Obsidian caught his satchel. He had almost forgotten about it. So much had happened between Everly waking in the forest and now. He nodded to Kai, helping Everly up from where she sat on the bed, "Let's go."

They followed Kai out of the building, snaking through the narrow pathways once more, the two of them flanking Everly as they retreated. The village hummed with people rushing about, shouting that the prisoners had escaped. They hurried into the dense forest that surrounded the town.

"This way," Kai whispered, and they followed him on a path that had no evidence of existing aside from his confident stride.

"I know you're out there, Kai!" Paul's voice shouted out. "You get back here right now with the prisoners!" His voice carried to them, closer than Obsidian was comfortable with.

Kai only turned to them briefly, placing a finger over his lips as he continued leading them onward.

"Boy, you best bring 'em back now or we'll take it up with your grandma! She probably ain't too keen on takin' their place!" Paul threatened, but Kai's pace didn't waver.

Everly tripped, her footsteps slowing with hesitation. Obsidian grabbed her, forcing her to keep moving forward. Her face protesting as tears glistened in her eyes.

"No," he silently mouthed.

The tears spilled down her cheeks as she reluctantly continued forward.

They ran far longer than Obsidian had ever run in his entire life. Physical education had been mandatory in the city, but only minimally so. His legs and lungs burned with every step forward.

For a time, they had zigzagged through the forest only to end up following the river that ran alongside the village. "We have to swim across," Kai instructed, coming to stop at the edge of the water.

Obsidian shook his head. "I don't know how to swim," he confessed.

Everly grabbed his hand, "It's okay, just keep kicking your legs and I'll help you across."

He nodded.

Kai pulled off his backpack and held it above his head, walking into the depths of the river until the water rose to his chin and he had to swim one handedly.

Everly and Obsidian followed. The water rose to their chins and Obsidian began to kick wildly at the water to keep afloat. Everly tugged at his hand, pulling him forward, but the force of the water pulled at him harder. His head dunking under water as her grip on his hand slipped loose. He struggled against the current, trying to kick and pull himself above the surface but it was useless. Water filled his satchel, weighing it down like a sack of bricks. The current pushed and pulled him in circles, and he lost sight of which direction he needed to go. A large rock collided with his side and forced all the air from his lungs. He choked and spat at the water that rushed into his mouth and nose. Panic overtook him as he squeezed his eyes shut in disbelief. He wanted to cry out. He was supposed to help Everly. He wasn't supposed to die here. He had to help Everly.

Blackness edged his vision. A forceful tug grabbed him, pulling him into the spiraling darkness.

-

"Obsidian!"

His eyes fought to open as he gagged and coughed up the water that choked him.

"Obsidian," Everly's voice cried out. She held his head in her lap, sitting on the shore of the river. Water dripped from her face, splashing down on him as he looked into her reddened eyes. "I'm so sorry, Obsidian. The current was stronger than I thought." She sniffled and Obsidian realized not all the water that dripped from her face had come from the river.

He put his hand on hers where it cradled his face.

"He'll be fine," Kai assured, wringing water from his shirt before putting it back on.

Everly wiped at her nose, "Thank you."

"Ya, well, don't thank me yet. We gotta keep moving. We're further downstream than we should be." He grabbed his bag and pulled it over his shoulders. "Let's go," he ordered.

She nodded, helping Obsidian to sit up. "Are you okay?"

Obsidian weakly smiled, "Yes, I'll be fine," although his lungs now ached more than they had when they were running. He emptied the water from his shoes before putting them on again and standing. "Let's go," he gestured for her to follow Kai, following behind her himself.

They made their way upstream to where Kai had intended them to cross over. The path was not an easy one to traverse. Boulders and trees edged the river in a hazardous route that they stumbled and climbed over. Each of them cutting and scraping their bodies against the craggy edge of the river. The sky above began to darken as they cut into the forest on the hidden path only Kai knew. All of them too tired to speak.

Before the sky could completely darken, Kai stopped them at a hollowed-out tree stump, large enough to duck into. He tossed his bag in and invited them to follow. "It'll be a tight squeeze. It's usually just me," he admitted, "but we can't go any further until it's light out again. This'll at least keep us safe from any beasts tonight."

They piled in, and Obsidian found that Kai hadn't lied, there was very little room for all three of them. However much he wanted to be close to Everly, he found that he did not want Kai as close to her. But it was unavoidable in the space provided. They each struggled to find a comfortable, all be it awkward, way to fit.

When they finally settled into a tight circle, Everly cleared her throat to speak, "So, you come here often?" Her face turning bright red as she stammered, "I mean, you make this trip a lot for your town, all by yourself?"

Obsidian watched as Kai beamed, answering her, "Yeah. Well, it used to be me and my dad before he died. Our family has been Runners for the town for generations. My Nan's rusty but she could probably figure it out."

"Oh," she furrowed her brow, "she mentioned your town does that to avoid the Regent finding you. It sounds like the whole town thinks I might help him do that." She stared into her lap at her folded hands.

"Not you," Obsidian spoke up, "me."

She shook her head, "They don't know I'm not from the city." She paused, "I don't know I'm not from the city. I still don't have all my memory back. And now they have Nanette."

Kai placed a hand over her hers and squeezed, "My Nan's gonna be fine. My town is afraid of everything. Those people have never left the comfort of their high horses. Sure, the Outlands are chalk full of beasties and things that go bump in the night, but the Regent has never found us before and he's not gonna find us now just 'cuz you're here."

Obsidian placed a hand on Everly's shoulder, drawing her gaze to his, "The Regent isn't even looking. He's not using you to find them or anyone else." He wanted to hold her gaze, but it had grown too painful. He looked away, pulling his hands into his lap. He swallowed hard, watching his hands rub together as he spoke, "If he's looking for anyone, it's me. I'm expected back in my city in less than two weeks to complete the union between myself and my assigned partner." His heart raced as he imagined Everly's face twisting in disgust. He couldn't bear to look at her as he waited for her to say anything.

"Oh," her voice was quiet.

Kai laughed, "So you're engaged?" His voice was incredulous, much to Obsidian's irritation.

Engaged. He had read the term in his books. It went right along with husbands and wives. "I suppose in the Earth sense, I have an arranged marriage," he admitted.

The three of them sat in silence. Outside, sounds echoed throughout the forest. Obsidian could hear a slow wind rustle the leaves and the distant call of a bird. Although he wished for anything to break the silence, he was thankful he could not hear any evidence of the people who sought them or the beasts that surely hunted in the night.

Everly cleared her voice again, "So, Kai, your grandma also mentioned some old story about a girl encased in glass. Let me guess, she ate an apple and fell into a near-death sleep?" She softly laughed, but the sound felt forced to Obsidian.

He narrowed his eyes at her, searching her face for what it was that seemed off. He'd read the story she referenced. The one he most likened to her. Why would she want to hear an old Earth fairytale?

"Are you in the mood to tell us a bedtime story? She said you could tell me all about it," she pressed, turning her full-bodied attention to Kai.

The world outside was beginning to glow with the light of the waking stars and Obsidian could see a shade of pink warm Kai's face as he answered, "Absolutely."

Everly pulled her knees to her chest and rested her face against them, waiting for Kai to speak.

It took every ounce of restraint for Obsidian to remain inside the safety of the hallowed-out tree with them.

"Well," Kai began, swallowing and clearing his throat sheepishly, "growing up, the elders in my village liked to tell a story that they swear had been passed to them for generations. It begins with a war. They say that a long time ago, people stood up to the Regent. Whole cities rebelled, but . . . in the end, the Regent won. Before the last of the rebels fell, an Edenite came to them with a prophecy."

"What's an Edenite?" Everly interrupted.

"The Edenites are creatures who've been twisted and warped by deep unexplored recesses of Eden to look like humanoid bugs and beasts. Like fairies," he smiled coyly.

Everly remembered vague stories of the fae who trapped humans in their realm with food and drink. Creatures who dealt out wonderous gifts for a devastating price.

"They're a myth," Obsidian answered. They had to be. Fairies. He recalled the creature that spoke to him when he'd found Everly. Just a mirage he'd suffered from dehydration and disorientation from his accident.

Kai scoffed, "Like Outlanders and the girl in the glass, city boy? I think we've proved plenty the Regent doesn't teach you people much."

Obsidian clenched his jaw. His glare softening as Everly looked to him. Her eyes sad and empathetic. He returned to staring into his lap.

"Anyway," Kai continued, "an Edenite came to the rebels and told them that deep in the forest there was a girl, sleeping in a glass case, who would wake someday and be the key to defeating the Regent. Some of the rebels believed in the Edenite. They waited. They built villages hidden away from the Regent. They passed down the story of the girl in glass." Kai looked up through the broken shaft of the tree into the inky depths of the night sky. "Then they lost hope. Decided the story was simply that, a story."

Everly was expecting his face to fall sullen but instead he smiled.

"But I found you," he exclaimed, looking down at his hands in giddy disbelief. "It was about six years ago. I was learning to be a Runner. I got lost in the forest for a week. Thought I was gonna die," he chuckled softly. "I was getting pretty delirious. Kept hearing a voice calling out. Thought it might be my dad looking for me at first. Didn't know what to do, so I just kept following it. Eventually it led me to you," he met Everly's gaze and held it. "You were covered in ice. Frozen and sleeping. You looked so peaceful. So beautiful. It was just like a fairytale."

Everly blushed. The memory of true love's kiss waking a sleeping princess came to mind. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed being likened to a damsel in distress. Although Kai would've been just a young teen then. She looked to her knees, still holding them tight to her chest.

Kai cleared his voice and continued, "I passed out shortly after finding you. Woke up a hell of a lot closer to my village than I'd been. Managed to stumble back to my house before passing out again. When I woke up again, I tried telling everyone what I'd seen. Only my Nan believed me."

Their small hiding place fell silent. A strong gust of wind whistled above their heads through the craggy broken ceiling. In the distance, a feral howling echoed. The sound sending a shiver down each of their spines. Reminding them that they were indeed amongst the wilderness of the Outlands.

Kai sighed. "I honestly started to believe I'd imagined it," he admitted. "But then here you are."

The key to defeating the Regent. Everly pressed her eyes to her knees to hide the tears.

When she didn't respond, Obsidian spoke up, "I think it's time we get some sleep while we can." He watched Kai who watched Everly with a tense focus, as if he were on the precipice of reaching out for her. "Don't you think so, Kai?"

Kai looked up and his face darkened, "Sure."

The night air that trickled in from the entrance and above them was cool. It gently brushed each of them, but it was hardly felt. Inside, they each burned with anger, confusion, yearning. Unable to voice such things in one another's company.