Eva pushed harder, anticipation giving her an extra burst of speed. The added exertion made the breaths saw in and out of her lungs.
Perhaps that was why she didn't notice the low drone at first. Not until she cleared the top and found a wall of cicadas blocked her way.
A sob broke from her throat as the tiny bit of hope she'd clung to burned into ashes.
The mind of another brushed against hers.That's it. The bitter taste of defeat and hopelessness. That's what I hoped for.
The mind sharpened, focusing on those below.Bring her. I want her alive.
Eva didn't fight as a man wearing clothes as wet as hers caught her by the arm.
His grip was rough as he nearly yanked her off her feet. "Look what we have here. A little mouse all for ourselves."
That same stench Eva caught off the swarm was on this man as well. Her gaze traveled over those below, unsurprised to find that same taint on all but one.
"Nothing to say?" he taunted.
Eva watched as the riders who'd gone after Jason and Brisa returned empty handed, joining those who waited at the bottom of the hill.
A small, relieved smile graced her lips.
Understanding dawned in her captor's eyes. "Clever. We'll see how self-sacrificing you are after he breaks your mind."
Eva restrained the impulse to spit in his face. Sometimes you had to play the game to give yourself a better hand later on.
These men thought they had won, but they hadn't.
Eva would find a way out or Caden would come for her. Both paths ended in one place.
With these men dead.
twenty-three
Cadendrewhisswordout of his latest victim and let the man fall as he lifted his head to observe his surroundings.
The ambush had been quick and vicious. The Trateri had answered in kind, fighting back with a zealousness that had wrecked their enemy.
They'd extracted a steep price from the opposing side, but it hadn't left them unscathed.
They'd lost people. Good warriors. Men and women Caden had known for a long time.
The only solace he had was that the other side lost more.
Van kicked a body out of his way as he stalked into view, covered in the blood of his enemy. So much, it looked like he'd bathed in it.
Caden paused briefly to wonder how exactly he'd gotten into that state before dismissing it as irrelevant.
He cared about results. Not how he got them.
"Every enemy I laid hands on is dead," Van announced.
Good. The more they took care of now meant the less they had to worry about later.
A body crashed onto the ground not far from them.
Van and Caden looked up to find Gawain leaning over the cliff side.
"How did you get up there?" Van asked.
