A shake of his head. “No,” he said, eyes dark with regret. A glance at their hands intertwined between them. He pulled away, as if burned. “No, she would not.”
Adara lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, straining to breathe with the scarf covering the lower half of her face, protecting her from the scorching rays and sand. Sandstone buildings stood along the horizon, the outlines of people and horses bustling about the city of Senarim. Her shoulders sagged in relief at the sight, grateful to be out of this cursed desert and back to civilization. Her thighs and back ached from her position in the saddle atop the horse, but she’d only have to endure it a little longer.
“Thank gods,” Asher panted from his horse, trotting alongside her. He retrieved a waterskin from his bag and removed the cloth covering his mouth to take a long gulp.
Adara did the same, thankful to remove the stuffy black fabric tied around her head.
Her horse reared back, and she clutched the reins tightly, digging in her thighs to remain in the saddle as Caleb’s horse galloped up next to them. Once her own horse settled down, Adara scowled at him.
He ignored her, pulling down his cream scarf to reveal a radiant grin. “I’ll race you there!” With that, he flicked the reins and spurred his horse into a gallop, sending dust flying their way.
Coughing from the sand, Adara hurriedly pulled the scarf over her mouth and nose once more. Asher mirrored her action, exchanging a look with her.
“You know we can’t let him win,” Asher said, watching Caleb’s horse race toward the city on the horizon.
Adara laughed. “We’ll never hear the end of it.”
They both snapped their reins. The crack resounded through the desert, followed by the thunderous sound of galloping hooves. She leaned forward in her saddle, ducking low to the horse’s mane. Asher was right by her side the entire way.
It wasn’t long before they caught up to Caleb, all riding side by side, leaving the other Andreilians in their wake.
“I let you catch up! It wouldn’t be fair if I had a head start!” Caleb yelled over the pounding of hooves.
“Your mistake!” Adara said, spurring her horse onward.
Caleb’s protests and Asher’s cheers were swallowed by the distance as she pulled ahead, Senarim growing closer and closer. Adara sat upright in her saddle, pulling down her scarf to suck in a deep breath of the air whipping around her. Wind caressed her cheeks, running its fingers through her hair. It felt like flying.
A glance over her shoulder told her Asher and Caleb followed every step of the way, with the rest of the Andreilians trailing behind. She threw up her hands, letting out a triumphant holler as they reached the city gilded in sunlight. The sound of her joyous laughter rolled along the desert. This was what it felt like to be free. This was what it felt like to be one step closer to home.
Chapter 45
PainarcedthroughDominic’sback, fire shooting through his aching muscles. He hissed through clenched teeth, nails digging into the wood of the chair, arms crossed over the backrest he faced. Exhausted, his head drooped to rest on his arms, looking out at the vast ocean through the porthole of the captain’s quarters.
“Sorry,” Ace murmured behind him, carefully peeling away the layers upon layers of bandages on his back. Dominic sucked in a sharp breath.
They’d all made quick travel back to Lykrios and boarded their ship, eager to get to Andreilia. Dominic was grateful they could finally go home and take some time to heal—not only from their physical injuries but from the mental fatigue of these journeys—before they hatched a plan to find the shadow steel and dragon scale, the only two remaining relics.
“Your magic is dwindling again . . . ” Ace trailed off with a sigh.
Even with Ace standing at his back to restitch one of the lacerations that had torn open and rebandage his wounds, Dominic could still sense the shake of his second’s head, the scolding in his tone.
“You have to stop exerting yourself so much.”
A prick of the needle, followed by a wince. Dominic’s labored breathing filled the silence yawning between them, interrupted only by the soft groan of the ship as it rocked against the waves. So many tears in his skin, deep and agonizing, layered over scars that still ached sometimes. Each sting of that whip had hurt more than the last. Striking again and again, over layers and layers of scar tissue, over each new laceration. How Adara or Ace could stand to look at the bloodied tissue and ruined skin without hurling, Dominic didn’t know.
“You have to finish this soon,” Ace said as he continued stitching, occasionally wiping away drops of blood.
“Finish what?” Dominic replied, his tone taking a sharp edge, noting the inquiry in Ace’s words. He knew exactly what his second was referring to, but did not want to discuss such matters with him, withanyone.
A pause from the sting of the needle. Then it struck again, piercing his skin, pulling the edges of his cuts closed. Dominic bit the inside of his cheek to keep from wincing. “Need I remind you,” Ace said through clenched teeth, “that we don’t know what happens to the island, which is tied to yourlife, if you die? If you don’t find another key, anotherlife, in time?”
There was a hint of worry in his voice, but Dominic couldn’t fathom why. Surely Ace, of all people, should have the confidence that he would win.
“I’m working on it,” Dominic hissed. Adara was harder to break than the others. Her heart may have shields that he could crumble, but her mind was an impenetrable fortress, and Adara had always been one to rely on her head.
“It doesn’t seem like your tactics are succeeding this time,” Ace stated blandly, finishing placing the last dressing on his back.
Dominic let out a disgruntled noise from the back of his throat, a warning that Ace did not heed.
