He pauses as if he knows I’m deflecting. “She’ll find her way back. One of the grooms will retrieve her. Is that what you’re thinking about?”
When I don’t answer immediately, his arm tightens slightly, that maddening thumb stroking my oversensitive skin in a much-too-distracting manner.
I clear my dry throat. “Ani mentioned the Aspacana clans. Will they be there?”
His thumbs stills. “Yes. We are going to the edge of Shabra territory, which means the current raissa will be there, and the rais of Chamros likely won’t be far behind.”
“Ani said they might know a way to help with my cuffs.” I shift around, trying to get comfortable and failing. He’s so hard it’s like sitting on a slab of unyielding granite.
“Did she?” he says, his voice like gravel. “Stop wriggling.”
“Are they dangerous?” I ask, muscles locking up in an attempt to stay still.
Something cool glides over me in an inky blanket, practically gluing me to him, and though I can’t see them, I know they’re his shadows. They’re meant to be comforting, but when I feel one snaking across my bare skin over my collar to wrap around my throat, my breath fizzles even as heat tracks like wildfire through me.
“I won’t let anything happen to you. They know you’re mine.” The stark possessiveness in the last sentence should aggravate me because I belong to no one but myself—but it only makes me feel stupidly warm. This ride must truly be knocking my good sense out of me.
The tendril caresses my jaw and feathers over my bottom lip. His breathing quickens behind me. I wish I could see his face, but it’s impossible at the speed at which we’re charging forward. I don’t want him to stop whatever this is, though sometimes it seems as though his magic has a mind of its own. When the silken tip eases inside my mouth, I nearly combust. “Darrius.”
“Weapons!” Shouts up ahead followed by screaming have me jolting out of my lust stupor.
Gods! We’re here already!
The king pulls up alongside his sister, who has halted near a small copse of trees, and deposits me unceremoniously in front of Ani. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”
“I can help!” I protest. “I can fight, remember?”
Stony, obsidian eyes meet mine. “No. The creature is sickened, and I need you out of its line of sight for your own safety. One glimpse and you’re dead. Stay here.” That stare softens slightly when he directs it to his sister. “Keep her out of harm’s way, please. By magical force, if you have to.”
“I will,” Ani says as I splutter in outrage.
I struggle against Ani’s unexpectedly strong grip, but her hold is relentless. I glance down, but her arms aren’t even around me, and yet, I cannot move. Stars, is she actually using her magic to restrain me? I push forward, and the loose scale mail of my vest tightens against my chest. Of course, she’s a ferrokinetic who controls metal.
The clash of steel echoes up to us, and the despondent cries of the soldiers. I lose sight of the king in the chaos of the battle unfolding, a mix of men on foot and those riding, the horses kicking up dust amid the waving grass. But then I see him again, wielding that huge onyx sword of his with unfailing precision. Sands, his eyes are closed, and yet he moves with such confidence.
His shadows must be guiding him, I realize.
Curious, I study the first Aspacana horde I’ve seen in person. They have to be Shabra, considering we’re on their territory. Ani had said their power was earth-based. That makes sense with the rising dust cloud and rumbling earthquakes. Even from a distance, they’re huge and their horses even bigger. Covered in brown-plumed helms and scratched bronze armor, a dozen of them form a loose circle where Darrius disappeared over the knoll, their battle-axes and enormous bows at the ready.
The basilisk roars and rears up as Darrius continues to wound it, using strikes of magic in tandem with his blade. Huge ice spikes pin its tail even as flames surround its torso. His kingsguard lose no time in protecting his flanks while launching their own magical blows. It seems for a moment like they have the upper hand until a burst of venom sprays from the serpent’s mouth, taking out nearly a dozen men when their armor and flesh starts to dissolve.
“Can you see what’s happening?” I ask, heart pounding when Darrius disappears from view.
Ani squints. “No. Don’t worry. My brother’s magic is powerful. It won’t be long.”
“I’m not worried abouthim,” I lie, and hear Ani scoff from behind me. Glad to know that I’m so transparent.
Another fierce horde on horses arrives from the south, kicking up a cloud of dirt behind them. The plumes of their helms are bone white, and their armor glints silver. Their horses seem leaner than the ones from Shabra, though they’re just as menacing. As one, I see them rise up and loosen arrows from their bows toward the center of the battle, causing a magical cyclone to whip the basilisk into the air for a second.
“Guard your eyes!” someone roars, but the warning must come too late as three warriors topple from their horses, struck dead by accidentally meeting the lethal stare of the monster.
“Gods,” Ani mutters. “Chamros. Their rais, Azes, is an arrogant prick.”
“Let’s get closer,” I say, adrenaline humming through my veins.
“No, we stay here, out of sight. It’s too dangerous.”
I still can’t locate Darrius. Did the venom get him? I might not have offensive magic, but I know my blood can heal. It had healed Razulek. And I need the king alive to get me back to Oryndhr. That’s what I tell myself anyway. That’s theonlyreason I care. And besides, my dagger has magic—the runes and jadu smelted onto the blade mean I won’t be completely vulnerable.
