They wake to a knock on the door, and untangle their limbs from each other. She pulls the blanket up to cover herself, as Nicolia quickly pulls pants on and answers the door.

     A pretty young female, who Kae remembers seeing when they came in the day before, stands in the hall. “Your carriage is ready to depart.” she informs them.

     “Thank you. We’ll be out in just a few minutes.” Nicolai responds, and she nods before turning away.

     “Well, time to go. I’ll carry our stuff out to the carriage while you get dressed.” he says to Kaeda, as he pulls a shirt over his head.

     Her body is aching in the most pleasant way as she climbs out of bed in search of her missing underwear. Once she’s found them, she tugs on the pair of pants Nicolai bought her and combs her hair, tying it into a loose braid. Then, she grabs the last of their stuff and heads out to put it with everything else. 

     Once they’ve settled on the cushioned bench seats and the horses have started walking, Nicolai produces breakfast in the form of apples, cheese, and bread. Gods, she misses having hot meals.The memory of savory seasoned meats and roasted vegetables makes her stomach growl as she bites into an apple. 

     She rests a hand on Nico’s thigh, idly making patterns against the leather of his pants while they both eat, and he asks, “So, what did you do about the letter?”

     Queen Nola knew exactly where Kaeda was. If Nola had someone spying on her, she would know if Kaeda didn't leave to head for Mivraga, and she might not even wait the two weeks she'd claimed before sending someone after her. Kaeda didn't know what to do.

     She could go to Nola, turn herself in for killing a member of her court, and find out what exactly the demanding bitch-queen thought she needed her for. Or she could run.

     The idea of leaving this place broke her heart. She loved Tomas like a father, and Draik had become a best friend. They were her family now. They were all she had. Sbe even loved working in the tavern, and her little room in the back. 

     The idea of going to Mivagra and facing Queen Nola terrified her. What did Nola think she could do for her? What would she do with Kaeda once she realized she truly had nothing to offer? Not to mention Nola was obviously angry about the man Kaeda had killed. 

     She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life in a dungeon. Or what if Nola demanded a life for a life? She definitely didn’t want to die.

     She didn’t know what to do, and she was too scared to talk to anyone about it. 

     So, she went about things as if nothing were wrong. She looked every customer in the eye, wondering if they were the spy reporting back to Queen Nola. She jumped at every sound in the night. She smiled at Tomas when he looked at her with concern in his eyes, and she avoided Draik entirely. 

     Several days later, a male she’d never seen before came into the tavern. It wasn’t unusual to have strangers come in, travelers passing through, so she didn’t think anything of him at first - until she went to serve him and he called her by name.

     “Miss Meadows, you’re running out of time.” he said quietly. “It’s a long journey from here to Mivraga.”

     Shock and fear zinged through her, and in the blink of an eye the stranger was reeling back from a small fire on the bar top. His glass lay shattered into pieces and the spilled alcohol was burning. Had he been smoking? She couldn’t recall seeing or smelling any smoke. Where did this fire come from?

     She quickly threw a wet rag over the flames, snuffing them out. The few people who had noticed simply went back to what they were doing, as if flames erupting on the bar were a perfectly normal occurrence, probably too drunk to care. 

     “You’re running out of time.” the male repeated, before tossing coin on the counter, and heading for the door with fear in his eyes. 

     What was he afraid of? He was the one who’d come in here to threaten her and somehow started a fire. She’s the one who should’ve been afraid, and she was.

     Kaeda was so frozen by fear and indecision, she did nothing. She didn’t make a plan. She didn’t pack her stuff and run. She didn’t head for Mivraga. She only waited and prayed that, for whatever reason, nothing would happen. Maybe Queen Nola would change her mind.

     The very next brightening after the incident in the tavern, there was a knock on the back door. Nobody ever knocked on that door, but she didn’t think anyone with ill intent would bother knocking, so she cracked the door open to see who it was. 

     Draik, who she’d been avoiding, stood in the back alley with his arms crossed and a troubled look on his handsome face. She could see the question in his eyes, he’d come to find out why they hadn’t been training or hanging out like usual. Kaeda knew she couldn’t avoid him forever, so she stepped aside and invited him in. 

     He walked passed her and right into her room, where he sat on her bed and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

     She crossed into the room and climbed on the bed next to him, sitting cross-legged and pulling a pillow into her lap. Then, she told him everything.

     She told him about the letter she’d gotten from Queen Nola, threatening and summoning her to Mivraga. She told him someone must be spying on her, and about the man who had come into the tavern with his warning. She told him about how she was out of time and didn’t know what to do. 

     Last time the queen had sent someone to retrieve her, the man she loved had been killed. She couldn’t stay, but she didn’t know where to go. She didn’t want to leave her life.

     Draik listened to all she had to say in stony silence, but when she finished, he said, “Why did you wait so long to tell me?”