They'd only stayed for four days before Rina decided it was time for them to go. It might not be long enough, but she didn't trust that Sir Jonin had stopped searching for them. Isiah's idea to wait out had been a good one, but there was always a chance that it wouldn't work. For Rina, that chance was growing bigger and bigger with every passing day.

As the hours crawled by, she found herself longing for home more and more. War would reach them soon and she needed to be there to help them. Going towards the border meant going back the way they came, which meant there was a possibility that they could run into Sir Jonin again. She wasn't sure if she could cast another illusion to hold him off. The last time, they had only escaped through sheer luck.

Jonin could have already been called back to Ishmar to help with the war. He was the Captain of Harudan's Guard, after all, he would need to be there. The question was, had that already happened, or was he still searching for her? There was no way of knowing. All she could do was pray to Sol and Lune and hope that she made it to the border without complication.

The Father had been kind enough to supply them with food from his tiny farm beyond the garden. He had a few gold pieces saved up, old and faded, but they could still be used. There weren't many, but it would hopefully be enough to get them where they needed to go. If they were careful, they would be able to stay in villages and buy food without repeating what happened in the last village.

Isiah had quietly packed everything in their bags that morning. She hadn't spoken much to him since they arrived, mostly because he'd been busy speaking to the Father. She could understand it, the Sanctum was something new to him, he'd want to learn everything he could about it.

Had he told the Father about the person he'd killed? Part of her itched to ask, but she knew it wouldn't end well. It would be insensitive, but she was still curious. The Old Gods didn't condone violence, as far as she knew. What would the Father or the Mother say if they knew one of their apprentice monks had killed a man?

Seeing as the Father was still treating them with the same odd kindness he had shown them after they'd explained what they were doing there, it was apparent that Isiah hadn't said a word about the guard he'd killed. Rina could understand it. She wasn't exactly proud of herself for what she'd done either, but if she hadn't done it, she would be dead.

They sat in the sitting room while the Father made breakfast in the kitchen nearby. Nerin was still asleep last she had checked. He didn't need to be awake just yet. Rina handed Isiah her spare jacket to pack away and frowned at him. "Are you alright?" she asked.

He looked at her as if he was only just realising she was in the room. "I'm fine," he said and looked back down at the rucksacks. "Just tired." It didn't sound like the truth, but it certainly looked like it. There were dark bags under his eyes and his movements were sluggish.

"You should get some more sleep then. We still have a couple more hours before we leave," she said. Part of her was tempted to say they could stay another day. They wouldn't get far with Isiah that exhausted, but they needed to go.

Isiah shook his head. "I can't sleep. My mind won't be quiet," he replied, his voice so quiet that she almost didn't hear him. "There's so much I didn't know, so much to learn. Why didn't they tell me?"

She frowned, her eyebrows knitting together tightly. "Maybe they didn't know, Isiah. Things get lost in translation and it's been a long time since your religion was the dominant one in Vishera," she said as gently as she could. She sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What have you learned? Do you want to talk about it."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Does that matter?"

Isiah stayed silent for a minute. "No, I suppose not," he whispered and leaned back in the chair. "The Father told me about the mural out in the garden, I'm sure you've seen it. There's so much about the Beast I- We didn't know. He told me that a long time ago, when the Gods still walked among us, Ishin disappeared. The others stayed, but Ishin vanished from the realm as if they'd never been there at all."

"Well, what does that mean?" she asked. The Old Gods were strange. The more she learned about them, the more the religion confused her. Their traditions weren't all that different, but everything about them was so complex, especially the Beast that was Promised. Her religion had nothing like it. Their safety was determined by their actions and the will of the Gods.

Isiah gave her a defeated shrug. "I don't know," he said. "According to the Father, some people believed they no longer loved us, some believe they died. I don't know which is the truth. I don't know much of anything. I didn't even know there was a Father! I just thought we had the Mother and that was it!"

Rina winced. She'd never been very good at comforting people when they were emotional. Isiah wasn't crying, but it seemed like a close thing. "That's not your fault. The Mother obviously knew the Father existed, otherwise she never would have told you of this place. This place is meant to be sacred, right? Maybe she didn't want people swarming it and ruining it."

"I suppose that makes sense. I just wish I'd known. I always paid attention during the faith classes, but they never mentioned anything like this," he said and sighed, his eyes still fixed on the bags. "It's all so overwhelming."

She couldn't imagine it. She knew all there was to know about Sol and Lune. They'd come together one day to create two races in their own images, granted them powers, and separated to watch over them every second of the day. There wasn't much to know. Her religion was a simple one. The Gods gave them few rules to follow and most people followed them without issue.

She didn't get a chance to say anything when the door opened with a loud creak. The Father wheeled in a little cart, bowls of porridge shaking as it rattled. Nerin trailed in behind him, a sleepy smile on his face.

"Eat up," the Father ordered as he handed them the bowls. "You have a long journey ahead of you." They followed his orders in silence, the boys wolfing down their food as if they hadn't eaten properly in days. Rina took it slower, eating with the grace that had been drilled into her from birth.

Isiah finished packing the bags not long after that and before the sun had completely risen, the small group stood by the fountain outside. It would be another freezing day. They wouldn't see the sun completely for some time, days if they were unlucky. But Nerin had fyrite. Once they left the valley, they would be alright.

Rina curtseyed at the Father. "Thank you for allowing us to stay, Father. We are immensely grateful," she said.

The old man waved her away with a flick of his cane. "The Mother sent you this way. It is my duty to do as she asks, even here," he replied. The Mother hadn't sent her or Nerin, but it didn't seem to matter to the Father. She was grateful for his kindness. He could have easily asked them to leave the minute they finished telling him everything.

"I am pleased to have served you, Father," Isiah said as he bowed. "May you stay safe, whatever may come." Nerin mumbled something to the Father that Rina could hear properly and wandered over to her and Isiah. He still looked tired, but not as much as Isiah.

With bags heavy on their backs, the trio took the first few steps away from the Sanctum. Staying there had been a good idea, despite Jonin being able to track their scent, but it was time to go back. Some things were more important than safety and seclusion.

They were barely a few feet away when the figures appeared from behind the rocks and fallen trees. There were no horses or dogs this time to give away their location, no sign that they'd ever been there. But there they were, stalking forward with their hands on the hilts of their blades and sadistic smirks on their faces.

Rina stepped back with a gasp and pulled Isiah with her, the first one she could get her hands on. Nerin stumbled backwards, tripped on a rock and fell to the ground with a grunt. She rushed to help him up, never once taking her eyes off Sir Jonin and his group of guards and mercenaries.

"Who are you?" the Father boomed from behind them. Sir Jonin said nothing as the old man hobbled forward, his cane thudding loudly against the stone. "I said, who are you?"

Sir Jonin pulled off his helmet, revealing short brown hair and piercing red eyes. "Sir Jonin, Captain of King Harudan Oshana's Guard," he said with a voice like gravel.

Rina continued to move backwards as the Father moved forward, reaching out with his cane to poke Jonin in the chest. "And what is the Captain of the King's Guard doing so far from Ishmar?" he asked pointedly.

Jonin swatted the cane away and locked eyes with Rina. "They are traitors to the crown. The King sent me to deal with them and return his Highness, Prince Nerin, home." How long had he been there, waiting for them to come out? It could have been days or hours. None of them had had any idea that they'd ever been there.

The Father looked over his shoulder at them and for a second, Rina was sure he would let Jonin take them. "That's not the way I heard things," he replied.

Jonin placed his helmet back on his head and gestured for his little group to move closer. There were too many of them for Rina to fight against. Twelve, maybe as much as fifteen. They'd swarm her in an instant, she wouldn't stand a chance. All they could do was run and pray that they would make it. She already knew they wouldn't.

"You dare stand against the crown, old man?" the Captain snarled. Far too slowly, the trio moved backwards until the back of Rina's legs hit the broken fountain.

The Father seemed unfazed by Jonin's anger. "These children have done nothing, Sir. Leave now, you're not taking them anywhere," he ordered.

Sir Jonin made a noise and in a flash, his sword was in his hand and sinking through the Father's stomach. The tip of it came out the old man's back, dripping with thick blood. Isiah let out a strangled scream as Rina leapt into action, pulling both him and Nerin towards the open doors of the Sanctum.

"After them!" Jonin roared as he pulled his sword out with a wet squelch. The Father dropped the ground without a sound and was quickly swallowed by the group of knights rushing forward.

Rina rushed Nerin towards Isiah and the door, her other hand moving to rest of the hilt of her sword. "Go! Go! Go!" she screamed. They were too slow, far too slow. They weren't going to make it, wherever it was. Running was the only thing they could do, the only thing that would prolong their death.

If they made it out of the Sanctum, they would have to race towards the valley exit or they'd never escape Jonin and his group. It sounded almost impossible, but she had to try. She steeled herself for what was to come and shoved open the door to the hallway. The pounding footsteps of their attackers were loud in her ears.

Nerin was just ahead of her, constantly checking over his shoulder for Jonin and the others. Their footsteps were so loud that it was overwhelming, but Rina couldn't tell if they were getting closer. There were too many of them for her to tell.

She cried out when a hand grabbed ahold of her hood and flicked her blade out before she could register it. The hand was gone in an instant and a groan of pain echoed off the stone walls. When she pulled it back towards her, the tip of it was covered in deep red blood.

Isiah gave her a horrified look but didn't stop running. The hallway seemed longer than it ever had, but at the same time, far too short. Nerin pushed the door open and she winced at the bright morning light. All they had left was to make across the gardens. They could climb up the walls and escape that way.

There had been easy footholds near the mural. Even Nerin would be able to climb them. That meant the knights would too, but their armour would hopefully weigh them down. It would give them enough time to escape up the mountains. Jonin no longer had the dogs and they would struggle to climb the steep rocks. He wouldn't be able to trace their scent. That was if they even made it in the first place.

"The mural," she hissed to them. "Climb the rocks."

Over her shoulder, Sir Jonin was catching up. There was a sinister smirk on his face that made her gulp, the air like knives in her throat. The others weren't far behind him and in the distance, a pool of blood and a body on the stone floor. One down, but too many more to go.

They reached the mural faster than she had expected, Isiah leading the pack. She cried out when the ground began to rumble, the loose rocks on the ground shaking around her feet. She wanted to stop and figure out what was going on, but that would mean her death, even if their attackers were as confused as she was.

Before her, the mural disappeared, the stone opening wide to reveal a black chasm. She didn't waste a minute thinking about what it was, it didn't matter; she grabbed Nerin by the hand and pushed as Isiah with the hilt of her sword. The darkness rose to meet them and for a second it terrified her, but she pushed forward anyway.

She didn't stop until they were safely in the dark confines of the cave, her heavy steps echoing loudly off walls that she couldn't see. The light outside called to her and she turned to watch Sir Jonin and the others, her breaths coming out in harsh pants.

They were still a fair distance away when the gap that had opened in the cliff face began to close. Nerin and Isiah called out to her, but their cries went unanswered. She watched with a strange satisfaction as the gap grew smaller and smaller. The last thing she saw was Sir Jonin's snarling face before the cave was bathed in darkness.