He grinned outright, dark eyes dancing over her in delight. “You.”
Nyssa's mind spun as she looked at the swarm of Venari rebels all around. Smirks on all their beautiful faces. There was something more about it than bloodlust. Their faces did not read murder. They hadn’t killed her yet.
Which she knew meant one of two things: they were either going to take her to Bala to try and barter for Bala’s crown… or…
They would take her to Man.
Nyssa let the bow sag in her hands.
Her eagle screeched again.
Do not interfere. Just stay overhead.
She wasn’t sure if he could hear her. She didn’t know if he’d be able to understand. But she kept repeating the instruction nonetheless.
She may not have heard her eagle’s response, but she watched as the bird soared upwards into the blinding of the sunlight.
She was on her own.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
THEY BOUND HER hands in front of her, and Nyssa could tell by the look in the leader’s eyes that he knew she was giving in for more than just their threat to kill her. But Nyssa kept her mouth shut and allowed the knowing glare to rest on her face as they led her into the woods and away from the comfort of the beach.
She noted their every weapon, every flex, and every look they gave her. She noted the differences in some of the people, how some looked like Balandria, others like Bael, Dunthorne, and Draven, and some… a small few… had the most brutal scars on their faces she’d ever seen. As though they’d been marked by lightning and vines, mutilated and pieced back together again. Any time they went near her, an uneasiness settled in her core, as though her bones were foreign inside her body.
And yet, they all shared that primal Venari confidence about them that comforted as well as terrified her.
She lost track of the time that they walked, but she knew they were trailing the eastern edge of the forest, back past where the Venari kingdom would have been west of the Impius River. She was sure they were having to travel so far to avoid being seen by any of Bala’s sentries. They walked slower than she would have liked, but with so many of them, their leader, whom she learned was named Gail, was keeping track of every one of them.
It was nearing sundown when he finally announced their stopping. They were just inside the edge of the Forest, but she could still hear the ocean waves and smell the comforting salt of its depths in the air.
The Venari at least gave her food and water when they shoved her onto the dirt by a tree. Her bound hands were tied to another rope, which was looped around the tree at her back. She watched them scuffle around, preparing fires to stow away the chill in the air from the winter surrounding them.
But the main person she watched was Gail. Observing how he spoke to his people, noting the way he moved, the way his people looked at him… He was the last person to settle in front of a fire, the last person to start eating. He kept a careful eye not just on her but on his people as well. She could see just within those few hours why they had chosen him as their de facto leader, and why they had chosen him to follow when they’d decided they disagreed with Draven’s not wanting to take over Magnice.
She wondered if Gail and Draven had ever been friends. If perhaps he had been Draven’s Third at one time instead of Dunthorne. She could tell Gail knew the in's and out's of leadership. He had the same aura about him that Draven had had… The dangerous energy, the determined power swagger that rested in his broad shoulders, the gait of his walk, the firmness in his voice, the stilled force of his domineering gaze. Every flex of his body language told her he would just as soon slice every one of his own people’s throats rather than let the power he desired slip through his hands.
It was the same intense energy Draven had had when it came to Aydra and his people.
It should have scared her.
It should have had her quivering in her bones.
And yet, there she was. Sitting numb on the ground, hands tied, back stiff, chin high. Surrounded by traitors to the true King.
Her heartbeat even.
Too entranced by the task her sister had left for her. She may have failed her sister by standing by and not fighting when she was burning on that tree, but she would be damned if she would fail in the one thing she’d asked her to do.
So she watched Gail. Noted every word he spoke, every gesture of his head and hands. Knew he knew she was watching him. But she didn’t dare tear her eyes away, insistent on making him uncomfortable if possible, and if not… at least he would know she was not afraid of him.
“Speak, little Sun,” Gail uttered after nearly finishing his meal of rabbit. He chose to sit alone with her at the fire once his people had started to part off in groups for drinking games. The noise of his sucking on the bone echoed in her ears, making her cringe at the slurp, and she felt her jaw tighten.
“You’ve been watching me all day,” he continued. “Do you like what you see?”
There was a flicker of amusement in his eyes when he glanced fleetingly in her direction, but she ignored it.
“What do you want with me?” Nyssa finally asked.
