Get some sleep, little dove,he murmured.Tomorrow, your opponent will likely be harder. Stay alive. It won’t be long now.
She wanted to ask for more details. To ask if he’d gotten enough information to find their way out. He was the one working out the end game in the shadows. She was the distraction, the reason Tarian couldn’t miss visiting the court and now something for the king to focus on, but she wished she was more of a participant.
She didn’t ask, though. She trusted him. They’d made a pact to work together, and so far, he’d followed her lead blindly. If he wasn’t giving her more information, there had to be a reason.
She just hoped they were close. She didn’t think she had much time before the shit hit the fan.
29
Daisy
She startledawake right before a hand closed over her nose and mouth. She struck upward with her knife, her fingers curled around it in sleep. The blade sliced through the covers. The body she was aiming for barely twisted out of the way.
A crushing blow slammed into her side, the force so extreme that bone cracked. Pain flared, eclipsing her thoughts for a moment. The large hand cut off her air.
As always, Zorn’s voice shoved its way to the forefront of her mind.
Panicking will slow down logical thought and might mean the difference between life and death.
She tried to cut out the pain as the shadow of an arm cocked back, readying to throw another punch. She angled her knife and sliced, the movement sending waves of agony through her torso. The attacker didn’t twist enough this time to get out of the way. The blade cut through skin, earning a deep grunt.
Her lungs burned, needing air. Trying to force his hand off would cost her valuable time, though.
She braced against the pain and thrust her dagger, but the blow had already started to descend. If he hit her again, the broken rib might splinter, piercing a vital organ. She healed fast, but not fast enough for a wound like that.
The male was ripped to the side unexpectedly, allowing her much-needed breath. His fist went low. It thudded off the wood frame of the cot. She finished her strike, agony nearly drowning her. Her blade hit home, but given he’d moved, not where she’d aimed. It wouldn’t kill him.
He grunted again as she gritted her teeth and prepared for another strike, yanking out her knife and aiming. She turned it so it would find purchase and nearly blacked out from the pain of her broken ribs. The male fell, though—no, he was forced down, shoved by someone behind.
A creature hiding in shadow lifted a knife and brought the hilt down hard. It hit the attacker’s head as the body finished the fall, splaying across the ground. Dead or knocked out, she wasn’t sure.
Tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes as she tried to see who held the knife, wondering why they hadn’t used it.
The shadow drifted away as the creature stepped forward. Lank black hair hung beside a pinched face with full lips. It was the fae that had been looking at her earlier when everyone else ignored her.
I didn’t save your life,said a beautiful voice, high and light and like a spring morning breeze through meadows of blooming flowers. The sound felt so distinctly fae that Daisy would’ve wept if she hadn’t already been crying from the throbbing pain.
(And she was a mindgazer. What in the fuck was she doing in here?)
Okay,Daisy replied (no idea if that was true or why she’d say it).
The female nodded and looked down at the male at her feet, then at Daisy putting a hand over her ribs.
Okay,the female murmured before bending and grabbing the male’s arm. She dragged him through the cots, her lack of effort not at all matching the size difference. Like Daisy, she had more strength than what was apparent. She dragged him out to the wash area. If anyone was awake to notice, they didn’t stir or move to look. When she came back in, so light and graceful in her step that she practically danced, it was without the male.
Without another word, the skinny female climbed into the cot beside Daisy. It hadn’t been occupied when Daisy had fallen asleep, just like the other nearby cots, still empty.
Thank you,Daisy thought at her. Whether the female had saved her life or not, she’d definitely helped a great fucking deal. Another blow like the first one would’ve crippled her until Faelynn could get here. Maybe even beyond.
She just barely saw the female nod before turning her back on Daisy and settling.
With each breath, pain stabbed into Daisy’s side. It hurt to move. It hurt toexist. When she did move, the bones sounded like they were grating against each other. The break was bad.
Faelynn is trying to get in, but they won’t let her,Tarian thought, his tone flat and colorless. He was trying to control his rage.Can you hang on until morning?
I’m going to have to. How long have you been listening? Did you notice the female with mindgazer magic?
I woke up when your surprise registered. I did notice, yes. That talent is not listed on any official documents, but then, most talents aren’t. It is unusual to sacrifice a bloodline with mindgazer magic to games such as this, though, and more unusual to sacrifice that kind of power. She seemed…lost when she fought, though. Unfocused. She won, but barely.
