right."
"That wasn't a request, Mathias," Amaya replied.
Drea didn't understand what was going on. Mathias took her by the hand and led her out of the inn. Amaya stood up and joined the conversation.
"Why should Prince Ciaran die just because his bride ran away?" she asked.
The innkeeper looked at her as if her entire existence was annoying her. Even the guests focused their attention on her incredulously.
"His majesty, King Mael, is not particularly fond of his son, Prince Ciaran," finally answered the innkeeper's friend after a moment of painful silence. "He has been trying to find a way to get rid of him for years. That witch gave it to him with her escape."
Amaya threw her cloak over her shoulders and strode to the door. She could feel their gazes on her back watching her every step. But before she left, she turned to them one last time.
"By the way, the witch you're talking about isn't a witch at all. She is a dark creature, which is not a positive thing for you at all because we dark creatures are grumpier, more dangerous and more murderous. You would be happy to run into a witch," she said.
Her own shadow materialized from the darkness. It became a real, breathing creature. Both the guests and the owners of the inn had horror in their eyes. She was the witch.
The shadow pounced on them and with the ferocity of a voracious animal began to tear them to pieces. The walls and floor were colored red. They tried to run away from the monster, but her shadow was faster. As if it was everywhere. It caught them. It tore at their bodies with its sharp claws and even sharper fangs. None of the bodies stayed together. It tore off their hands, feet and heads. It ripped out their organs. Their screams sounded like heavenly music to Amaya.
Mathias knew exactly what was going on inside when he heard the scream. But Drea had no idea and it scared her. Thousands of images of the horrors that such sounds would cause played out in her mind.
Suddenly the pained wail died down and Amaya went outside.
"What happened there?" Drea asked her when she saw the blood on her dress.
"I was a little hungry," Amaya replied with a serious face. She licked the blood from her fingers.
"Did you eat them?" Drea couldn't hide her fear.
Mathias couldn't suppress a smile. He started laughing. Amaya started laughing too.
"That was a joke," Amaya told her. "But trust me, you don't want to see it there now."
Drea let out a breath, but shivers still ran down her spine. She could not shake the horror.
"That was not a good joke," said Mathias.
"But you're still laughing," Amaya replied with a mischievous smile.
They mounted their horses and started back on the road. They left behind a house full of corpses. Amaya left them there. Mathias noticed that they were heading in the wrong direction.
"Why are we going the other way, Amaya?" he asked her.
"Because I'm going back to Hiraeth," she replied.
"Why?" Mathias did not understand.
"Because maybe you were right and I care about Ciaran more than I am able to admit. I won't let him die," she said.
"But you do realize that if you come back, you'll have to marry him?" he reminded her.
"I realize," she said. "However, the fact that we are getting married does not mean that I have to stay there. There will be a wedding and then I will leave."
"Then you won't be able to escape. They will be vigilant," Mathias objected.
"Ciaran will let me go if I want. You're forgetting the fact that he didn't send soldiers after us to catch us and he could," she reminded him. "He won't hold me there against my will."
"However, if you marry him, you will become his wife. You will be the princess of Deira." Mathias reminded her in return. "It changes everything. He won't just let you go. Maybe now, but not later after marriage."
"Weddings are just bonds invented by people. They don't mean anything." Amaya countered.
"To dark creatures and gods maybe, but to humans they mean everything," said Mathias.
"I won't let him die anyway," Amaya said one last time, spurring her horse forward. She had to get back to the palace before it was too late.