In one swift motion, he pulled his sword from its scabbard and arced it downwards toward Emmeric.
“No!” Iyana dove into her magic, tunneling to its very depths, drawing from Emmeric at the same time. Ignoring the rush of pleasure that always came with the connection, she redirected the snowy wind to wrap around Uther’s sword.
It stopped, mere inches from Emmeric’s exposed neck. A heartbeat more and his head would have been on the ground with Gordon and Geoff’s. Iyana stalked forward, her hand outstretched. Sweat beaded on her brow despite the frigid temperatures. Uther was fighting her. She felt the pressure he was exerting on her wind barrier, and it took all of her strength to keep it together. To protect Emmeric.
The emperor’s neck strained, his muscles more pronounced. A vein in his forehead pulsed erratically. Then she recognized the astmina and those tendrils of shadow reaching down into his sword, lending him strength. Iyana almost faltered. Almost allowed herself to go back to the day on Azazel’s table when she had felt those shadows pierce her heart. Maybe it wasn’t a byproduct of the drug at all. She wasn’t sure which option was worse—she wasn’t completely crazy, or those malevolent shadows actually existed.
That small amount of panic allowed her to thrust almost all of her power at the blade. Yelling until she thought she might tear her own throat out, she finally threw the sword from Uther’s hand with a mighty gust. Iyana dropped the windimmediately, rushing to Emmeric’s side where he had slumped into the snow. Bright red blood pooled around him, the amount becoming alarmingly larger. She tore into her thumb with her teeth, just as he had done that one day for her, and mingled their life force together to heal him of all his wounds. They were both weakened after, and Iyana almost missed Uther approaching her with a curved dagger and a crazed look on his face.
Then Zane was tackling his father to the ground. “Go!” he shouted to them.
Iyana picked Emmeric up as best she could. He scooped up his saddlebag, and they leaned on each other, lurching towards the tree line and the horses she knew waited there. She lost sight of Zane and Uther but saw Talon fighting with a sword in one hand and a knife in the other, felling his enemies as they came. No signs of vomiting; only a fierce determination on his face. Kaz was tearing and ripping with her fangs and claws. Altair fought off a hoard of soldiers with what appeared to be a sword of fire. If they survived this, she was definitely making him teach her that trick.
A shrill whistle pierced the air. Altair. It was the signal that Iyana and Emmeric were clear, and everyone else should retreat. Go back to the horses and run. It might not have been the bravest strategy, but they had all agreed it would be better to live to fight another day. Once they were able to think things through, develop a plan…then they would take the fight to Uther. If they decided this was their day to meet him head on, it would not end well for any of them.
Iyana and Emmeric stumbled to the horses, their strength slowly returning. She helped Emmeric onto Talon’s chestnut horse. Ciri would unfortunately be left behind, and it killed Iyana that they couldn’t save the beautiful palomino, but this way was safer. Zane and Talon would ride on Ryunn, and Kaz would ride with Emmeric or run in her leopard form. By the time Emmeric had situated himself in the saddle, back bowed, the others were returning. In a flurry of movement, the horses were untied, Altair practically threw Iyana onto Pryn, and they were readying to leave.
Until Talon asked, “Where is Zane?”
Chapter 42
Zane
So fucking stupid,Zane berated himself.
After tackling Uther to the ground, they had wrestled for control of the blade, and Zane wasso closeto besting his father. He had him pinned to the ground, seizing the dagger out of his hand. Uther attempted to buck him off, but Zane was larger and possessed more bulk—even if it didn’t appear so at first glance. Uther’s eyes widened. It would be a quick thing to shove the dagger into his heart and end this now. But this man was still his father. His father who refused to spar with him and instead beat him behind closed doors. Now Zane saw it was because he was nervous; he was fully capable of defeating him. He raised the dagger.
In his anger at the loss of the twins, and his repressed feelings about his mother, he had forgotten the man underneath him was still the emperor and his men were duty-bound to protect his life. Zane had hesitated a moment too long and the hilt of a sword slammed into his skull, knocking him off Uther.
Black spots burst in his vision as he fell off of his father and he lay dazed on the snowy ground. Zane groaned, forcing himself to stay conscious. Nausea churned his stomach. He rolled onto his hands and knees, trying to shake off the effects of the direct hit to his head. Somebody yanked his hands behind his back, causing his face to hit the icy snow. Those black spots spread. He focused on breathing evenly as his hands were bound and the darkness ebbed. A boot nudged him onto his side, allowing him to glare up into the smug face of his father.
“Just know,” Zane wheezed, “I would have won, you cowardly piece of shit.”
Uther frowned and swiftly kicked Zane in the side. He curled in on himself—the wind stolen from his lungs. A shuddering breath set fire to his ribs. His father crouched down to lower his voice.
“Do you want to hear why I killed your mother?” Zane continued to pant in pain, glaring up at the monster. “I found her in bed with another man. She begged me to spare him, and she would do anything I asked of her. Quite like many years later when I foundyouin bed with a man. Begging didn’t work either time. Be grateful I spared your life that day instead of cutting you down as I did your mother.”
“You should have killed me then, you bastard,” Zane said through gritted teeth. “Because I’m going to kill you.” He thrashed against his bonds. He’d slaughter him right then and there. Damn the consequences.
Uther leaned even closer and whispered, “The bastard would be you, boy. You are no son of mine.” Then he stood and walked away, barking orders to pack Zane up and to keep eyes on him at all times.
Any thoughts of escape drained out of his mind. Was Uther disowning him due to his recent actions, or did he mean he was literally not his son? Could the other man his mother was with have been his biological father?
A rough yank brought Zane to his feet. He glanced over towards the tree line where his friends had disappeared to. He hadn’t even heard the signal to retreat, too focused on the task in front of him. Next time would require better planning. If he had another opportunity… A small flurry of movement in the trees drew his attention, and he saw a flash of red.
Talon.
No. No. Talon couldn’t come back for him. It would let Uther know what he meant to him. Hoping Tal could see him, he shook his head and mouthed at him togo. For a moment he thought the other man would come for him anyway and he willed Talon to see reason; there was no way to win this fight. When he saw someone yank his friend back, he breathed a sigh of relief. Zane knew he could withstand Uther, and he didn’t want any of his friends to endure his special brand of treatment. Iyana, especially, had already had enough of it for two lifetimes.
Zane was thrown into a wagon. He grunted, landing on his right shoulder. It dislocated from the impact, and he struggled to sit himself upright. A dauntingshadow blocked what little light remained in the sky—the storm was picking up in speed and blotting out the sun.
“I’ll give you one chance to tell me of your friends’ plans,” Uther said.
Looking the emperor in the eye, conveying as much malice as possible, he spat on his shoes in response. Uther’s face contorted into an expression that Zane, unfortunately, knew well. His father had moved past anger and fully into ‘I’m going to make you regret you were born.’ That was fine. He’d endured it before, he would do so again.
The emperor smoothed out his anger, which was more terrifying. Uther squatted in front of Zane and yanked his head back by his hair, a sharp pain jolting through his skull. His father’s icy blue eyes glittered as they bore into his soul. The bastard was enjoying this, finally able to punish his son publicly the way he’d always wanted.
“How quickly you all rushed back here to save that boy,” he said in a low tone, amusement coating every word. “But where are your friends now, Zane? They used you and discarded you when you became too big of a burden, just like everyone else has been doing your entire life. You’re useless, a worm beneath my boot.” In a whisper, he added, “I enjoyed every second of killing your mother and the disgusting man I found you with. I’ll enjoy every moment of making you talk as well.”
