Iwalked away.
Every fiber of my soul wanted me to go back, to untie her, to set her free, to hold her, and—
And flames burn me, but I wanted to kiss her.
But if there had ever been a chance of that before, I’d certainly ruined it. Nothing had come out like I’d planned, and now—
Now she hated me. I’d probably die at her hand because I refused to hurt her again. I stared at my hands—hands that had just tied her to a tree. It was the worst thing I’d ever done, and now—
My wrist interrupted my thoughts. A glance at my skin showed no sign of the saddle tattoo—my bargain mark that would only last as long as we traveled together, the time limit we’d put on our deal.
I ripped my eyes off my hands and continued to follow the path south toward Passifloran, the northernmost city in Veran. I’d have to stop there for food since I’d left everything I had with the queen.
Memories of her filled my mind while I walked—her making tea, giving me a room, curling into my body while my arm wrapped around her, and her throwing ice daggers at me. She was death on ice, and it was the most beautiful threat I’d ever seen.
Half an hour passed, and I stopped. If I started walking back to the queen now, I’d reach her just as my magic wore off.
It was tempting…
But no.
She would start hunting me immediately, and the short head start would be good. I walked again, but a distinct drumming sound made me stop while a jolt of terror identified the pounding rhythm:
Ice dragons.
Six of them flew over me, from the south, without slowing or glancing down. They continued north, disappearing from view as they lowered themselves below the canopy.
I no longer saw them, but I heard their terror drums speed up and crescendo before stopping abruptly. They must have landed.
Were they hunting the queen?
It made sense, since she had ice magic and they were native to the Kahunamon Mountains in Kalshana. But how had they known she was here?
They hadn’t. They’d first emerged when I’d released the queen from her buried cavern. The musicians had chased the dragons north, but then they returned south looking for her. They flew right over her because I’d hidden us with magic. And now they were returning, knowing they must have missed her when they’d flown south.
And I’d tied her to a tree for them to pick off like some kind of morbid sacrifice.
She had always been so much more than a means to an end, but I’d let my own weaknesses send us down a path with six dragons that could easily end her.
I sprinted north. Anxiety twisted my stomach and made me light-headed—at my fastest, I would need at least ten minutes to reach her, and the dragons—
The dragons had already arrived.
Chapter 22: Khiona
Iheard the dragons’ drums before I saw them. I hoped the thick canopy would keep them from noticing me, but that hope vanished as they hovered in a circle directly above my little prison.
Curse Andar and his stupid summer magic. How could he imprison me? How could he—
The dragons lowered themselves again, this time landing on the stony ledges to my north with a thump so heavy that the ground shook, sending reverberations through the stones and up the tree I was tied to.
A knot tightened in my throat. They knew I was here.
The ground shook again as they stomped closer to me, but there were still a few trees between us. And they were big trees.
My knees gave out when huge claws wrapped around all four of the trees separating us and tore them out of the ground. Soil clung to long threads of roots as the dragons tossed the gargantuan trees like small bones. The invisible ropes Andar had used to tie me to the tree kept me upright, and the knot in my throat sank to my stomach. Would they tear my tree out next? Rip me off of my tree? And then what? Eat me in one bite? Divide me up so all six dragons had a portion?
One of the dragons spread his wings in front of me and snaked his massive head closer to mine, until his nostrils were only two feet away, and then hesniffed. All the branches around us bent toward him as he inhaled, and then bent back to normal as he exhaled.
