They stayed with Agatha for three nights. By the time they left, they were well-fed and well-rested. Agatha had told them to stay longer if they wanted, but both of them were eager to move on.

Before they left, Agatha shot an orb of light into the sky in the direction they would be traveling.

"Just a signal to town. This way they'll know to expect you and if you don't arrive in ten days or so, they'll come look for you," Agatha explained.

"You sent a signal that far?" Maren asked. "I had no idea you could do that!"

Agatha smiled. "You can too. I expect you'll both learn plenty of things you didn't know you could do."

Donovan thought that was likely right.

He was glad to hear that Margot would be in the town when they arrived, and not just because she was a midwife. She was from where they were from and would have at least some idea of how to explain things to them, he hoped. Agatha really didn't seem to. She seemed constantly surprised by things that they hadn't known or understood. Not that they weren't grateful to her, but she was perhaps not the best person to explain things to them.

They said goodbye to Agatha and set out on the trail she had shown them. She was likely right, and they never would have found it without her or some other instructions. It was tucked behind a boulder in such a way as to be nearly invisible until you were right on it. The horses were somewhat skeptical, but it worked out alright.

Agatha had told them they'd be at another spring by the end of the day, and they wouldn't have to worry about finding water the rest of the trip because there were so many springs and such along the way. That came as a tremendous relief. One of the last things Alec told him was how important it was for Maren to drink plenty of water. He was glad to know it shouldn't be an issue.

They passed the time on the journey by speculating what the town might be like or what they would do there. All of it seemed fantastical to Donovan.

"I wonder what sort of job I'll get," he said.

"Oh... I hadn't thought about jobs...yes, you'll need one of those," Maren agreed.

They were not penniless. The Duke had quietly given Donovan a heavy purse full of gold coins before they parted. Donovan had tried to refuse him, but the Duke insisted.

"It isn't mine. It's your military's coin, you might as well take it," the Duke said.

Donovan supposed robbing what was now Kieran's military was not a bad thing.

But in any case, he wanted to avoid spending all the money just on day-to-day living. He'd need a job.

"Perhaps something with horses?" Maren suggested. "Or maybe teaching? You are educated."

Donovan laughed. "I'm educated by kingdom standards. Who knows if I'm educated by Graellian standards?"

"Well, surely there's a school, perhaps we can sit in on the children's history lessons and catch up," Maren said, laughing.

"A reasonable idea, but no, I don't think teaching is the answer. Something with horses is more like it. Or something on a farm? I'm not very knowledgeable about farming, but I'm sure I can learn," Donovan said.

Agatha had told them that the community at large would help them with somewhere to stay and otherwise settle in, so perhaps he could take on some sort of apprenticeship.

"I'm not sure what sort of jobs there are in a small town outside the kingdom," Maren said. "Gods, we don't know anything at all, do we."

He laughed. "Not a thing, but it sounds like we'll have help learning."

"I'll admit, I'm possibly most excited about learning more about my powers," Maren said.

He was both looking forward to that and somewhat intimidated by it. It had been a long time since he had learned something new like that.

"Oh, speaking of learning new things, would you teach me to cook?" Donovan asked.

He could not see Maren's face, but he could tell she found that amusing.

"You want to learn? That isn't 'women's work?'"

"Well, I do expect you'll do most of it, but I'd like to learn. I've never cooked anything in my life. That doesn't seem right, does it?"

"I'll teach you if you like, but I do expect most men haven't cooked much of anything," she said.

"Well, I'm not 'most men,'" he said.

"You are not," Maren said, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

—

Agatha had been right in that the journey was not too difficult. The trail they followed avoided any particularly steep climbs or hazardous drops. It didn't seem to be a direct route, but it did wind around the peaks in a very manageable way.

They kept climbing higher and higher into the mountains for the first few days. It got quite cold at night, and Maren was glad Donovan had practiced with the tent. Of course, it also was a good thing that Maren could keep them warm with her powers.

She started heating almost everything: socks, bedrolls, gloves, even their saddles before they sat in them. None of it was necessary, but it was comforting, and Maren relished the casual use of her powers. She had not used them in day-to-day life since she had lived with Karlyn. Since then, using her powers had most usually been under stressful circumstances, desperately hoping no one saw. It was a relief.

Donovan started using his more too. He smothered their fires and even began unloading the horses with the Darkness. Maren was glad. It felt like the longer they traveled into the mountains, the freer they both were.

"Do you think we should ask someone about the lightning?" Donovan asked one day.

"Hmmm, I don't know," Maren said. "I have no idea if it's a completely everyday phenomenon or something that is bizarre or maybe even taboo. We'll have to see, I think."

"Did I ever tell you about the time I wanted to go to a 'regular tavern?'"

Maren laughed, "You did not, but I hope very much that you do."

He laughed too, "I was twenty or twenty-one, and I got it in my head that I should go to a 'working man's tavern' so I could 'get to know my people.'"

Maren chuckled at that. It sounded very much like something a younger Donovan would do.

"Obviously, I got Alec to join me, and we thought this would be a grand adventure. He managed to bribe one of the drivers to tell us about a tavern in the city."

"The fact that you paid for this information is already suspicious," Maren interjected.

"We were very fortunate he sent us to an actual tavern and not just to be mugged," Donovan said, laughing.

"So, we knew we had to dress appropriately. We dressed in what, we thought, was the least casual attire possible."

"Shirtsleeves and light grey trousers?" Maren guessed.

"Shirtsleeves and light grey trousers," Donovan confirmed. "And in general, it was fine, except that everything was clean and pressed and made from expensive fabrics. Just walking in, we stood out. I think it was something like a place drivers and mechanics liked to go to, so you can probably imagine just how out of place we were.

"Everyone looked at us like we were idiots, but we went up to the bar and ordered what we liked to drink best—brandy."

"Oh, gods." Maren wasn't very knowledgeable about "working men taverns" but imagined they didn't serve much in the way of brandy.

"Precisely, so then the bartender looked at us like we were idiots and then brought us two mugs of beer. Then he told us how much it cost, and I don't remember what it was, but I put two gold coins on the counter, which now I know was probably about ten times more than it cost. So, the bartender looked at us like we were even bigger idiots than he thought and said, 'Boys, I don't know what you think you're doing here, but you need your daddies to come pick you up.'"

They both laughed.

"It's funny now, but we were pretty mortified at the time. I just can't help but wonder if we'll be just as out of place when we get to this town," Donovan said.

Maren sighed. He probably wasn't wrong.

"Likely so. But from what Agatha said, no one has come from the south since before we were born. I think we'd stick out even if we weren't..." she trailed off, unsure how to describe what they were.

"Monarchs in exile?" he suggested.

"It does sound utterly ridiculous, even though I know it's true." She had barely begun to accept being a princess when she became queen.

"Well, it hardly matters, we won't make any friends if we tell everyone to address us as 'Your Majesty.'"

Maren snorted. "Likely not...should we tell this Michael person, though, do you think?"

Donovan sighed. "Agatha said to tell him everything, but I'm not sure. Not everyone would want to harbor us. Maybe we can see Margot first and she can tell us."

"Margot will know who you are—or at least that you're royalty. I'm not sure that it'd be right for her to know and not Michael," Maren said.

"Hmmm, a decent point. I suppose we'll have to see," Donovan said.

—

Donovan thought they were making good time, but with no way to mark how far they were traveling, there was no way to be sure.

They were nearing the end of the mountains, the peaks were gentler, and they seemed to be headed downward more often than not.

On the seventh day, they woke up earlier than they had been. Both of them were anxious to get back on the trail, hoping that would be the day they reached the town.

It wasn't.

The sun was setting, and they were still in the mountains. They got off their horses and reluctantly began to make camp.

"I hate to stop here," Maren said. "I feel like we're so close."

He sighed, "Me too."

Maren was standing at her horse and stopped in the middle of unloading something.

"You know...we could keep going," she said.

"You do make your own sunlight," he said.

So, they got back on their horses and kept going, with a few orbs of Light hovering above them.

"Tell me when you're tired, and we'll stop," Donovan said. He did not want her to push too hard in her condition.

"Darling, I've been tired since I left the palace," she said.

He chuckled. So had he. The rest at Agatha's cabin had helped a great deal, but that seemed a very long time in the past. And truly they needed more like a month of rest and not three days.

Donovan checked his watch. He decided that if they weren't there in an hour, they'd make camp. He knew Maren would carry on until four in the morning if he didn't stop her.

He needn't have worried, though. They turned around a corner in the trail and saw lights in the distance. Not a great number of them, but enough to show there was a town there. They stopped for a few minutes and Donovan rode up alongside Maren. They just stared at it in wonder.

"Gods above," Maren said. "I can't believe we made it."

He couldn't either. He had believed Agatha about the town but seeing it was something else entirely. He was immediately overcome with hope and relief. They made it.

They had very few ideas of what they might find there, but they knew there would be help: someone to help them settle, someone to look after Maren during her pregnancy, and even someone to teach them their powers. And maybe, they would have some help to heal.

They both needed it. Maren had nightmares. He did too. He thought that was something they'd have to deal with for a long time. That was all right, though, they had a long time ahead of them for that.

For the first time since he'd met her, they had no deadlines, no looming threats, and no rules to govern them. They were free and he was glad of it.

"Without a doubt, those are the best lights I've ever seen," he said.

"Actually, I think those are," Maren said and pointed to the town in the distance where it appeared someone traveling with orbs of Light rode out, presumably to meet them.

"You are correct. Those are magnificent."

He turned to her. He was struck by how much he loved her and how happy he was to have her by his side. Their path had gone in a completely unexpected direction, but they were together, and he thought that was the only thing that truly mattered.

"Shall we, my lady?"

She turned to him and smiled.

"As you like, Your Highness."