“Do not force it,” Nakiis says, and the growl has eased out of his voice again.
He’s right. I stop straining and close my eyes. I let the magic wrap around me. Andthere, little by little, my senses flare with differentsparks from my own. I’d say they were different colors, or different sounds, but neither description quitefits. Different elements in the wind, little touches of Nakiis’s magic brushing against mine. I couldn’t explain it with words, but . . . ?but I canfeelit. Like a memory. Something familiar. Something recognizable.
“Oh,” I breathe. My eyes open.
He’s silent for the longest moment. “You can call to it,” he finally says. “With a bit of practice.” He pauses. “Instead of pouring your magic into the sky without direction. I worried you were going to ground yourself like your king.”
At first, I don’t know what he means—but then I do. When I was riding as Malin’s “prisoner,” with my hands bound, my vision kept filling with sparks and stars. I was worried my magic was going to flare aimlessly.
I buckle the rest of my armor into place and stand. “It wasn’tthatmuch.”
“I could feel your panic from miles away.”
That makes me frown—because I’m thinking of the first attack on the soldiers, when I spent days with magic sparking under my skin, ready to respond to a threat that wasn’t there.
Was I pouring magic into the air then, too? Did I draw the attack?
The scraver’s eyes have shifted to Malin, and that growl slips into his voice again. “When I found you, this soldier kept you bound. He issued threats to drag you over the rocks. I thought he must have some leverage to keep you from using your magic to escape.”
I blink. “Oh. No. Wait—”
Nakiis doesn’t wait. “When he freed you, I thought you had finally used your magic to trick him—but you did not flee. I did not understand, so I followed.”
I stare up at him. He stares back.
It’s Malin who moves closer to me and says, “He thought you werein danger.” His voice turns thoughtful. Musing. He looks between me and the scraver. “He was protecting you.”
“Yes,” says Nakiis. “As I did before, when you were at risk in battle.”
“You protected the king and queen,” I say.
“No,” says Nakiis. “Youprotected the king and queen.”
I’m not sure what to say.
He was protecting you.And we shot him out of the sky.
No wonder he doesn’t trust me.
As I think about it, his appearance in that battle wasn’t even the first time. When Greydidground himself with magic, Nakiis brought me water. He brought me food. He might have bargained for my help later, but he made sure I survived well before we got to that point.
My heart feels tight in my chest, and I take a long breath. “Nakiis,” I say. “Forgive me. I didn’t—”
“I don’t want an apology.” His coal-black eyes reveal nothing, and his expression doesn’t flicker. “You said you intend to make amends.”
That draws me up short. “I do. What do you want?”
“You swore to fight at my side. Give me more time.”
Malin looks at me in surprise. “You swore tofight at his side?”
“I was desperate,” I say. “And so was the king.” I glare up at Nakiis. “But I can’t offer more time unless I knowwhy. You still haven’t told me what you need.”
“Your magic.”
“Why?”
He regards me for the longest moment.
