Fugitive by Kate Avery Ellison Page B

darkness.
     
    ~
     
    I JOINED KORR at the river at the agreed-upon time with Clara at my side. Korr scanned us both, taking in our number without comment. I was glad he didn’t speak of the fact that Lia was not with me. I did not want it discussed yet. Leaving her left me too raw.
    “Let’s get going,” he said, and turned toward the river.
    The water splashed around our boots as we crossed the shallowest part, taking the same path as the Farther soldiers had earlier when they’d been driven away from the Frost for good. With each step, part of me grew heavier, but another part of me lifted. I was leaving her, but it would not be forever. I swore it to myself.
    I simply had other things that had to be done, and part of me would not rest until I’d accomplished them.
    We moved swiftly once we reached the opposite bank. Korr scrambled up first, the edge of his cloak slapping wetly against his boots as he climbed. Clara followed him, and I carried up the rear. We reached the top of the bank, and I exhaled.
    Aeralis.
    The border was edged with train tracks that bit into the frozen earth and left an ugly metal scar upon the land. We crossed them like fugitives, scuttling into the field beyond and dropping to our knees to scan the horizon.
    Nothing moved.
    “The soldiers are ahead of us,” Korr murmured. “By at least an hour, I estimate. We need to take care that we avoid them.” He looked at Clara and me in turn.
    We nodded.
    He hesitated. “Rub mud on your face, brother. You need to disguise your features. We look too much alike.”
    I did as instructed.
    The frozen stalks of grass crunched beneath our feet as we headed toward the black line that was the horizon. Above, stars glittered, reminding me of another night months ago, when I’d made a journey into the unknown, my heart pounding and my mouth dry with fear and hope and the agonizing pain of leaving someone I loved.
    Tonight, I felt the same.
    Clara slipped her hand into mine and squeezed. I looked at her, grateful, and she gave me a tentative smile.
    Something snapped to our left. A branch? We froze.
    A shape rose from the darkness. My mind bled confusion as I caught a glimpse of a gun, a soldier’s uniform.
    We were discovered. We were unarmed.
    “Halt,” the soldier barked. Fear and fury mingled in his voice in equal parts. Was he one of the newly exiled soldiers that had been expelled from the Frost? Part of a patrol?
    Korr wheeled on us. His eyes burned into mine. “Trust me,” he said, and he was begging me. “Don’t say a word.”
    Clara and I didn’t move.
    “I am Lord Korr,” Korr said, stepping toward the soldier. “I am taking these two to Aeralis. They were part of the revolution.”
    “Lord Korr,” the soldier stammered. “You are alive. We thought—”
    “I am alive,” he said crisply. “And I need an escort. Do you have wagons? Chains?”
    The soldier nodded. “There are wagons to the south. You can find an escort.”
    The pit of my stomach coiled tightly. Was this all an elaborate trick? Was Korr betraying me again?
    Korr nodded. He did not look at me once. “Bring them, and give me the gun.”
    The soldier’s eyes darted from Korr to me. His expression turned mistrustful. “That one looks familiar.”
    Korr said nothing. He held out his hand for the gun.
    The soldier stepped forward to relinquish it. Then he shifted and brought his hand up, and a knife flashed in the moonlight as he swiped at my chest.
    I didn’t have time to move or think. Korr was a blur of black cloak as he threw himself in front of me and pointed the gun at the man’s face. The barrel clicked; it was empty. He struck the soldier across the face with the butt of the gun, and the other man fell into the snow. Korr bent over, wheezing.
    “Are you all right?” he asked, without straightening.
    “Yes,” I managed, still stunned. “Clara?”
    “I’m fine,” she whispered.
    Korr turned to us. “It seems some of the soldiers have not forgiven you