And then I realize I can’t breathe.
“Jax.Jax.” Tycho’s voice. He sounds distant. “Jax, open your eyes.”
I open them— and all I see are flares of light. I try to inhale, but my body doesn’t want to work.
“What’s wrong?” someone cries. “What did I do? Did I break his neck?”
Thatis Sephran.
I’m scrabbling at my neck, clawing at my skin. I’m being choked by fire.
“You crushed his windpipe,” says Leo. He sounds horrified. I don’t even know the wordwindpipe, but I can guess.
“Get the horses. All of you.” Any panic is gone from Tycho’s voice, replaced with the sharp tone of an order. “Now.”
They must obey, because boots shuffle through the dirt.
Tycho’s hand falls against my throat, and I barely feel it. I barely feel anything.
Then I feel the prickling fire of his magic, gone in an instant as the injury heals. As soon as I can inhale, I’m choking on my breath, desperate for air. Suddenly Tycho is staring down at me in the moonlight, his warm brown eyes full of concern.
“Better?” he says softly.
I nod, gasping.
“Good.” He sighs and runs a hand down his face, then snaps his head up as an icy wind whips around us, lifting dried leaves and debris from the ground. “Come on.” He grabs hold of my hand and begins to pull me upright before I’m ready.
“Why—” I gasp. “Why did you need the horses?”
“Because I used magic, and they felt it.” He looks around again, then gives me a firmer tug. “Which means we need to run.”
CHAPTER 20
CALLYN
It’s well after midnight, but I’m lying awake, troubled by too many thoughts to count.
Alek never returned this morning.
At first I assumed he was simply busy with House duties. But when midday passed and he didn’t appear at court, I began to worry, especially when the queen asked when I intended to go on his rounds with him. I admitted that there’d been no word, and I didn’t miss the sudden tight set to her eyes, as if she was worried.
So am I.
Outside the window, clouds block the moon, but the room is flooded with silvery light anyway. It’s been too hot and humid for a fire, so no embers linger in the hearth. It’s almost too hot tosleep.
In the bed beside mine, Nora isn’t having any problems. She’s been lightly snoring for hours,and I get the sense that she thinks we’ve resolved everything and she’s going to be right by my side the next time I go anywhere with Alek. But if that’s the case, she’s got anotherthink coming. She’s only thirteen years old, and she’s not a soldier. She’s not a spy. She’s hardly even ananny.
But then I consider that I wasn’t much older than Nora when Mother died— and I wasn’t much older thanthatwhen Father died. I was left to run the bakery and care for a little sister without any help at all. Just a friend down the lane who was every bit as desperate as I was.
I have to shove these memories away. I did what I had to do— and Nora shouldn’t have to be a part of any of this. She can stay here in the palace, where she’s safe.
But is she safe? After that walk in the gardens, I can’t stop thinking about Verin— and the way she’s become my sister’s role model. When I revealed my suspicions and worries, Nora seemed determined to prove Verin’s innocence. Knowing my sister, she’ll walk right up to Verin and tell her I’ve made accusations of treason. It’s possible she already has.
I sigh. I’m never going to sleep at this rate.
Maybe that’s a good thing, because someone is coming through the door.
I freeze in my bed, going absolutely still. The door doesn’t make a sound, but I watch as it begins to ease forward in the shadows. My heart suddenly feels like it’s going to rocket out of my chest.
