“
An old friend. She
’
s going through some things right now.
”
I nodded and hugged him tighter.
“
She loves you.
”
I wasn
’
t mad, surprisingly. I couldn
’
t blame her. There was a lot to love about Ayden. But the way she spoke to him bothered me, the way she seemed to share a lot of history with him. I couldn
’
t speak of Ayden that way, and I envied her for it. But now that I had him, I would make sure that
sometime
soon I could
speak of him in such a way.
Ayden pulled my chin up to him and he softly kissed my lips.
“
I know she does, but
I
’
ve already
placed my love elsewhere and I
’
m really glad with the decision I made.
“
I am, too.
”
I stepped up on his feet to kiss his lips and he laughed. He was at least a foot taller than me and I constantly had
to
tiptoe to kiss him.
The kiss ended too soon for my liking.
“
I
’
m really happy you
’
re here, Echo.
”
“
I can
’
t imagine being anywhere else.
”
I sighed
and
rested my head on his chest.
“
Besides, you—
”
I loud knock interrupted me and Ayden hesitantly broke away.
When neither of us moved, the knock came louder. No voices
.
“
Probably Feven again. Stay here.
”
I went along anyway
and stood behind him as he pulled the curtain
to a window aside and glanced out
. I wondered why Feven was back. Maybe she
’
d come to apologize or scream at me.
Either way, she seemed like
no threat to me. She looked belligerent and probably used that against people, but I was stubborn and adamant.
Ayden stepped away from the window and I saw his face blanch.
“
Echo,
”
he whispered to me. Another loud knock came from the door.
“
Go back to the room and pack your things in a bag.
Hurry
.
”
I nodded and left for the bedroom with no questions asked. I didn
’
t have much, only a few dresses from Carys and the gowns Ayden bought for me at the market. I threw it all into
a bag
and tied it shut
, my heart beating frantically in my chest
. I stared out the window for a long moment and froze when I heard
the knocking stop and then the shattering of glass. Through the window in Ayden
’
s room I could make out a man in black, a sword just as dark in his hands. I screamed inwardly and willed my feet to move, but they wouldn
’
t. Things were just happening too fast.
You need to get out, Echo. Get out. Get out now! Leave!
The glass before me shattered into shards and I screamed as they bit into me. I heard shouting and then hands grabbed me.
“
Echo! Just keep running, go!
”
Ayden yelled. He held my hand as he pulled me through the small cabin. I dared a glance behind us and saw the men in black equipped with swords. I
noticed the embroidery on the hilt
s
and my feet stumbled to keep up with Ayden.
The King
had sent them to kill us. I knew it, but it was just too hard to believe. Was this it
,
then?
Had we walked into our deaths blindly?
“
Ayden, there isn
’
t anywhere to run!
”
I yelled.
“
Listen to the girl, Hunter,
”
a guard barked
, trudging towards us with great speed
.
Ayden groaned and pushed me through the bathroom door. He locked it quickly and the
n
turned to face me.
“
You
’
re going out the window. I
’
ll give you a lift.
”
“
How did they find us so soon?
”
I cried. The guards pushed against the small door and I winced.
“
Listen to me, we
’
re not dying. Not here, not right now. Do you hear me?
”
He held my face in his hands as I cried.
“
But Ayden—
”
He kissed me before I could get another word out.
“
Get on my shoulders.
”
Ayden stepped up
on the toilet and leaned forwa
rd so that I could climb up on his back. He stood and brought me closer to th
e window.
“
Flip the lever to unlock it. The ground isn
’
t too far down so you should be fine.
”
“
Okay,
”
I said with shaking hands.
“
Echo, hurry.
”
As he said it, the door splintered and I heard a hinge give into the guards
’
onslaught. I flipped the lever and the window cracked open easily. Cold rain and a harsh wind hit me, but I pushed myself up and out.
Just as I had both my legs out the window, the last hinge on the door gave way and Ayden ran to keep them out. I shook my head at him, but he frowned.
“
Ayden, let
’
s go!
”
I yelled.
“
No,
go on
! I
’
m coming.
”
The door continued to open little by little and I panicked.
“
I
’
m not leaving you, Ayden. I refuse to.
”
“
Do you trust me?
”
he grunted.
“
With my life.
”
“
Then go!
”
he yelled. I gasped and the tears came non-stop. Instead of staying to argue with him, I dropped myself from the window and I fell to the ground with a start. I ran without stopping and pressed on when I hit the forest.
I thought about turning back, but that would have
gotten us nowhere
. Ayden would get out and he
’
d be fine.
Seconds washed away with the rain and as I waited for Ayden in the dark woods, I had the strangest feeling
that
I
’
d been here before. I wondered if his family was okay, or if the neighbors had heard anything. Knowing the King, he would have made sure
no one knew about this
.
The guards were silent and hid in the darkest shadows until we were alone
, stealing the night and depriving it of its secrecy
.
That
’
s how they
worked.
Sighing,
I turned back to see Ayden running towards me with my bag and his in tow. I exhaled a breath I
didn
’
t know
I was holding and ran to him.
“
Are you hurt?
”
“
A little,
”
he whispered. He took my hand
and held tight
.
“
We need to get out of here.
”
“
And go where?
”
I asked.
“
Don
’
t worry,
I know just the place.
”
T W E N T Y–
S I X
Ayden
E
cho
’
s hand shivered in mine as we
rushed down the dusty streets of Shadow Hills. She glanced around the neighborhood and then at me. I
’
d never read her so loud and clear in that moment; her eyes spoke legions. I wanted to comfort her, but all I could think about was getting her to safety and away from the guards. It wasn
’
t even about me anymore, always her. I would lay down my life for Echo and in that small second I saw the guards outside the window, I realized that.
“
I can
’
t run anymore, Ayden,
”
she gasped. Her face was red from exertion and her hair unruly and wild.
I stopped for a second and glanced back at her.
“
We can
’
t stop, they
’
ll find us. The house is just over the hill, trust me.
”
Her hands on her waist, Echo nodded slowly as tears trickled down her face. I would have kissed every one of them away and took my time doing it, but that risked death and losing her—two different punishments, but it would hurt me all the same. I took her hand again and we
wandered
through the dark streets as silent as shadows. There was only one place I thought safe to go, really. I knew
he wouldn
’
t hesitate to help
us even if that meant sheltering runaways from the King.
The rain hadn
’
t let up at all. What should have felt like a generous soul cleansing from the gods felt more like a sin, a cry for help, and all the tears shed over pain and the loss of victory. This was the penalty for love, for loving Echo. I couldn
’
t say I hadn
’
t seen it coming from the beginning, but I
expected more time with her. Though I knew her a lot better than I did five weeks ago, she still remained a mystery to me. I wanted to waste time on her and not have to fear losing her the minute I turned around. She
’
d made me out to be the person I was meant to be, not the person New Haven had thrust upon me. There weren
’
t too many people in my life who made me doubt myself, so Echo had achieved something so great, and yet so naturally. We were so different, but somehow our bad collision worked out perfectly.
We made it over the hill and my legs had grown weary.
Instead of giving up, though, I mustered up all the strength I had and pushed on. The house came into sight and I sighed when I spotted a light on through the windows. Echo was still soundless beside me, but she held onto me with everything she had. And that was enough.
We ran through the house gates that barely sat on their hinges and crossed the yard. I knocked my knuckles against the door and waited.
“
Where is here?
”
Echo asked.
I had a momentary flashback to the first night I
’
d taken her with me. She
’
s said the exact same thing and was dripping
in
water from the rain. Now, though, she looked wiser and older. She didn
’
t look like the scared girl who
’
d practically begged me to kidnap her. She looked every bit of the woman I
’
d given my heart to.
“
It
’
s an old friend
’
s. He
’
ll keep us sheltered until I figure something out.
”
“
Will you?
”
she asked, lips trembling.
“
Will you figure something out?
”
I opened my mouth to
push away her doubts the same moment the door opened and a small woman with red hair stepped out. She watched us cautiously.
“
Can I help you with something?
”
“
Yes. Is Giovanni here?
”
I held my breath as I waited for her to answer.
The woman nodded and called out to Gio in the house. Echo melted into my side and I sensed her fear. I could have only imagined her thoughts; it was one foreign place to another.
But I
’
d promise her the end of this soon, and we
’
d be smiling and we
’
d
be
together. The destruction of the world could meet us in days and we
’
d cling to that last hope.
Giovanni came up beside the woman and stared out at us. There was a mixture of shock and grief on his old face, and then finally understanding. He glanced out at the barren roads and motioned us inside.
The house was just as I remembered. Dark, warm, and crowded. Giovanni had six kids so I could see the reasoning.
He sat us on the couch opposite from him and his wife, the redhead, moved to the kitchen. He ran his hand down his face and sighed.
“
Before I start, you should see something.
”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece
of paper
, tossing it over to me without a word.
“
Read it.
”
I opened it up and the first thing I saw was my face. Glancing down lower, I saw Echo
’
s. In big bold letters
under the sketches of us
were the words:
$500,000 reward if found and returned to the King
dead or alive
!
Echo
’
s hair was drawn short so I wondered if anyone realized he
’
d put his own supposed daughter up for sale. I cru
mpled the paper in my hands and didn
’
t bother showing it to Echo.
“
What is this?
”
I barked. I threw it back at him with a scowl.
“
It
’
s a grant. While you two were off in your own world for the past three days, the King was busy announcing you as renegades. He says he no longer has a daughter named Echo and the New Haven kingdom has foolishly believed him.
”
“
It
’
s true,
”
Echo murmured.
I glanced at Giovanni and shook my head for him to ignore it. I would explain everything later, not now.
“
We just need a place to stay until morning. I
’
ll find Adamo and we—
”
“
And you
’
ll what, Ayden? Keep running? Tonight was only the beginning. You got away for now, but how long do you think it
’
ll last?
”
He was right. I knew it, of course, but I chose not to acknowledge it.
I couldn
’
t afford to lose Echo. Not now, not ever. I would fight until my last breath to ensure her safety.
I glanced up at Giovanni and nodded.
“
This means war. I
’
m not running, I
’
m fighting.
”
Giovanni
tilted his head
and
really look
ed
at me. The corners of his mouth twitched with a small smile and I knew he understood.
“
A
m
I
doing
this right?
”
Echo called from the field. She stood out among
st
the many bleeding hearts while Kale and Ciprean
practiced throwing their daggers at trees like Echo had taught them.
“
What do you mean? Try it
again
.
”
I came up behind her and wrapped my hands around her leather-clad waist. Tamara, Giovanni
’
s wife, had given her a few things to wear for when we went out to practice in the field. They fit her smugly
, but she insisted on wearing them. I didn
’
t complain, she looked great and as a Tigress should.
“
I feel like I
’
m doing this all wrong. You guys picked up on the swords and daggers so quickly, why can
’
t I do this?
”
I moved around the tree she stood in front of
and watched her
. She
’
d tied her hair up
in a ponytail
and was doing her best at hand-to-hand combat.
She wasn
’
t a bad beginner, she just lacked confidence.
“
Just try it again.
”
Sighing, s
he stood with her left foot forwa
rd
and focused all of her attention on the tree.
She counted to three
and then
rear-kicked the trunk with a hard blow. She
’
d been at it for hours and while she wasn
’
t seeing improvement, I was.
“
I
’
m not hitting the target, Ayden. I
’
m hitting the tree, but not the target.
”
She blew out a shaky breath
and backed away from the tree.
“
You
’
ll get it, stop stressing yourself out.
”
“
And if I don
’
t? I
’
m a big part of this plan, Ayden.
”
I nodded slowly as I regarded her. The whole night had been spent revising a plan to escape. It wasn
’
t about revenge, but freedom. There was no way the Ki
ng was
letting us go so easily, and Giovanni saw no other option than to fig
ht. I knew he and his family were risking their lives to help us. And so
were
Ciprean, Kale, and Adamo.
I
’
d dragged them all into this mess and I was determined to drag them right back out.
“
This is really important to you, isn
’
t it?
”
I asked her.
Echo nodded.
“
It is, and I
’
m scared. We
’
re breaching a border that is guarded by many and running foolhardily into the King
’
s arms. Gods, it
’
s so hard to imagine he is not my father. He was the only one I knew.
”
“
I
’
m sorry about that, Echo, but we won
’
t even be long. You
’
re only to get Isobeli and
your mother and
bring
them
back. The guys will take care of the rest.
Everyone will meet here and we
’
ll escape into the woods.
”
“
And just us, alone?
”
she said incredulously.
“
I can
’
t die out there, I have too much to live for now. Within days we
’
ve become fugitives and are now plotting a war!
We
’
re going to kill people, Ayden. I can
’
t lose you.
”
“
You won
’
t.
”
I went to her and held her tight.
“
We
’
re not going to slaughter everyon
e in sight;
we
’
re going for the King
. Not to kill him, but to declare our freedom. Don
’
t you want that? To be free?
”
“
It
’
s all I
’
ve wanted,
”
she whispered.
“
I
’
m so frightened that I
’
ll lose myself in this, though, that I
’
ll lose you. Do you even know how much it pains me to think of you as dead? It
’
s unnatural and unthinkable.
”