I nodded at C’ael. “Take us to the others.”
With no idea how much time we had left, I’d have to work fast to save us all.
The village hallwas nothing more than two shacks built side by side with a doorway connecting them. It was crammed with djinn and Asura. Someone handed out bowls of stew while someone else passed around bread rolls. But the delicious aroma of food was overshadowed by the stench of sorrow.
So many lives lost. Warriors who’d been kin to these people—brothers, husbands, fathers.
All eyes turned to me as I entered, and the low hum of conversation petered out.
Little Dodi broke away from his sister, Falima, and ran over to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed. “You came back.”
What was it with these people and thinking I’d abandon them? Did they believe that they were expendable?
A flash of heat lanced through me, and I gently pulled away from the boy, crouching so that we were eye to eye. “I want you to listen to me carefully, okay? As long as I live and breathe, I will always come back for you. Do you understand?”
He nodded, his delicate throat working as he blinked back tears. “I didn’t know. I didn’t see that part in my dream, so I didn’t know. I don’t know what will happen now.”
“It’s all right. You don’t have to know because I’ll tell you.”
I stood slowly and put my hand on his shoulder as I looked at the forlorn group of people gathered around me. The weight of their hopes and dreams settled on me like a mantle, the responsibility for their survival now mine.
“I want you all to pack some essentials. We’re going to leave in a few hours.”
“Where will we go?” Falima asked.
“Anywhere that isn’t here.”
“There is nowhere on this island that he won’t find us,” Falima said.
Her words sparked an inkling of an idea. If they weren’t safe on this island, then maybe they’d be safe on another. A place like Shantivan. But how would we get there?
“Kalani, is there a way to get to Shantivan? A ship? Something?”
“The only ships that circle the Isle regularly belong to the Ether Riders, and I have no idea when they’re due to arrive or on which cove. But…” She chewed on her cheeks, and I could almost see the cogs in her head turning. It took everything I had not to prompt her to continue. To let her finish her thought naturally. “The vayujaari may be able to give refuge in their storm city,” she said finally. “It’s several miles southeast of here, but we can get there and back before high sun if we leave now.”
“And what if they’ve been compromised by the primordial evil?” Yudh said.
“And what if they haven’t?” Kalani countered. “Look, we can’t make assumptions. We need to know for sure, and…they may have information about this evil. From what Mother taught me, the vayujaari are as old as the Deva.”
She was right. We had to try. “Everyone, pack your essentials. We’ll be back soon, and we will leave this place, one way or another. I promise you that.”
“What about the revenants?” Falima said. “What are we going to do with them?”
My stomach sank. Fuck.
Chapter 3
AN OATH BREAKER’S VOW
Asingle lantern burned low by the entrance to the revenant stables. I rubbed the chill from my arms, my breath pluming in the air in front of my face. The braziers on either side of the room had long gone out.
I hurried to the nearest one, intent on relighting it, but Yudh beat me to it.
“Allow me,” he said.
I stepped back with a nod while he set to work. Dhoona strode to the second brazier. A few moments later, firelight licked at the shadows, and heat swelled in the air.
The oath breaker gods prowled the shadows of their cells, obsidian catching firelight, muscles rippling as they paced.
