I glanced around, scanning every corner. The two guards who were always at this area's post… nowhere to be seen. Maybe luck was on my side. Or maybe fate wanted to compensate for something.
I took another step. Then another. My feet made almost no sound on the grass. I kept my eyes trained on the tall outer wall. Just a few more minutes and I could reach it. Then the woods. Then freedom.
But the palace… it had its own heartbeat.
And I felt it.
The faint metallic clink of armor from somewhere close.
I froze immediately.
"Elian… shhh," I whispered.
We crouched deeper behind the hedge as a guard walked by, holding a lantern. He yawned, bored, half asleep, dragging his feet lazily. If he turned even slightly… he would see us.
I held my breath. Elian did too, surprisingly perfectly quiet despite being so young.
The guard paused, scratched his chin, sighed… and then walked forward again.
I felt my lungs release the air they were suffocating with.
