Valtar appears suddenly. He steps from the forest, like an apparition, there at the far edge of the field, all black and gloomy, even in the sunlight. He’s got a brace of rabbits in one hand, and at the sight of them, my stomach growls with sudden hunger. I bite my lips uncertainly. Then, with a last glance at the sleeping dragon boy wrapped in the cloak, I rise and make my way across the soggy turf.
“How difficult is it to assassinate rabbits?” I call in greeting.
Valtar shrugs. “Rather less difficult than some. More difficult than others.” He’s already skinned and gutted them, and now sets to work with great efficiency building a fire. I appreciate that he goes through the trouble of using flint to strike a spark rather than simply cooking the meat over hellfire flames. Though at this point, I’m hungry enough not to care. Would it damn my soul to eat hell-roasted rabbit?
I find a mostly dry spot and take a seat across the makeshift firepit, watching Valtar as he works. “And how did you find trying to assassinate me? More or less challenging than a rabbit?”
He pauses in the middle of feeding tinder to the small flame. His gaze flicks to meet mine for a moment then focuses oncemore on his task. A faint hint of color tinges his cheeks, but his voice is as cold as ever when he answers, “You have proven somewhat…problematic.”
I let the topic go. Soon enough, he’s got the first rabbit on a spit, and the smell of slowly roasting meat tickles my nostrils. It’s all I can do not to grab it and tear into the still-raw flesh. Maybe it’s my dragon nature trying to take over.
“Tell me, Valtar,” I say, more to distract myself than anything, “how true was that story you told me? About your brother, I mean. The one being held captive.”
“All of it,” he replies. This time, his gaze does not leave the dancing flames. “My brother, Arun, is imprisoned in Mhoryga’s dungeons. She will kill him if I do not rip your heart from your chest and bring it to her as a prize.”
As though in response, my heart lurches against my breastbone. I place a hand against it, trying to calm the painful throb. “Will you…” My voice shakes a little. “Will you at least wait until I’ve eaten before you do any heart ripping?”
He looks at me.
“It’s just…I am awfully hungry.”
His throat constricts. Then: “I will not be ripping out your heart, Rosie.”
I bite my lip. “And Arun?”
“What about him?”
“What will happen to him?”
“I told you. He will die.”
“But what if…” I stop. My arms wrapped around my knees tighten, my fingers clenching in the folds of my skirts. “What if we rescue him first?”
Valtar blinks. I think I’ve actually surprised him. He opens his mouth, but no answer comes.
“I mean, I know it’s impossible,” I hasten to add. “But then, everything about this whole situation is impossible, right? If we’re going to go about doing impossible things like turning me into some kind of weapon capable of taking on Mhoryga for the fate of the world…well, couldn’t we throw in a little brother-rescuing along the way?”
“It would be”—he pauses, searching for the right word—“a challenge.”
“So was escaping Stromin Palace. We pulled that off rather capably, I thought.”
One of his brows slides up his forehead. “Alderin allowed most of that to happen. The only thing he did not count on was my arrival on the scene.”
“Yes, of course, I’m aware of that,” I answer sulkily, letting my knees drop into a crisscross position and straightening my back. “But still, we could use what we have to our advantage. If we invent some harebrained scheme for rescuing your brother—Arun, did you say his name was?”
“Yes.”
“If we invent some harebrained scheme for rescuing Arun, Mhoryga won’t see it coming. And with a bit of luck and a dash of divine destiny on our side, then…maybe…”
My voice trails off. Part of me hopes Valtar will fill in the blanks I’ve left, inventing some brilliant plan on the spot as behooves a lethal assassin. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t answer at all.
“Fine,” I say at last, leaning back on my hands. “I don’t expect you to go along with any of this. In fact, I rather still expect you to kill me.”
“That is wise.”
“Areyou going to kill me?”
“You already asked me this.”
