ROMHALDE WAS AS DESOLATE AS LEONOR REMEMBERED IT.
From the banks of the Ummerlingen, she could see everything: the smokestacks of the industriegebiet, forever stained by coal; the stretch of dormant farmland that dominated the southeast end of the city and the farmhouses that dotted it; the roofs and chimneys of the city proper, smoke puffing away into the predusk sky. Snow came down in tiny flakes, pouring over the land, bleaching it white.
"I'm going to freeze my toes off," Ahmed murmured.
Leonor looked sideways at him, his brown curls poking haphazardly out from his hood. His breaths came out in puffs of white fog. Down near his ankles, his trousers were soaked; they'd had to keep close to the treeline—and consequently, the Ummerlingen—for fear of being spotted by Solnayan patrols, and Ahmed had somehow managed to stumble into the freezing river water twice.
Hassan snorted, swinging his rucksack over his shoulder. "Nobody asked you to wade in the Ummerlingen."
"Yes, well, nobody asked you to be the uglier twin, but you somehow found a way."
Hassan's green eyes flared, but before he could give a retort, Heinrik let out a long sigh from up ahead.
"If I have to listen to you two bicker the whole time we're here, we'll never get anything done."
"And suffering will be our doctor," added Mun, fingering the handle of her revolver, her Altanese accent hanging thick in the chill.
Hassan cringed. "I think you mean teacher, Mun."
"Leonor," Heinrik called. "What do you think?"
Leonor came forward, trudging through the ankle-deep snow until she came to a halt at Heinrik's side.
She hiked her rucksack up her shoulder. "What do I think of what, Sergeant Griffin?"
He blushed. "Don't call me that. Anyway, I mean, what do you think of..." He waved his hand in a broad motion across the landscape. "All of this? You're from here, after all."
Leonor glanced back, heart leaping into her throat. Had the rest of them overheard? It didn't seem like they had. Hassan and Ahmed were still arguing away, pointing fingers and getting close enough to have the tips of their noses touch. Mun was busy loading bullets into her pistol, straight black hair flowing over her shoulders, humming one of her many Altanese tunes under her breath.
"Are you asking me where to go first?" she asked finally, turning her attention back to Romhalde.
"Well, we can't very well storm Duke Berengar's mansion and ask for the Solnayans to just relinquish control, can we?"
Her lips twitched. It was always hard to keep from smiling around Heinrik. "No, we can't."
He grinned, hazel eyes crinkling at the corners. "Tell me your plan, then, mäuschen." Little mouse.
She gave him a fierce glare that he didn't see, as he was already squinting at the city ahead. She couldn't help it if she barely came up to his shoulder.
In the end, she gave in. "We've got to get somewhere warm before Ahmed's toes drop off. The city's too far and going the route of the industrial district will mean patrols for sure. Even though we run the risk of being spotted on the farmlands... that might be our best shot. We could hole up in a barn until morning."
Heinrik motioned for her to follow him, kneeling beneath the boughs of one of the many pine trees that dotted the banks. Leonor knelt with him, though her legs burned. They'd been walking all day.
YOU ARE READING
The Immortal Calls
Fantasy❝YOU HAVE SUCH BEAUTIFUL EYES,❞ CROONED THE MANY-FACED MONSTER. ❝SO TELL ME, LITTLE ONE... WHAT IS YOUR GIFT?❞ It had chased her a thousand times in her dreams, grabbing her with hands as frigid as the ice that had been meant to be her grave. It cha...
