Sienna Du’for's Arc

Chapter 30 of 30

Sienna followed Elk through the servant halls with the wig back on and the crown bundled at her belt. He walked half a step ahead, hand loose near his sword. At each turn he lifted two fingers and she stopped. Twice he waved a guard past with a nod. The seventh bell was close. She counted her breaths and matched his pace. They reached the east postern. Elk lifted the bar himself and cracked the door. Cold air came in. He looked out, then back at her. "There's a rendezvous point at the old shepherd's camp," he said. "North of the wall. Two hours on foot. Wait there one day. Don't come back to the gate before then." "And you?" "The physician. Then the main gate." He tapped the book under his cloak. "When the doctor sees this, Cecilia is finished. I'll open the main gate myself when it's done." She pulled the wig off and stuffed it in her pack. She tied a dark scarf over her hair. "Elk. Thank you." He grunted and pushed the door wider. She stepped through. She ran. She kept off the road and stayed in the ditch line until the wall was small behind her. The bell rang seven while she climbed the north slope. She made the shepherd's camp near dawn. She slept in the ruined stone shed with the crown under her head. She waited the day out as Elk had asked. She ate hard bread. She watched the road. No riders came for her. At dusk on the second day she started back. The main gate stood open when she reached it. No guards on the arch. A boy driving goats walked through without a glance. She stepped inside and Aldric Thornhaven was waiting at the guardhouse post, cloak dusted from the road. Embermere's king, the man who had ridden north with her, alone now and calm. "He did it," Aldric said. "The doctor showed the book to the council at midday. Cecilia is in a cell. The king is awake. Weak, but awake." Sienna's knees almost gave. She braced a hand on the stone. "Your people are camped a mile east," Aldric said. "Clementine has been sick with worry. Caspian would not stop pacing. Come." She rode behind him on his horse. The camp was tents and low fires. Clementine saw her first and ran, and neither of them spoke for a long moment. Sienna felt the pendant press between them. Caspian was on her before she'd let go. Ink on his fingers, a fresh page open on his board. "What happened after the gate closed? Did she strike you? How did you get the book? Who is Elk? Did you kill anyone? Sienna, I need it in order." She laughed for the first time in days. She sat down on a crate and pulled the crown out of the bundle and set it on her knee. "In order," she said. "From the cell."