✧The Earthe of the Elves✧

46

"I know," I reply. Curiosity creeps in, so I ask, "what did it say?"

"Just that you were safe, that you had to leave but would be back. It mentioned your dad and... I didn't understand it, and I didn't know whether to believe it... I only truly stopped believing it after a few weeks...."

"I- I know I've said this a ton, but I'm so sorry for leaving for so long. I promise to come back as soon as I can, but there's stuff I need to do. Stuff dad would want me to do."

Mom nods, then pulls the ice cream away from me, taking a spoonful herself.

We stay up until midnight watching movies together, just like old times.

-

Leaving my mom was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done.

I know that I'll be back, but still. Having to say goodbye was really hard. I don't want to leave her, especially not after all the information I dumped on her, but I have to. The war could, technically, happen any day now, and Knox and I have to tell Rose that Andor is a traitor. Also, if I'm being honest, staying with her while everything else is happening in Earthe is, one, painful for me, and two, dangerous for me. So I had to go.

As much as I want to dwell on this morning and my mom, once my house is out of sight I steel my emotions a bit more so I won't feel too guilty about leaving. I have more important things to worry about.

"Can't we just transport from here?" I ask as we get back on the bike path and start walking. Knox shakes his head.

"We could, but we run the chance of landing into Cin territory. I don't know where this is on Earthe, but if it's as far as we are from San Francisco, we're probably near Cin borders. We should at least get back to the hotel."

I sigh, quickly pull my hair into a single dutch braid. Then we walk.

And walk.

And walk.

It's tiring, but I didn't want to take any money from my mom for a taxi, so we end up using the stolen bikes to ride all the way down the bike path, then walked on a main road for a while. We put the bikes up by a tree at the trail head with a sorry note. 

By noon we walk down a dirt road a bit, away from any curious eyes, and stop to rest.

"We should find a free bus to ride, jesus my feet hurt," I groan as I sit on a rock, pulling out a water bottle and chugging some.

"Agreed. I mean, we shouldn't have to go too much farther. Maybe a few more miles."

Nodding, I stretch my hands over my head and tilt my head to each side, feeling the slight pull of a stretch.

"I know leaving must not have been easy," Knox says as he sits next to me. "I'm sorry you had to."

"It's... It is what it is," I say, a sad but resigned half-smile on my face.

Knox takes out his water, the bottle crackling loudly, but stops suddenly. He tilts his head slightly, amber eyes narrowing. I know that look.

"What?" I whisper after a few seconds of silence. Knox's face is stony and calculating as he removes his hat, standing. After a minute, I hear it too. A ruffling of the trees that is more than the breeze, more than an animal. I whirl around when black flashes in my vision, through some trees.

Four elves walk out, all black haired and all looking mean-as-hell. I glance at Knox as my emotions whirl. Four more Cin hop out of the trees on Knox's side.

Too many, there are too many.

Of course Cin had to stop us when we're this close. Of fucking course.