A chorus of cries lifted into the air, Dakkari words and shouts of alarm that I didn’t know the meaning of, when a small group of hordesmen closest to the edge spotted their king.
“Rowin!” came a sharp yell, a voice I recognized. Thepujerakrushed forward, not caring that he’d entered past the line of the fog. The tunnel was clear for him, however, and he ran towards his horde king.
I pulled my hand away from Rowin’s grip, taking a step back, lingering on the edge of my barrier.
Thepujerakgripped Rowin’s shoulder, but at his horde king’s grunt, he pulled his hand away, which glimmered with dark blood. His shoulder wound still hadn’t healed over.
Rowin was looking at me, however. Not hispujerak. His expression was tight. Watchful. When hispujeraknoticed his stare, he asked something in Dakkari. Low words that I didn’t understand, but the inflection of them had me backing away. My heartbeat sped. My instincts were telling me to run.
I needed to return to Tess. I would do whatever I could to convince her to leave with me. After tonight, it was clear we couldn’t remain at the Dead Mountain. Wehadto go north, follow in Jacob’s footsteps, and perhaps we would find them. There was no other choice. Perhaps—
“Take her.”
The rough order barked from Rowin’s throat.
Without a moment’s hesitation, thepujeraklunged for me.
And with a startled cry, I dropped the barrier that held the fog at bay. It swarmed in, all around them.
And all I saw was red.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Thesarkiathought she could hide from me in her fog?
I could smell her. I could hear her heart beating furiously in her chest. I heard her shallow gasps.
She cannot hide from me, I thought. I would find her wherever she was.
“Get to the edge,” I ordered Valavik, mypujerak.
I only breathed in the fog when I needed to catch her scent.
She didn’t get far. When I sensed her presence, I lunged. She wouldnotescape me.
A fierce little cry rang from her lips but I growled, wrapping my arm tight around her, fighting the urge to bite at her neck to subdue her. An ancient instinct. Why was I always reduced to my most primal form around her?
When she continued to struggle against me, I gave in to the urge. I leaned down and bit her neck, eliciting a strangled gasp from her, and she froze. I used just enough pressure to not break the skin but to keep herstill.
“Never run from me,sarkia,” I growled against her skin. I felt…unhinged. Out of control. I didn’t like it. But I figured I just needed time to recalibrate myself after being imprisoned under the Dead Mountain. That was all. A couple days in my horde would cure me of this madness.
Her gasps were ragged. I felt the sharp sting of the fog wind its way down my throat and I knew I was running out of time.
I hauled her up…and over my shoulder. My uninjured one.
She struggled against me, making outraged sounds at my back.
“Stop, Rowin,” she cried out. “I ha-have t-to getback!”
I would’ve scoffed had I not been trying to hold my breath. She wanted to goback? To what?
She weighed nothing to me and I strode through the fog easily, though whatever was in the mist began to sting my eyes.
Valavik’s relief was palpable when I emerged. His shoulders loosened and he came to me.
“Are you all right?” he asked me, looking me over, though his eyes lingered on the wound in my tail and my blood-stained tunic.
“Lysi,” I grunted, bucking Mina off my shoulder and placing her in front of me, dragging in lungfuls of clean air to clear the fog from my throat.
