Castle of Flame

Chapter Thirteen: The City of Dreams

It was a restless night. They took turns watching Hunter, but even when Ren was supposed to be sleeping, she found herself tossing and turning on the hard ground, visions of crows and cat-faced monsters floating to her out of the darkness. Eventually, though, the sun rose, lighting up the trees around them with a golden glow, and Hunter regained consciousness.

"What are you all staring at me for?" he said upon opening his eyes to find the four of them grouped around him. Kerra breathed his name and cupped his face in her hands. Averting her eyes, Ren saw Elliott and Laric exchange an amused glance before Laric's expression changed to a glare and Elliott looked away, wincing.

They got Hunter to eat some of the food they had collected from Douglas's house and then made their way out of the forest. To their relief, the cars were still there, and they piled into the working one, Laric and Kerra helping Hunter into the backseat while Elliott took the front. Then they were off, cruising along the now-busy autobahn. Ren was still exhausted, but the presence of Elliott and Laric in the car brought her a feeling of peace that she hadn't experienced since their separation.

"Two hours to Vienna," announced Kerra. "I don't know about you guys, but I think we need to rest before we face Corvus."

Ren yawned. "Yeah, let's find a place to get some sleep. We still have two days before the queen is due to die. We can go out tonight and try to find out where Corvus is, and see if we can scope it out and make a plan." She saw Laric open his mouth as though to protest in the rearview mirror, and she realized that he might be bothered by her acting like the leader, now that they were all reunited. But Laric closed his mouth and went back to staring out the window.

When they arrived in Vienna, Ren pulled the car into a space outside a hostel, and they clambered out. Ren talked the man at the front desk into renting them a whole room, and letting them check in early even though it was only eight o'clock in the morning. Ren spent half an hour in the showers, washing away dirt and blood, and she changed the bandage on her forehead.

When Ren returned to the room, she found Kerra and Laric fussing over Hunter while Elliott sat on the opposite bunk, watching them.

"Hey Kerra, have you heard from Rosa? Did they make it back to Hanover with the fairies?" Ren sat down next to her brother, and Kerra pulled out her phone and tapped at it.

"What fairies? Who's Rosa?" asked Elliott.

Ren recounted the story of meeting and teaming up with Rosa and Evy and battling the adherents.

"Impressive," said Laric. "You certainly handled them much better than we did."

Kerra looked up from her phone. "Yeah, Rosa says they're all okay." She turned back to Hunter. Laric stood, his face twisting into a pained expression as his gaze passed over Elliott, and went to the opposite side of the room, where he climbed onto a top bunk and lay down. Ren frowned and leaned in to whisper to Elliott.

"Did something happen with you and Laric?"

Elliott sighed and took her by the arm, dragging her into the hallway. "I did a very stupid thing." He studied the floor.

"What?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Elliott turned back towards the door, and Ren caught him and pulled him back.

"Yes, you obviously do, or you wouldn't have brought me out here. Ell, you tell me everything. What is it?"

He sighed. "No, I don't tell you everything."

Ren felt a pang of sadness. "Okay, do you want me to guess? Does Laric have feelings for you?"

Elliott sputtered, "No! Well, yes, I suppose so, but that's not the point."