The alarms rang in my ears as I sped down the cobblestone street, my boots hitting the ground with a loud clunk. Stupid armor. I should've left it behind. They'd find me easily- I was weak, unused to heavy armor after five months of going without it.

But I couldn't let that thought slow me down. I had planned this escape since the very beginning. Getting out of there was my goal, and I'd finally reached it.

Dim torchlight lit my path. Exestow was a dark city, even during the day. Surprisingly, dragons inhabited it and not vampires. If I timed it right, I could make my escape through Mintmore, then flee into the woods.

Three days. Three days of alarms, three days to find my way back to Cherryagar. That was, even if camp hadn't moved again.

I ducked into a dark alley, just in time to watch the armored guards run past. So close. If I had lingered in the street one second longer... I shook my head.

Focus, Briar.

Staying in the dragon kingdom for too long was not a good idea, especially since most of the locals would turn me in for a single crust of bread. And I especially didn't want the Imperial family to catch me. Aurora Blackwell would want nothing else than to see me locked up for the next few centuries.

Or even worse, she'd hand me over to her future daughter-in-law. Amira Truitt was brutal, calculating. I would be sent home in a box after she was finished with me.

Once I was certain that the guards were gone, I took off down another street. Nightfall would only last a few more hours, and I had a long trip ahead of me.

If I could just find Dante, I could stay in his house for a bit. Two years ago, Dante Driscoll had been discharged from the battlefield. He'd broken his collarbone and both legs fighting. Also known as he took the coward's' way out and I helped him.

Last I'd heard, he'd bought a house under the cliffs and was the picture of perfect health. We'd been close friends, so there was a good chance he'd stick with my side of things.

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I reached the cliffs at dawn, sluggish and unsure of whether my plan would work. Dante's house was easy to find, the only one on the beach. Made of weather resistant stones, it easily repelled unwanted ocean water.

Glancing behind me to make sure no one had tailed me, I knocked on the door. Once, twice, three times, hoping he'd open the door. The alarms, although pretty far behind me, kept wailing in my ears.

Luckily for me, the door opened. He seemed even taller than I remembered, and his hair was longer. Reaching his waist, Dante's blue and silver hair was kept in a ponytail.

"Briar? What on earth-"

I cut him off, immediately darting inside. "No time to talk. I have to hide."

"We've been over this, Bri. You can't just barge into someone's house and demand that you hide them."

"Yeah, well, you're not just someone. You're my friend."

Dante heaved a sigh, which I took to mean that he know that I was right. I always was, except for the occasion where I was wrong. Also known as ninety five percent of the time.

Since I had taken over the couch, Dante leaned against the wall. "Alright, why exactly are you here? If I know you well enough, you'd only come and seek me out when you need a favor."

"Oh, come on, it's not only when I need a favor.."

"Three years ago. You dragged me out of a sparring session because you needed help fishing Cook's favorite ladle out of the river."

"Yeah, but-"

"Two years ago. Interrupted me when I was talking to the head of our camp because Foxglove's armor had been knocked into the well."

"And then there's five months ago. You sent me a scroll saying you needed my help because your platoon had been captured. I wrote you back and you never responded."

"That's because my rescue mission failed and I ended up there with them." I interrupted, crossing my arms. "I just escaped today."

Dante froze, looking out the window for a moment. "Those alarms... Are they for you?"

"Yep!"

"That's nothing to be proud of." He began moving around the room, shutting curtains and locking the front door. "Briar, you don't know how serious this is. No one has gotten out of Painllynn alive."

Painllynn. A holding camp for those of us who had been captured on enemy lines. Kitsunes, minor fae, and ogres mainly occupied the cells. Alarms never went off for them. They weren't important.

But a general of the Seelie army? Now that was a prize worth keeping. Five months kept in a dark, underground cell had been long enough. I had bided my time, making sure that I would get out and find my way back.

"They can't keep me locked up for long. They should've known that. Most dragons aren't that smart, Dante, especially not the Goldtalons."

Dante just sighed, pacing around. "They'll stop by sooner or later. You'll need to hide." Moving his table, he lifted up a rug. "I have space in the cellar, under the bags of potatoes. If they have a sniffer with them, the potatoes should mask your scent."

I nodded, hopping down the trapdoor. There was a ladder, I didn't have enough time to scale down that thing. It was survival mode. Go, go, go. The guards could appear at any moment now. Every second was crucial to my freedom.

The potato sacks were all piled up in a corner. Crawling towards them, I tried to stay as silent as I could. Not an easy feat while wearing armor. Maybe I should've downgraded to leather or chainmail.

Just as soon as I had tugged the last potato sack over my face, hiding me from view, I heard the front door slam open from upstairs.

"Where is she?" A gruff voice demanded. I couldn't place it, my hearing was muffled from all the sacks I hid under.

"Where is who?" Dante's voice replied. He sounded calm, collected, as if he had nothing to hide. And why shouldn't he? We hadn't had contact until now. For all they knew, we hadn't spoken since the day he'd been dismissed.

"You know who we're talking about. The fae girl."

"Which fae girl? I happen to know several of those." He was playing for time.

"We don't have the time for your games, Driscoll." Another voice snapped. "Silver hair, green eyes, short and freckled."

"Are you telling me you're looking for Briar? I haven't seen her in years." Dante snorted. "Why would I be shielding her in my house? As far as I'm concerned, she's dead."

Their voices, the long argument, blurred together in my ears. I couldn't concentrate on anything anymore. I was just too tired. Eventually my eyelids droop, and I let sleep take me.

The room was filled with a pale green light, floating in through the gauzy curtains. A soft breeze blew through the room, leaving it not too cold and not too hot.

I sat on a bed, decorated in yet again that pale green, picking at the silver embroidery. Everything seemed to be decked out in these colors. Including the desk, which I was pretty sure had been embossed with peridot.

Three bookshelves sat on the other end of the room, collecting dust. Whoever lived here clearly hadn't touched them in a while. Years, even.

Standing up, I walked over to the window, deciding that since I was here I might as well check out the view. A gorgeous garden awaited down below, with perfectly trimmed hedges and rows upon rows of flowers. Honeysuckle vines could be seen stretching up the wall, able to be picked from the room.

The more I looked around, the more familiar things seemed. Had I been here before? Maybe. Yes.

But before I could remember why or how, I was shaken awake.

"Briar!" Dante hissed, shaking me by the shoulders again. "Get up!"

"Ten more minutes." I mumbled lazily, rolling over.

"Briar Pearlene-"

He didn't have a chance to finish his sentence. I immediately shot up. "Oh no. Not the full name."

"Yes, the full name." He glared. "Get up. The guards are gone and I'm assuming you want to find the others."

"Well duh."

"Then hurry up. We have a long journey ahead of us."

Dante headed up the trapdoor, beckoning for me to follow him. Crawling out from the potato sacks, I stretched, procrastinating as much as I could. After all, I'd just woken up. The least he could do was offer me a cup of coffee or give me a few seconds to completely wake up.

"Briar, hurry up!" He called.

Knowing how much it would annoy him, I took my dear, sweet time going up that ladder. In my defense, it was dark and I couldn't see where I was going. Dante would see through that excuse, however. He always did.