Mind whirling through their magic, through what he’d experienced in the basement, through their nicknames, the pieces clicked together like a child’s puzzle.
Howhad he been so dense? Melody, like a song, was the sound mage. Odos, like odor, was in control of the smells. Tocco—touch, maybe—made Isahn think cuffs were piercing his wrists and the branding iron was burning his flesh. And then there was Mira, Mira who showed up smelling like roses, who showed up looking like a different person every time... Mira who’d justdonesomething to Odos with touch magic.
There was only one important figure in Domos named “George” who’d command this kind of loyalty. Only one woman whose guards’ hackles would rise at any perceived threat.
Princess Georgetta Kastrumanos.
Shit.
The apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree, it seemed. Rumor had it she was being groomed to continue the king’s practices—mindfuckery, manipulation, absolute power at the expense of Domos’s people.
Isahn was absolutely and utterly fucked.
Afewhourslater,thecart slowed.
“I don’t know how you got into Gramenia,” George’s raspy voice murmured through the slats, “but do not make a peep while we cross this border. Understand?”
Isahn grunted assent.
“If they find you, you’ll be working on a Gramenian farm for the rest of your life.”
She’d still expect him to be gagged. Unfortunately, Isahn didn’t think about that before he opened his stupid mouth. “And that would be worse than this?” he whispered.
The box was gone, and he was flying through outer space as her magic swept him away. He imagined the effect was supposed to be disorienting, but he found it charming, relaxing, a break from his sad reality. Coupled with the movement of the cart, it was like flying with the gods. Isahn groaned with fake discomfort, just so she’d think it was working and maybe keep up the mirage a while longer.
“How the fates are you speaking right now?”
Oops.“Rubbed my head against the wood to get the gag off.”
“Shut up.” She turned her attention forward. “I’m covering us now. Tocco, you’re the dad. Hil, you’re the mom. Odos, we’re the kids.”
Hil? Oopsies, George.Melody’s name was Hil-something. Isahn didn’t even think the rest of the group picked up on the princess’s mistake. Or if they did, they weren’t going to call her out the way they did to each other.
“Why do I have to be a kid again?” Odos whined, his voice already childlike from Hil-something’s sound magic.
“Because I said so,” George bit out, her tone carrying an air of command, despite the fact that she squeaked like a six-year-old girl.
“Beciss,” the mother, father, and son in the front of the carriage all murmured.
What the fuck does that mean?
“Here, take the papers.” George handed something up to her friends. “No sounds,” she warned him in a whisper. “We’ll let you out on the other side.”
Theborderguardswavedthe traveling family through without issue. And once they were safely into Domos, they let Isahn out as George promised. His cramped legs buckled when his feet hit the dirt road, and a small wave of embarrassment swept over him. Who was he trying to impress?
“Don’t run when we unbind you,” Tocco warned, grabbing Isahn’s elbow and angling him toward the shady trees lining the dirt road.
“Where am I going to go? I’m exhausted, don’t even know where the fuck I am. I wouldn’t make it ten paces.”
The men chuckled.
Grateful for the moment of freedom, Isahn relieved himself as he took in his surroundings: lush green trees heavy with vines and moss, the balmy air growing warmer as they headed north toward the sea, birdsong, the scent of pine, and roses—always a hint of rose—curling through the breeze. He wanted to look back at George, see if he could see her true face, but Isahn resisted, unwilling to risk the goodwill he’d built up with the group.
Although they blindfolded him again and re-bound his wrists, the guards—the same two men who’d abducted him in the first place—settled him in the cart bed beside the crate rather than inside. It was a blessing he wouldn’t question aloud, though it got him wondering just what his captors wanted from him.
The cart creaked again as someone joined him, and he knew precisely who it was by scent in the air.
“Water.” George’s raspy voice tumbled his way.
