But I’m struck by the realization that if I asked the queen, she’d likely say they were all victims.
I glance at Callyn and wonder what she would think. I don’t know if I’d like the answer.
We find a narrow path through the underbrush, almost stumbling onto it. Branches have been snapped, indicating we aren’t the first people to come through this way.
— You are close,Igaa says.—Nakiis is not far.
My heart skips a little in my chest, and I swallow. Until this moment, I hadn’t quite considered that we were walking into a situation where we’d be confronted by more than one scraver— one of whom is badly injured.
Callyn glances at me. “Are you afraid?” she whispers.
Yes.“Not at all,” I say.
She makes a face at me anyway. “Liar.”
— Nakiis will not harm you,Igaa says.
“Stop doing that!” Callyn calls.
— He is badly injured,she adds.—He cannot.She pauses, and a vicious tone emphasizes the voice in my head.—It would do you well to remember that I still can.
“Noted,” I say. I stride ahead, sweat gathering on my forehead. I feel as though we’re walking straight uphill now, and after another hundred feet, we’re practically walking alongside sheer rock. At times, the ground off to our left seems to give way completely, offering a stunning view of the valley below.
“I didn’t realize we climbed so high,” says Callyn.
“I didn’t either.” I put out a hand to steady myself— then gasp and jerk back. The stone is ice cold.
— As I said. You are close.
My palms have gone slick, and this time it has nothing to do with the heat or the exertion. We come around a small bend in the path, and to our right is a narrow opening in the rock. It’s barely a cave. In fact, it’s barely anything at all. But it’s a shaded gap in the side of the mountain, full of dark shadows.
Then, without warning, one of the shadows shifts. Black eyes gleam at us from the darkness, and claws shift against the ground. I freeze, my body taking on the sudden stillness of prey caught in the gaze of a predator.
This scraver doesn’t move farther, but his eyes flick between us. His coloring is much darker than Igaa’s, a gray so dark that he almost disappears into the shadows of the cave. Sunlight barely pierces the dimness, but when his weight shifts, silver gleams along the feathers of his wings, and then I catch a hint of fangs. When I inhale, I taste thebitter tang of old blood, with something sour on top. I can’t see his injuries, but they’re clearly there.
But even lying injured on the ground, he’s terrifying. There’s a stillness to his body that promises imminent death if we come closer. An ice- cold wind whips around us, dragging dried leaves along the ground. In this heat, it should be a relief, but I know it’s this creature’s magic, so it’s not.
Wings rustle behind us as Igaa lands in the brush, trapping us here in the gap. Ice forms on the rock walls, melting almost instantly in the summer sunlight.
Beside me, Callyn’s breath trembles, just a little. I don’t know if it’s the sudden chill or if it’s fear, but I’m willing to bet it’s both. I reach out and grab her hand.
She doesn’t take her eyes off the scraver, but her body gives a little jump, as if I’ve startled her.
But then her fingers close around mine, gripping tight.
I want to offer reassurance.I won’t let them hurt you. You don’t need to be afraid. I’ll keep you safe.
But I can’t even offer that. They tore me apart the last time. Callyn had to protectme. She had to saveme.
And in return, I threatened her. I drove her away.
A sudden wash of shame rolls through me— cut short when the scraver on the ground offers a low growl that seems to fill the cave. My heart stutters again.
But Igaa, behind us, says, “Spare us your threats, Nakiis. I have brought you a magesmith.”
It’s fascinating how much her spoken voice sounds like her silent one. Nakiis glances between the three of us, then speaks to our minds himself.
— Good,he says, and his silent voice is a low rumble, softer than I expect.—Let her finish me off.
