CHAPTER TWELVE

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CHAPTER TWELVE

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CHAPTER TWELVE.

Finding the safe houses was the easy part of Liliya's journey. She was able to locate them with relative ease. Her memory served her well and the notes she had made over the years certainly helped her in that department. But getting into them was the difficult part. Sometimes she had to break down the doors, other times she simply couldn't find an entrance and with a few of them, she had discovered that people now lived in them.

It helped narrow her list of locations down but the constant moving left Liliya exhausted. The week didn't seem like it would be enough time and she was quickly becoming burned out. Her motivation was deteriorating and as she lay down in the early morning sun, she increasingly didn't want to get up and go searching.

She missed Aleksander and she missed training with Alina. She missed Arina's stupid comments and training. She missed Roma and Lev weirdly enough. It was stupid and completely ridiculous but she craved the social interaction. It was something she hadn't expected but it was something that had developed. Liliya always tried to rationalise it and used the last year as an excuse. It wasn't the social bonds or the people she missed. It was just being away from the Little Palace. Away from the place she always called home. That's why she was so unmotivated. Not the people. She didn't want to rely on people.

But Liliya eventually got up. She travelled, continued with her quest and as night fell, she set up another camp site. She was in a clearing deep in the wilderness. A village was a few miles away but she didn't want to go there. If Isaak found her, they would be in danger and nobody could be in danger. Liliya had to deal with him on her own. That's the whole point of her leaving the Little Palace. To find him or kill him or just do something useful and not just sit in the Palace.

Liliya finished eating and leant back against the backpack. Her hands resting against her stomach as she stared up at the sky. Naming the stars in her head and tilting her head as she tried to recall the name of the constellations. Aleksander had gone through them with her a few times and she always liked watching them when she was younger so it should be easy. But her mind was too cluttered.

"It's dangerous to camp alone," The voice of Isaak made her jump out of her skin. She shot up, reaching out for the flint and steel she had brought with her but found it gone. Her teeth gritted but she still had the camp-fire burning so she wasn't entirely defenceless. The flames would assist her if she needed it. She just had to be able to concentrate.

"I wanted to find you," Liliya said simply as she moved to stand up. Isaak was shrouded in shadows. They seemed to linger on his skin, flowing off him in the most gracious way. He looked like Kirigan but his shadows were so much more chaotic. They looked wrong and out of place but still somehow perfect.

"Why is that? Have you told your General what I asked?" Isaak asked. Liliya scoffed and shook her head, pulling the kefta closed. Her fingers moved to quickly button it up. She didn't know what Isaak planned to do but she knew that it wouldn't be good, whatever it was.

TORTURED SOUL, general kirigan ✔Where stories live. Discover now