Chapter 104 – Before Dawn
The fire had burned low, down to a red bed of coals that pulsed with the wind. Kairo had not slept—not really. He sat with his back to the overhang wall, pistol resting loosely in one hand, eyes tracking the shifting shadows beyond the firelight.
Elira stirred beside him, drawing her coat tighter around her. The shouts they'd heard earlier had faded, but she knew better than to think that meant safety. Men like Feretti's didn't turn back; they closed in.
"How long until we move?" her voice was hoarse from the cold and the river's bite.
Kairo glanced at the sky—still ink-black, but a thin bruising of grey was starting to edge the horizon. "Five minutes."
She pushed herself up, testing her legs. They were stiff, heavy, but they held. "You think they crossed?"
"If they tried where we did, they're dead. If they went downstream, they'll lose hours finding a ford." He paused, tightening the strap on his pack. "Either way, we don't give them the chance to catch up."
They doused the coals, the smell of wet ash curling into the cold. The ridge above was jagged, its silhouette black against the dimming stars. Kairo took the lead, moving with silent efficiency, his boots finding paths through frost-slick stone that didn't break underfoot.
As they climbed, Elira's thoughts drifted to the stranger from the village—the one who claimed to hate Feretti enough to help them. She didn't trust him, but a sliver of unease curled in her chest. If he'd been telling the truth, then Feretti already knew more than he should.
Halfway up the ridge, Kairo stopped so abruptly she nearly collided with him. His hand lifted in a silent command for stillness. Ahead, the faint scrape of metal against stone cut through the wind. Not the natural sound of rockfall—this was deliberate.
Kairo crouched, scanning the crest. Against the paling sky, a figure moved—low, deliberate, rifle in hand.
"Scout," he murmured, almost to himself. "Feretti's or freelance."
Elira's fingers found her dagger instinctively. "What's the plan?"
"Same as always," he said quietly. "Don't get seen. And if you do—" he gave her a look sharp enough to cut—"don't miss."
They moved like shadows, hugging the rock face, letting the wind swallow their sound. But as they neared the top, the scout's head turned—just slightly, but enough.
The rifle came up.
Kairo moved faster than thought, slamming into the man's side. The shot went wide, echoing off the ridge in a crack that would carry for miles. The two men hit the ground hard, grappling, boots sliding on frost.
Elira darted forward, her blade flashing in the early light. But Kairo had already wrenched the rifle away, driving its butt into the scout's jaw with a sickening crunch. The man went limp.
Kairo dropped him face-down in the snow, chest heaving. "He wasn't alone," he said flatly. "That shot was an invitation."
From somewhere beyond the ridge came the faint but rising sound of voices—more than a few, moving fast.
Elira's pulse hammered. "Then we run."
They did—over the crest, down the far side where the slope turned treacherous and narrow. The wind was sharper here, clawing at their faces, but it carried the voices away behind them.
At the base of the slope, a frozen river wound through the valley, its surface fractured with jagged lines of ice. Kairo slowed just enough to scan the terrain.
"There," he pointed—a narrow gap between two cliff walls. "It'll bottleneck them if they follow."
They slipped inside, the walls closing in overhead until the light thinned to a pale ribbon. The ground here was uneven, littered with ice-crusted stones, but Kairo's pace didn't falter. He moved like a man who knew exactly where he was going.
After several hundred yards, the path opened into a hollow. A derelict cabin leaned against the cliff, half its roof caved under snow.
"This wasn't on the map," Elira said, breath fogging in the cold.
"Neither was the river," Kairo replied. "But it'll do."
Inside, the air was stale with rot and dust. Kairo checked each corner, each window, before motioning her inside.
"We'll rest here," he said. "Two hours. Then we move before they close the gap."
Elira settled onto the floor, her back against the wall. "And the stranger?" she asked. "Do you think he's still following us?"
Kairo's gaze flicked to the door, then back to her. "If he is… he's closer than Feretti's men."
And for the first time, Elira wondered which one of them she feared more.