“She’s avoiding me,” the Bondsmith mused, cocking her head.
“Perhaps now is not the best time to think about that,” Ellowyn said, her voice edged in steel. The Bondsmith seemed to only find her ferociousness amusing, but she tilted her head in acquiescence. Ellowyn held the Bondsmith’s gaze for a second longer before turning to Talamh and me.
“The majority of our people—or what remains—are with Lex, Folami, Ilyas, and Peytor at the northern edge of the city. Or they will be. They were fleeing that direction when I’d seen them last. What is happening?”
“They are without light,” Talamh said, dark amusement coating his words. “We erected a rather large earth wall with a few surprising traps at the top andbottom. It won’t hold them forever, but should give us enough time to make it to the mountains.”
“Not soon, it won’t,” the Bondsmith interjected, her voice taking on that dreamy quality. “Not when my sister joins.”
My veins turned to ice at the casual mention of Solace, and a quick glance at my wife showed a similar reaction.
“Then we move. Now,” Talamh grunted, pushing past my shoulder to lead the way out of the city.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Folami
Our people moved like wraiths in the night, weaving through the trees that sporadically dotted Lishahl’s coastline northward toward the mines and the Far North beyond.
We were used to moving silently from place to place, our presence never fully disturbing the earth we trampled upon, but this was different.
Our people were no longer moving with confidence, their assured footsteps quiet in the underbrush. Unadulterated fear drove their steps, sticks and dried leaves crackling sharply beneath heavy boots. Children cried and screamed while mothers shushed them in tremoring voices. Hands shook, and eyes were blown wide as men and women glanced continually over their shoulders, anticipating an attack.
Suddenly, we were the hunted, prey for our much more powerful predators that had somehow caught us unaware.
I tightened my grip on my spear, the wood creaking with the force even as my sweaty palms slid. My heart thumped a rapid cadence beneath my breast, and my breaths came in harsh pants as I followed my people, quietly urging them along when the adrenaline could no longer propel their movement forward.
For the first time tonight, Itanya was not by my side, but I was secretly grateful for the Bondsmith’s intervention. If I was attacked, Itanya’s presence would be too much of a distraction for me; one that could potentially cost the lives of other innocents.
She is safe with the Bondsmith, I reminded myself as I moved swiftly through the forest.
It’d been decades since I’d felt this type of fear. Fleeing from Vespera after I killed my previous Mage was its own kind of torment—my body was weak and barely functioning, my mind dulled to everything except the instinct to survive.
The emotions were the same this time, but the circumstances were different. Now, I felt everything, my heart thumping erratically with fear and adrenaline as I thought about my True Bonded Mage and his Pleasure Vessel—both of them mine.
If I lost either of them—or godsforbid Itanya or Peytor—I would sink into a dark well without hope of return.
Shrieks of pain and fear pulled me from my spiraling thoughts, forcing me to focus on escape once more. Fear slithered up my spine like a vine snake as voices were abruptly cut off, their dying screams echoing through the night.
“To the caves!” I shouted, abandoning all pretense of silence and subterfuge. I leapt onto a rock in one swift motion, gesturing with my spear toward the mouth of the caves that was just visible from the edge of the forest.
Cries of alarm followed my declaration but were soon drowned by the telltale crackling of magic as lightning streaked through the sky overhead, causing the hairs that escaped from my braids to reach toward the heavens.
Dread pooled deep within my gut, and my instructions became more insistent.
“Go! Go! Get to the caves!” I yelled, whirling my free arm in a circular motion as if that would help my frightened people move faster. Reflected in every face was the same unease that caused saliva to pool in my mouth.
Thunderous crashes grew nearer, spurring some of the last stragglers into movement faster than I’d thought possible.
“Folami!” Lex’s voice cut through the booming thuds of magic as the earth roiled beneath my perch, dislodging my feet from the rock.
I jumped and landed hard, wincing at the strain in my knee from the impact.
“Folami!” Lex called again, Ilyas’ deep rumble joining our Mage’s slightly lighter tenor.
“Here!” I called, my voice whipping through the night.
Not a minute later, they came crashing through the trees behind me, scratches dotting their faces while trepidation battled with relief in their expressions.
