She’s actually done it. Smart girl.
The only thing I have to dig with are my hands and my dagger. Given that I don’t want to damage the blade, I opt for the former, clawing fistfuls of dirt from the ground and tossing them behind me.
When I’ve freed enough of the plant, I wrap my hand around the stem and yank. A twisted ball of bulbous roots comes up.
I hold the plant in front of Elska’s eyes, knowing that she will be showing the vision to Kyor.
‘Take me back to him,’ I tell her. Immediately she’s on her feet, and a moment later, I’m racing to keep up with her as we retrace our steps.
When I reach Kyor, he is slumped against a tree trunk and doubled over.
‘Give it to me,’ he snarls as he stretches out his hand.
Rather than doing as he asks, I keep hold of the plant. ‘You need to peel it first. Otherwise it’ll just make you sicker. Give me a second. I’ll do it.’
‘Icanpeel a fucking root, Thorn,’ he snaps, only to grip his stomach and shudder in pain.
It’s getting worse, and if left untreated much longer, he’ll becompletely incapacitated. Which is exactly what I wanted – Zara and her crew out of commission so I could have a break from constantly watching my back. Now, I can’t help but wonder how they’re doing. Out here, the healers aren’t an option. I just pray that Etta knows death wasn’t my intention for them, no matter how much they may deserve it.
Having peeled and sliced a piece of the sticky root, I hand it to Kyor.
He grabs me with his other hand. ‘You wait here until I know that this works,’ he demands. ‘And if anything happens to me, she will rip your throat out.’
I nod. ‘It won’t take long. You don’t need to swallow it. Just chew it. That’s all.’
Kyor’s hand remains on my wrist as his mouth works at the root. There’s nothing to do now but wait. Wait to see if Elska found the right plant or if both the prince and I are about to take our last breaths.
‘I know you told Zelle,’ I blurt into the silence. His shift is so minimal I doubt I would have felt it if he hadn’t been holding me. But I do. Still, he doesn’t respond. ‘I know you told him you lied about my mother.’
‘You really think this is the time to have this discussion?’ He scoffs before descending into a coughing fit that has him slumping over his knees. When he finally speaks again, it’s in a barely audible mutter. ‘Fucking fool still thinks I’m redeemable.’
I’m surprised when the comment makes my heart hurt a little.Atoning,Zelle said.
Is Zelle the person who is waiting for Kyor at the end of this trial? The bond between the two makes it more than likely, but would they really allow one of our trainers to be involved in the Retterheld in such a manner? Then again, it’s not like they’re going to ask the king to wait around all night for Kyor to find him. And from the way Zelle spoke, it’s not like there’s anybody else Kyor is close to.
‘How are you feeling?’ I ask, nervous of the silence that’s forming between us.
‘Well enough to ram a fucking sword through your stomach for fucking poisoning me,’ he snaps back. ‘And believe me, if I don’t finish this challenge, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.’
Somehow, the bravado behind the threat makes me feel better. He’s clearly getting better if he can focus on his desire to kill me over his own pain.
Still, time is ticking and I need to find Kay. I pull my wrist out of his grip. A moment later, he’s pushing himself onto his feet.
Before I can explain that I didn’tmeanto poison him, he murmurs, ‘Less than an hour until sunrise.’ I’m not sure if he’s speaking to me or to Elska, but his next words are definitely aimed at the wolf. ‘Come on, girl. Let’s finish this.’
The giant creature lowers herself onto her haunches. Without hesitation, Kyor grabs a fistful of fur and leaps atop her. And then they’re racing off into the depths of the woods.
My heart fills my mouth as I watch on, dumbfounded. It’s true. She reallydoeslet him ride her.
Unbelievable. I wonder which of the other rumours about Kyor are also true, because I’ve heard alot.Mostly centring around his skills with women and war.
As Kyor disappears, I consider following him. I’ve no doubt that Elska can sniff out whoever it is he has to find and take the most direct path there. But her footsteps are silent and the two of them are already long gone by the time I think to follow them. Instead, I head up a tree to check my surroundings.
I’m much closer to the lights now – that’s the good news.
The bad news is that slivers of sunlight are breaching the horizon, the first mellow rays of morning lightening the sky as they slink over the trees.
How long does that give me till dawn? Kyor said less than an hour. I don’t know if that was a guess or something Elska instinctively knew, but either way, I reckon he’s right. Sixty minutes at most.
