“I-I can startle them,” whispered Silla, much to his surprise. “M-my light.”
Rey glanced down, noting how she hugged her forearms against herself, muting the light that poured from them—her fear must have primed her.
“You speak the truth,” called Rey to the Wolf Feeders. “We are indeed outnumbered. But I have a proposition for you.” He lowered his voice, whispering to Silla, “When they decline, unsheathe your light upon them.”
“Go on,” said one of the central archers, his arrow nocked.
“If you let us go, I will double the reward.”
A coarse laugh bounced off Istré’s gates. “You carry twenty thousand sólas on you, warrior?”
“I can get it within a fortnight. And it comes with a bonus: you won’t be roasted like a boar on a spit.”
“Bold words for a man surrounded,” said the warrior. “But we’re oathsworn to the queen. It is not personal, warrior. ’Tis merely business.”
With that, Silla wrenched her arms free, pure white light cutting through the darkness and straight into the eyes of the Wolf Feeders. The archers cried out in surprise, arrows spearing through the air without precision. Rey, meanwhile, expressed more smoke as quickly as he could, shaping dark, twisting tendrils which struck out with serpentine speed.
Bowstrings twanged behind him, and Rey lurched to the side in the saddle, his thighs pulling Silla with him. Arrows sang through the air, bare inches from his ear. One struck the scales of his armor at the wrong angle, deflecting harmlessly. His luck ran out after that. An arrow slashed through the seams in his lébrynja armor, sinking into the flesh of his shoulder.
Bellowing, Rey channeled his pain and fury into his galdur. A grim smile tilted the corners of his lips as his smoke tunneled down the throats of the archers before him. The hiss of searing flesh met his ears as he poured wrath and heat into it, sparing not an ounce of mercy.
It’s not personal, he thought grimly, as their flesh blistered and burst, as they crumbled to the ground and tried to crawl away.
Silla made a sound of distress, but somehow maintained enough clarity of mind to grab the reins. Horse tore down the road while Rey held his smoke in place. The screams of dying warriors chased them, gradually dissolving into silence.
But Rey knew the Wolf Feeders’ reputation well enough to know he’d seen a mere sliver of their plan. He glanced over his shoulder, his chest clenching down—riders, twelve, perhaps fifteen, darting from the woods. He expected they had even more. Pulling his shield from the saddle hook, Rey swung it overhead just as arrows rained down upon them.
Quickly, Rey sifted through his options. His galdur required too much focus to manage while riding; best to save his reserves for later. A fresh idea took shape in his mind.
“Climb up,” barked Rey, hooking his shield back in place. “Pull the arrow from my shoulder.”
“Climb…up?” she spluttered.
“Stand in the saddle. I’ll hold you in place. Pull out the arrow, then climb behind me.”
Awkwardly, she stood, clutching his shoulders as he gripped her hips. Jostling with the movement of Horse, she looked over his shoulder, gingerly touching the shaft of the arrow.
“This is no time to be gentle!” he bellowed. “Pull it out n—” Rey unleashed a string of feral curses as she yanked the arrow free and flung it aside.Sucking a sharp breath in through his nose, he breathed through the pain. “Climb on the back, and get ready to catch the arrows.”
“Catch…the arrows?”
“Now!” he growled.
Thankfully, something shook loose within her, and Silla edged around him, one foot on his thigh, the other on the saddle behind.
“This is madness,” she muttered. At that exact moment, Horse jostled to the left. Silla shrieked as her foot slipped from the saddle and she tumbled off Horse. Dropping the reins, Rey’s arm struck out, wrapping around her waist. He yelled in agony—the pain from the wound in his shoulder was knife-sharp.
Silla’s feet dangled freely from the side of Horse, the ground a blur beneath her. Rey’s eyes met hers as a bead of sweat rolled down his temple.
“Don’t drop me!”
“Would make my life easier,” he muttered. Muscles screaming in protest, he hauled her upward inch by painstaking inch.
An arrow hissed by his head, thudding into the earth; the thunder of hooves behind them grew louder by the moment. At last, Silla could grasp on to the saddle, kicking Rey as she clambered gracelessly up behind him and arranged herself with her back to his.
“Rey!” she cried out. “They’re gaining on us!”
“And so the fun begins.” Reaching down, he unhooked the shield and passed it to her.
