A dull ache pounded in her head when she tried to think. Hot tea swirled with streaks of purple came to her. Patients shivering, covered with blankets. Eating it raw should produce similar results, though likely more potent.
“Why help me?” she asked.
“A grown woman with magic is a rare commodity in the mage trade. In order to survive the dawn dose of the blocking agent, you need to regain your strength. You can eat this of your own volition, or I can use a tube gag to give you a liquid version, like we do with the red girl. Your choice, but you will be taking it.”
“I’ll eat it.”
She opened her mouth, letting him slip the small piece of fruit in. It was sweet with a slight zing of bitterness to it. After the third piece, she started to feel a touch warmer.
Feeling began to return to her limbs, and she could feel the stiffness as she flexed her fingers and toes. It seemed the raw form of the bonyon remedy worked very quickly. Breathing a sigh of relief, she let him give her some water and the remaining chunks of fruit, her healer’s curiosity piqued by the differences this form provided.
Heat began to spread through her body, continuing to warm her from the inside. Pressure eased off her chest, its absence a huge relief. Her vital organs had been straining more than she realized to keep her functioning. She really had pushed too far in the ice cellar earlier. Lengthy exposure to the cold was devastating enough to the body, but she’d forced herself to exert tremendous energy while engaging her magic to fight the drug.
The sound of multiple sets of footsteps grew loud in the hallway. Shortly thereafter, one of the men she’d zapped in town stepped into the doorway. “All set, Captain.”
“Excellent. You know the drill, Hayes.”
“Yes, sir.” Nodding, the man left.
Captain Darrett rose and leaned against his desk. “You’re going to answer some questions for me, Celina. If you don’t, or if I don’t like your answers, there will be consequences. Except you won’t be the one to suffer them this time.”
Extending his arm, the captain rapped his knuckles against the wall. An answering cry of pain made Celina jump, wrenching her bonds severely enough that the rope burned her skin.
The menacing smile she’d seen earlier returned to his face. “The bonyon fruit overstimulates your senses. An amusing and useful side effect, don’t you think? You’ll be able to hear everything quite well.”
Horror made her pulse race until she felt she would explode. He was right. She could hear the ragged breathing and the soft crying of whichever child had been paired with her for this interrogation.
“Why are you doing this? I’ve cooperated fully.”
“Because you need to understand your place here.”
Stepping toward her, he gripped her neck and pressed a finger into her artery. She gasped as the sensation of coldseeped into her. With the fruit over sensitizing her skin, his hand felt a significantly different temperature. His grip strengthened when she jerked back, firm and controlling, as he forced her head to tip back uncomfortably.
He dropped his head next to hers. “You took out my men in less than five minutes this morning. I promised you that you would regret it, and I’m a man of my word.”
The whispered words rang loud and harsh in her ear as he stepped back, accompanied by the faint echo of fear from the other room.
Chapter 30
Rodriccrouchedbehindamassive Zamyran plant waiting for the signal to begin the raid. Keeping his mind firmly in Preddari mode, he pushed his growing anxious energy into a fine stream of powerful fury, transforming it before it had a chance to settle and make him jumpy.
His magic responded to the same molding, swirling in a steady pattern in his core, ready for use. For a moment, he wished he had a more offensive ability, anything that could help guarantee a positive outcome for this battle. Much as it would be ideal in this situation, he wasn’t a warrior. He was a hunter, and patience was his most valuable asset. Though Brenna’s fate, and Celina’s, rested equally on all of them, the weight of responsibility was his alone.
Staring at the purple-tinged leaves, his mind went to Celina’s expression of shock when he’d found her hiding. He smiled, fingers rubbing the leaf in front of him. The love she’d shown him in such a hard time filled him with strength to be who he needed to be in this moment—a hunter, protector, guardian. Reaching for her, he hit that incessant wall blocking her magic. The sudden absence since she’d been taken had been truly awful, making all his senses feel out of sync as if part of his soul was missing.
An arm’s length away, Sev shifted an infinitesimal amount, signaling in the dim light to indicate he saw something interesting. Glancing through the dense foliage, Rodric saw a soldier moving hurriedly out of the keep toward the stable, his movements sharp with the anxious twitch of someone who didn’t want to be caught doing something wrong. Passing into a deep stretch of shadow, there was a jar of indistinct movement, as if a heavy breeze had disturbed the air. Rodric waited, watching closely, but the only part of the man that emerged was an arm falling out of the shadow. He blinked, and the arm vanished into the darkness.
Sev met his gaze, a half-astounded, half-amused look in his eyes, making Rodric’s lips quirk. They did indeed have some incredible partners on this mission.
Shadows billowed around them, moving like mist in a puff of wind. He was getting used to the hallmark of Cass’s talent, but it was still startling to his senses. As an observer, without knowing what was happening, he would never have guessed anything but air was moving in the night. The next instant, Cass stepped forward and dropped low to meet them.Perimeter clear,she signaled,one down.
Rodric breathed a sigh of relief. No new soldiers had arrived, and the guards were where they anticipated. Daya was hidden on the mountainside with her bow, ready to support them if needed. Her hawks flew quietly in the growing darkness, guarding from above. Sev winked at him, assuring all would be fine. Nodding his acknowledgment, he glanced back at Connor, his designated partner for the battle.Ready.
Let’s go,Connor signaled.
Moving back into the shadow, he vanished. Rodric stepped into the dark and followed closely behind Connor. He could feel the man’s movement, but his eyes couldn’t detect anything besides the night. It was disconcerting to his mind, but he ignored the strangeness and trusted his hunting senses, keeping step a few feet behind Connor without trouble. Silently, they slipped over the low point in the wall into the compound.
Heavy silence blanketed the air, acting like a sharp blade on the edge of Rodric’s nerves. The lack of regular activity was ominous in its absence. Approaching the fallen man, he frowned. The man was completely clean of blood. The unusual angle of the head, line of sight directed along the same path as the arm, toward the keep entrance a distance away, indicated a broken neck.
