“Oh, I don’t know,” Belle said, cracked and peeling lips tilted toward a smile. “Life here is surprisingly resilient.” She paused, squinting at the rocky terrain separating us from the scientists working on the shield. “Look there. A bit of green. Vines, I think. And of course, we’re here. Alive. Surviving.”
I snorted. Was I to be pleased by a few withered vines with the call of the wild at my back?
Belle sighed, patting the pink, twisted flesh of my right hand. “Have you eaten today, Mila?”
Without meeting her eye, I lifted my stash of walnuts.
“We must preserve our strength if we hope to gather enough ki to power the shield,” she continued, pulling her knees to her chest. “Goddess, if only we had the Trila-Glís…”
My eyes snapped to her face. “Always this obsession with the Trila-Glís.”
“They’re an integral part of our process, sister. Without their gifts”—she shook her head—“the Triloth are spread too thin. We need ki to make progress with the Glaith technology. Four Triloth aren’t nearly enough. Even with Ancaster’s gadgets, things like healing will have to be sacrificed for progress.”
“Progress,” I whispered, tearing my gaze away. “You’d trap the Trila-Glís in a prison of Glaith for progress? Enslave them?”
“I imagine the High Priestess and the Elect would very much prefer to be with us, at the moment, wouldn’t you?”
I swallowed, hard, but said nothing.
After a moment, she cleared her throat. “I’m afraid, Mila. Afraid that without the Trila-Glís, we don’t have the power to fight.” She met my eye. “I’m terrified, sister, because logic dictates whoever possesses the Trila-Glís will win this war. We Priestesses seek peace, before all else. But the Trila-Glís”—she grimaced, something fierce glimmering beneath the delicate mask—“they are fire and wind. Our most powerful weapon is not only lost, but lies in the hands of our enemies. I would doanything,sacrificeanyone,to recover the Goddess’ chosen.”
“You need a weapon.”
“This is war. And we are badly outclassed.” She shrugged, picking at crusted dirt on her knee. “Shall I take a look at those claw marks while we’re waiting? I won’t be able to do much until we’ve got the shield going, of course, but I hate the thought of leaving you marked like that. Those scars will be terrible.”
I shrugged, scoring my newest scars with my nails. Tracing their length with something close to reverence. “They’re nothing. Save your energy.”
“Even so.” She stood, motioning for me to do the same.
Standing before her, I flicked the clasp of my belt, exposing my entire right side and pressing one hand over my breast to cover my nudity. Otherwise careless of who might see.
“Goddess, but you were lucky, Mila. That mountain lion very nearly disemboweled you.”
I clenched my fist, nails biting my palm. “Wasn’t her fault.”
Belle nodded, her attention fixed on the four angry red slashes marking me from the bottom of my ribs to mid-thigh. “Repairing those scars shouldn’t be an issue, but it may take all three of us to do it. Even with the Dosmui Circlets at our disposal.” She traced the lowest slash, the contact flooding me with the banked flames of Priestess ki. So beautiful… Soothing…
“Don’t.” I jerked back from her touch, rearranging my shift. “Don’t waste your strength on me, Priestess. Better to make sure Ancaster doesn’t walk with a limp.” Heart pounding, I spun away, stalking the edge of the forest.
Goddess, what was wrong with me? This urge to drink my sisters dry… it… it was mania. Uncontrollable, when I wasn’t with the Grandmother. When my ki was left without the exchange of poison for peace.
Tearing my sandals off, I slipped into the shadows, burying my feet into the earthy loam, connecting to the pulse of life once more. I only needed a moment, just a taste of the forest to center me before I’d return to them and pack my ki into a convenient little box. Ready for use as their weapon.
It only took a moment for the captain to realize I was almost beyond his reach. He uncoiled, his ki snaking through my system, kissing the edges of my senses. Promises whispering through my blood, if only I’d abandon this silly flight and go to him…
The lion’s roar echoed in the distance.
I grinned, tossing the captain aside. “What are you doing, pretty lady? Stalking us?” I reached through the roots, blending with the sharp senses of an apex predator, wetting my lips. No mere male had ever ruledher. None would dare to set foot upon her territory unless she allowed it. Unless she marked the trees with her scent and drew them to her.
A low rumble rose at the back of my throat. Oh, yes. If the captain wanted to keep playing his little games,hewould come tome. Let him set foot where he was not welcome if he wanted his prize so badly. Let him test his impossible Elite ki against the lion’s fury.
Let them all come.
The lion purred, watching from the shadows, motionless. Observing the refugees as they scrambled to get the shield installed between the mighty pillars of the Canodill Pass.
Humans. So soft. Vulnerable, with their dull, fragile claws and blunt teeth. It would be nothing to wait for the perfect moment, to surge from the shadows and pin one beneath me. Nothing to bury my teeth in the soft bit beneath the chin and feast on their ki until it was all gone…
And the Priestesses, so pure. Pale and filthy. Silver-blonde hair matted with sweat, faces marked with days of hard travel and the strain of tragic loss. Their senses blinded by the Glaith beneath the mountain. Unaware of the danger lurking so close…
