The smoke from Amity Falls blanketed the whole of God’s Grasp, embracing the valley in a dark, lingering handshake, and making the trail to the pass almost impossible to spot.
Sadie and I were at the buckboard of our stolen wagon, with me holding the reins. Merry was in the back, tending to Ephraim, Thomas, and Rebecca, and cooing to the baby girl.
“What about the wolves?” Sadie asked as we reached the end of the wheat field. The pines loomed ahead of us, peering down like grim sentinels.
“We’ll be safer in here than back there,” I reasoned with as much confidence as I could muster. I didn’t know how long it would take for the creatures of the forest to return to their usual states, their usual sizes, now that the Dark Watchers were gone, or if they ever would. Perhaps they’d all have to die before new life could return to this land.
After a pause, I nudged the mares forward.
Once in the sheltering arms of the woods, we dared to light the lanterns. With all the chaos in the streets, our flight from town had gone unnoticed, but I hadn’t wanted to draw any attention to ourselves as we’d made our way across the fields.
The lanterns shone brightly, casting the shadows aside.
I thought of the sigil on Ephraim’s trunk and all the knowledge left behind in his journals and notes.
There’d been no time to retrieve the crate, to retrieve anything from home. Would we ever again go back? Would the farm still be there if we did? Would any of the Falls remain?
I pushed aside my bleak thoughts, focusing on the crooked path before us. It wound through the forest, tracking back and forth as we ascended higher and higher up the mountain. It took an experienced driver a week to reach the pass. With all the scavenged supplies my sisters had pieced together, we had enough rations for four days.
Out in the darkness, a branch snapped, drawing my attention to the left side of the cart. The horses’ ears instantly flicked toward the sound, their footfalls slowing till they plodded to a stop. I scanned the dark foliage, trying to pick out what had shifted there, but I couldn’t make out much past the light’s glow.
“Ellerie?” Merry asked, her voice low. “You heard that, didn’t you?”
Keeping my movements as small as possible, I nodded. Sadie grabbed my knee, her fingers sinking into the folds of my skirt. I wanted to wrap my hand around hers, to reassure her, but I had to keep hold of the reins. We needed to get moving.
Rustling sounded, and the horses nickered uneasily.
“Come on,” I encouraged, giving them a little start. They refused to budge. “Come on.”
Another snap, more rustles.
Sadie tried to hold back a sob through bitten lips, but it squeezed from her. “It’s the monsters, isn’t it?”
“No, it isn’t,” I promised. “We’re going to be okay. We’re going to—” I slapped the reins across one of the mares’ rumps. “Go!”
She backed up, causing the tongue to twist and push the wheels over a tree root, so that we landed at a wretched angle. We lurched, and I had the terrible notion that one of the spokes had broken.
We had no replacements. No tools.
If we tried to continue, more spokes would fracture and we’d be stranded. Neither of the Fairhopes nor Rebecca was in any condition to hike over the pass.
“Take the reins,” I said, giving them to Sadie.
“What? No!” she protested even as I shoved them into her hands.
“I need to check the wheels.”
“But the monster—”
I grabbed the hatchet lying forgotten on the footboard and jumped down.
Footsteps—decidedly human—grew louder, grew closer.
My mouth dried as I pictured Simon Briard stalking through the trees, his hatchet still dripping with my brother’s blood.
I grabbed one of the lanterns and brandished it at the darkness. “Who’s there?” I demanded. “Show yourself!”
“Ellerie.”
I froze, the hairs on the back of my neck bristling as I heard the familiar tone.
A figure stepped into the circle of light, emerging out of the darkness. He had on his rucksack and travel hat. The brim’s shadows shrouded his face, covering his eyes.
Were they silver, or his friendly amber?
“Whitaker.”
His lips raised in a small half smile. “I suppose that name is as good as any.”
He took another step closer, and I raised the axe, half-heartedly threatening for him to stop. He did, raising his hands in supplication. The green rings of his tattoos were gone, completely vanished, without a trace left behind.
I recalled the look in Lyra’s eyes as I’d told her my ultimate demand—for them to flee Amity Falls and leave Whitaker free of the Kindred, his debts paid, his tenure broken. Disbelief mingled with such rage.
Seeing him here now—without her hold, without the weight of their claim—was a miracle.
“I don’t know how you…I never would have thought…” He shook his head, knocking back his hat to reveal amber eyes, full of wonder, glossy with impending tears.
“It’s done?” I clarified. “You’re truly free?”
He nodded.
“No more debts, no more claims?”
He pressed his lips together and shook his head.
“Good.”
There was so much more I wanted to say. So many questions I wanted to ask. Dreams I wanted to speak into existence.
But they weren’t mine to presume.
Whitaker was free.
Finally free.
Free to make his way in the world. Free to pursue his heart’s desires.
And though I hoped I’d be a part of them, I didn’t want to push. Didn’t want to assume.
He needed to make his own choices now. He alone.
And so I stayed silent, waiting, even as my heart split.
Whitaker looked away, studying the wagon behind me. “You’re leaving?”
“There’s nothing left of town. Maybe the farmhouse will still be standing, but…”
He nodded with understanding. “I was so scared for you when I heard the explosions, when I saw the flames.” His eyes drifted to the back of the cart, counting people. “Sam?”
I shook my head.
“I’m sorry.”
I raised my shoulders, shrugging. There would be tears—many, many tears—in the days to come, but for now, my focus needed to be kept on the trail ahead of us.