ONE OF EVERYTHING
GRACE
“This isn’t the way we came in,” I say. We walk down a cobblestone road, leading away from the manor and in the opposite direction of the lookalike university. We’re alone, surrounded by rocky earth on either side and a massive mountain in the distance before us. It’s hard to see from here, but I think there’s a town at its base.
“I didn’t realize you were paying attention,” he says.
“It might have been blurry, but there was nothing else to do,” I say. “Seeing how youparalyzedme.”
“Hells,” he says, scoffing under his breath. “Can we not fight already? We’ve barely left the manor. I thought you’d behappy.”
“I’m never happy when I’m with you,” I say.
It’s not entirely true. Thisisthe closest I’ve felt to happiness since arriving in the Echo. I’ve spent far too long within the walls of the manor, especially in my own cell. The glimpse of the courtyard had been nice, but it was too chaotic to enjoy it.
“So why aren’t we going back that way?” I ask.
There had been food stands and little shops. They were far closer to county fair booths than stores, but still.
“Too dangerous,” Sebastian says. He frowns at me, as if gauging whether I’m truly curious or snooping.
He should know by now…the answer isboth.
“The witches might sense you,” he says after a pause. “It’s unlikely, but not worth the risk.”
I don’t know how to respond to that, so I don’t. We walk in silence for several minutes, and I breathe in the air. It’s fresh, but still not quite right.
“The air here is weird,” I tell him. “It’s different than in the real world.”
“The real world?” he asks. He has a possessive hand on my lower back, pressed against the thick fabric of my borrowed clothes. We’re matching now, wearing long black coats made of heavy wool. If we were in Aberlena, where people I knew might see me, I’d be mortified.
For now, I’m just happy to be warm. The sun is still out, but we probably only have ten minutes left of daylight. Soon, the sun will fall behind the horizon, leaving us in darkness and frigid wind.
“Yeah,” I say. “That nice, pleasant place you stole me from? Have you already forgotten it?”
“This isalsothe real world,” he states. He keeps a careful watch on our surroundings, looking behind us every few steps. “And the air is no different from yours.”
“It is different,” I insist. “It smells funky…like burnt hair.”
He glances down at me, arching an eyebrow.
“I’m surprised you can smell that,” he says. He nods toward the mountains. “It’s the dragons. I didn’t figure you’d scent it. Most mortals can’t.”
My steps falter, and I lurch to a stop.
“I’m sorry,dragons?” I stare at him in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Come,” he says. He forces me forward with the press of his hand. “We need to put as much distance between us and that manor before nightfall. My men have instructions to stay put for the night, but someone might decide to test it. I’d rather not have to slaughter anyone in front of you.”
“Because they’d try to kill me?” I ask. Now I’m the one who looks behind us.
The manor stands in bleak magnificence, more like a castle than a mansion. Its dark stones are framed by the dying light of the sunset, and farther, by rows of houses.
“Yes, they’d try to kill you,” Sebastian confirms. “And I figure you’d be in a sour mood if you had to pick clothes while covered in blood.”
He’s not wrong, but I don’t tell him that. We walk for another five minutes in silence. The sun dips lower behind the mountains, staining the sky orange and purple. It’d be pretty, if I weren’t so busy scanning the clouds for freaking dragons.
“So, there are vampires,” I say. I tuck Sebastian’s coat tighter around myself, shivering against the wind. “There are witches. Spider-people things called Nectoa. There are, supposedly, dragons. What else should I fear in this place?”
