To my shock, they did, their bodies slinking down as if in shame, their mouths closed, their fangs now hidden.
I started to dimly recall that Cassarya had always had a close connection with the nahashim. I associated them so much with Lethea, and then Imperator Hart, I’d forgotten their origins.
Cassarya had been the observant one, the one with big eyes who could see far more than the other Guardians. The snakes had always protected Cassarya. And because of her, they’d protected all the Guardians when we’d fallen.
“Vra,” she commanded.
And then all at once, the snakes slithered away.
My arms slowly began to feel like my own again and I could take a step without pain. Imperator Hart’s orders were loosening—which meant wherever Rhyan had taken him, it was far enough to break the hold. Aiden and Dario started to shake off Imperator Hart’s orders behind me.
Slowly, everyone came together, looking a little stunned, and huddled in a circle as Meera seemed to finally come back to herself.
“Are we … um … going to talk about what just happened?” Galen asked. He looked slightly afraid of Meera.
“Later,” Aiden said. “I don’t think I really want to know, not just yet.”
Then we were silent until Jules was the one to ask, “Where’s Rhyan?”
Now that the threat was over, and I’d had a minute to calm down, my pulse was rising again, worried. He’d gotten his father away—far away enough from us to undo his command. And I was sure wherever they were, he was fine. He was stronger than his father, a better fighter. And he wasunbound—at full strength. When he was like that, he was undefeatable.
But his strength also depended on his energy, on how far he’d traveled and how quickly he could recover. He couldn’t jump too far at once, and not while carrying his father. He might not have known how far he had to go to save us, and might have made several jumps. I could see that happening. As we got safer, he would grow weaker.
My stomach was twisting, and more worries plagued my imagination with every second he did not reappear. He could have traveled to the wrong spot—and been seen by soturi. Or he could have stumbled when they’d landed—just enough for his father to get the upper hand.
But even if that happened, Rhyan would fight. He’d get away. He’d come back. Of course, he would. He knew exactly where we were. We just had to give him time.
“It takes a little for him to recover, right?” Dario asked. “When he … travels?”
I nodded. “He needs some recovery time usually.”
“How long does that take?” Tristan asked.
I shook my head. “Um. Depends how far he went.”
“And what happened to him when he got there,” Dario said, his voice darkening.
The backs of my eyes burned.
“He’ll be okay,” Aiden said. But he didn’t sound convinced.
Still, I nodded vigorously. He would be. “We’ll just give him some time. Wait here. The nahashim are gone. And it was just his father, no other soturi. So …”
“What about the Emperor?” Jules asked.
“Um.” My voice shook.
“Lyr, I want to find Rhyan, too,” she said. “But … we can’t assume Imperator Hart was working alone. They never fucking are. Kormac wolves could be marching on Thene right now. And it wouldn’t be the first time.”
“You’re in charge,” Dario said. “What do you want to do? We can keep running, get Jules and Galen out of here. Or wait for him?”
“We just need to give him time. Just some time.” I blinked back tears.
It was Tristan who took my hand then. “Lyr. We can’t stay out here.” He turned to the group. “Does anyone know the area? Well enough to hide?”
Slowly, everyone shook their heads.
“What about the inn?” Tristan said.
