Dario stiffened behind me, his aura flaring. I stopped breathing. But we’d been caught.
“Yo, there’s an ashvan nearby,” came a shout. “Who wants a ride?”
“Into the woods!”
“Go,” I hissed under my breath. My fingers dug into his arm. “Now!”
Dario turned, shout-whispering orders to the ashvan, backing us further from the street, deep into the wild bramble of the forest floor, and then we were running, tearing throughthe trees, low hanging branches cutting up my cheeks and arms, leaves sticking in my hair.
My heart pounded with every step the ashvan took. With every sound I heard that couldn’t be explained by our horse. Dario only slowed when he came toward a small mountain pass, its ridges barely outlined in the night sky above the trees.
“Let me see if we can take shelter there,” he said, leading us forward.
We walked on for several moments, and the woods grew still. Too still. And suddenly I remembered the other threat still out there. Just as grave as Ka Kormac.
Akadim.
I gripped Dario’s arm even harder. But the trees grew sparse, leading into a clearing that sloped down into the valley just before the mountain pass.
“I think there’s an opening,” he said quietly. “Is your stave on you?” he asked.
I touched my belt, first feeling the dagger he’d given me and then—yes. They hadn’t taken my stave. They probably hadn’t even looked for weapons, assuming the Emperor’s pet didn’t have any. I didn’t know whether to be insulted, or relieved that they had barely touched me.
“But I can’t do much,” I said, suddenly embarrassed. I should’ve been in my third year of mage studies—about to become an apprentice, taking on my own novice and deciding what I wanted to specialize in. Instead, I was struggling through basic spell work with Aiden. But, Dario also knew that.
“Can you call light?” he asked. “If not, I’ll light a fire.”
I bit my lip. It was such a basic spell. “I’ll try.”
“It’s okay,” Dario said. And only then did I realize Dario had been directing us through the woods in almost total darkness, leaving the torches behind so we couldn’t be followed. He hadn’tfaltered once, just kept going, using all his senses to keep me safe. I pulled out my stave, my hand shaking.
For a second, I saw my first stave—my original stave—falling out of my hand, hitting the dais and rolling onto the floor of the temple. The Bastardmaker coming and carrying me away.
I stilled, my hand shaking. I saw it every time I picked up a stave.
“Ani …”My throat caught. Fuck. Come on. “Ani petrova vala.”
Heat warmed in my hand. Sweat beaded my brow. And a small light flared. I exhaled in relief.
“That’s perfect,” Dario said. “Thank you. Can you hold it up as we go in? I need to check for a nest.”
We moved into the mouth and I immediately spotted some kindling. Dario released his hold on me and leapt off the horse, rushing over to it, sparking a small flame and then igniting a fire.
“What if that attracts them?” I asked.
“If it does, it can also kill them.”
“What if—” I bit my lip.
His eyes darkened. “What if the akadim is Rhyan?”
I nodded slowly.
Dario looked away, breathing hard through his nose. “Then I’ll kill him. What else can I do?” But he looked ready to vomit as he spoke. I felt a similar sensation. He returned to the horse’s side and reached for my hand, helping me down. Our fingers threaded together. I stilled, expecting to feel something wrong, or off. Unwanted. But, like his other touches so far, my body didn’t seem to mind.
We walked through the cavern, ducking under low stone formations. The entire cave was rather small, and from the smell of it, sulfuric—but not full of the stench of decay or dead bodies. After a quick inspection, Dario deemed it safe, and startedgathering any remaining loose sticks or kindling he could find to build out a bigger fire.
The days had been getting warmer, but the nights were still cold and I shivered, watching Dario bring the flames to life. When it was set, he looked up at me, and frowned.
