29
Dusk settled over the western side of the mountain. Devarius leaned his back against the dirt, relieved that darkness was arriving. He didn’t know how much longer they could keep hidden from the empire. They’d barely made it to the mountain unnoticed, and Devarius wasn’t entirely sure they had gone unnoticed.
A small company of soldiers had been trailing them, and Devarius wasn’t sure if they’d lost them.
“Can you reach Ayla?” Derkas asked.
Devarius shook his head. “She’s been unresponsive. I hope it’s because she’s too busy traveling, or hiding, and not—”
“Don’t worry,” Zaviana reassured him. “I’m sure Ayla and Chalce are just fine.”
Devarius nodded, wanting to believe his sister, but not knowing if he could. No one actually knew what had happened to Ayla and Chalce. Devarius had
