Not yet anyway.
Her friend’s mouth pressed into a thin line.
Fine. She’d prove it.
Lara braced her palms against the ground and pushed. Her arms shook—a fine tremor that ran from wrist to shoulder. Her pulse hammered so hard she could feel it in her teeth, in her throat, and behind her eyes.
She made it upright. Barely.
Her vision swam. The nearby firepit tilted and then righted itself. Sweat slicked her spine despite the biting cold in the air. A shiver rippled through her, chills crawling across her skin.
The fever. Already clawing its way back.
“You did well.” Cailean had hunkered down next to her, his concerned gaze roaming Lara’s face. “There were too many of the bastards … we’d never have bested them on our own.”
“They were relentless,” Roth agreed, his voice gravelly with fatigue.
“Thank the Gods, we’ll reach The Shattered Crown by tomorrow eve,” Annis murmured. “None of us can take much more.”
Silence followed these words. Meanwhile, Lara accepted the cup of hot broth Ren had just passed her. She took a sip, grateful for the heat that pooled in her belly. The chills were bad.
“Will you be able to ride tomorrow?” Ruari asked, concern shadowing his eyes.
“Of course,” Lara replied with more conviction than she felt. “I’ll be right by dawn.”
“Will you?” Bree asked softly.
Lara sighed, lowering her cup and casting her gaze around the fire. The Shee were still building cairns for their fallen. Alar had disappeared for the moment. There were just the seven of them here. Her protectors. “All you need to focus on tomorrow is getting me safely to The Shattered Crown,” she told them firmly. “And allImust do is take my place inside that stone circle and then throw this” —she held up her right hand, letting her ring glint in the firelight— “into the rift to seal it.”
That was true. The binding didn’t require her to wield fire. Mor would be the one doing all the work. The hardest part was getting to their destination. This grueling journey had proved that. It had tried to beat them but hadn’t.
“We’ve come too far to fail,” she continued, emotion constricting her throat. “Aye, fire-madness has its talons in me … but it won’t have me … not until I’m ready, at least.” She paused then, noting the tears that now sparkled in Bree’s eyes. “And if I have to crawl into that stone circle to get this job done, I will.”
30: THE MOST DANGEROUS OF ALL
DORKA PROWLED TOWARD Lara, Mor upon her back.
The clag-doo’s tail swished with each stride. The steel collar on her neck still glinted, even in the murky early dawn light. Despite the bond that had formed between Mor and Dorka, the queen hadn’t removed it, and she always carried the steel chain looped in one hand when she climbed onto the beast’s back.
Mor didn’t trust her pet entirely yet. Their relationship was still new. Untested.
Even so, the Raven Queen was a sight to behold this morning. Eagal perched upon her shoulder, claws digging into her fur cloak.
“Ready to go?” Mor surveyed Lara, brow furrowing; she was clearly unsure if she was up to traveling.
Lara managed a smile. She didn’t imagine she looked great. Her body ached, sweat poured off her, and it was difficult to keep her spine straight. “Aye.”
And she was. With the rising sun had come the certainty that fire-madness would soon consume her. But, strangely, acceptance of her fate was easier to deal with than dread.
She was oddly calm this morning. Resigned but ready.
Shifting her gaze from Mor’s, she glanced up at where the eastern sky above the jagged peak that loomed over them was starting to lighten. The heavens had been clear overnight, but clouds drifted in with the dawn, obscuring the rising sun. It was eerily still this morning. The silence was unnerving.
Around them, the others were already moving out, their mounts picking their way down the slope, into a narrow defile that would take them north toward the Darkmere. The last leg of their journey. Tonight was the eve of Gateway. They’d make it, just, by the skin of their teeth.
Alar passed Mor and Lara, nodding to them both. Reedav loped forward in long strides. The gait must have been difficult to get used to, yet Alar sat easily astride his stag. There were no reins to hold onto, or a mane. Riding such an animal required excellent balance.
Lara nodded back, her gaze tracking him as he followed Vyr.
