Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J. Maas

Lorcan was already whirling toward the reed-slim man who barreled toward them, a knife out. “That’s my boat,” he bleated. He realized who, exactly, he would be fighting as he cleared the short wooden ladder onto the dock and took in Lorcan’s size, the hatchet and sword now in the warrior’s broad hands, and the expression of death surely on his face.

Lorcan said simply, “It’s our boat now.”

The man glanced between them. “You—you won’t clear the bridges or the city walls—”

Moments. They had only moments before the guards came—

Lorcan said to the man, “Get in. Now.”

The man began backing away.

Elide braced her hand on the broad, raised side of the boat and said calmly, “He will kill you before you clear the ladder. Get us out of the city, and I swear you’ll be set free once we’re clear.”

“You’ll slit my throat then, as good as you will now,” the man said, gulping in air.

Indeed, Lorcan’s hatchet bobbed in that way she’d learned meant he was about to throw it.

“I would ask you to reconsider,” Elide said.

Lorcan’s wrist twitched ever so slightly. He’d do it—he’d kill this innocent man, just to get them free—

The man’s knife drooped, then vanished into the sheath at his side. “There’s a bend in the river past the town. Drop me off there.”

That was all Elide needed to hear as the man rushed toward them, untying lines and leaping into the boat with the ease of someone who’d done it a thousand times. He and Lorcan grabbed the poles to push out into the river, and as soon as they were loose, Lorcan hissed, “If you betray us, you’ll be dead before the guards can even board.” The man nodded, now steering them toward the eastern exit of the town, as Lorcan dragged her into the one-room cabin.

The cabin interior was lined with windows, all clean enough to suggest the man took some pride in his boat. Lorcan half shoved her under a table in its center, the embroidered cloth covering it shielding her from anything but sounds: Lorcan’s footsteps going silent, though she could feel him taking up a hiding place to monitor the proceedings from within the cabin; the patter of rain on the flat roof; the thud of the pole as it occasionally knocked into the side of the barge.

Her body soon ached from holding herself still and quiet.

Was this to be her life for the foreseeable future? Hunted and hounded across the world?

And finding Aelin … How would she ever do that? She could go back to Terrasen, but she didn’t know who ruled from Orynth. If Aelin had not taken back her throne … Perhaps it was an unspoken message that danger lay there. That all was not well in Terrasen.

But to go to Eyllwe on a bit of speculation … Of all the rumors Elide had listened to in the past two hours, that captain’s reasons had been the wisest.

The world seemed to still with some unspoken tension, a ripple of fear.

But then the man’s voice was calling out again, and metal groaned—a gate. The city gates.

She stayed under the table, counting her breaths, thinking through all that she’d heard. She doubted the carnival would miss them.

And she’d bet all the money in her boot that Nik and Ombriel had been the ones who’d set the guards on them, deciding she and Lorcan were too much of a threat—especially with the ilken hunting her. She wondered if Molly had known all along, from that very first meeting, that they were liars and had let Nik and Ombriel sell them out when the bounty was too good to pass up, the cost of loyalty too great.

Elide sighed through her nose. A splash sounded, but the boat ambled onward.

At least she’d taken the little bit of stone with her, though she’d miss her clothes, shabby as they were. These leathers were growing stuffy in the oppressive heat, and if she were to go to Eyllwe, they’d be sweltering—

Lorcan’s footsteps sounded. “Get out.”

Wincing as her ankle barked in pain, she crawled from under the table and peered around. “No trouble?”

He shook his head. He was splattered with rain or river water. She peered around him to where the man had been steering the boat. No one there—or in the rear of the boat.

“He swam to shore back at the bend,” Lorcan explained.

Elide loosed a breath. “He might very well run to town and tell them. It won’t take long for them to catch up.”

“We’ll deal with it,” Lorcan said, turning away. Too fast. He avoided her eyes too fast—

She took in the water, the stains now on the sleeves of his shirt. Like … like he’d washed his hands quickly, sloppily.

She glanced at the hatchet at his side as he strode out of the cabin. “You killed him, didn’t you?” That was what the splash had been. A body being dumped over the side.

Lorcan halted. Looked over a broad shoulder. There was nothing human in his dark eyes. “If you want to survive, you have to be willing to do what is necessary.”

“He might have had a family depending on him.” She’d seen no wedding ring, but it didn’t mean anything.

“Nik and Ombriel didn’t give us that consideration when they reported us to the garrison.” He stalked onto the deck, and she stormed after him. Lush trees lined the river, a living shield around them.

And there—there was a stain on the planks, shining and dark. Her stomach rose.