“I’m not certain,” Calrain said. “As I said before, it was too dark to make them out clearly, and besides, Riann had shoved me beneath a bush. But nothing they said gave me cause to believe that they recognized Riann. I strongly suspect we were simply in the wrong place at the wrongtime.”
“But why capture Riann, then?” Tariel asked. “If they merely wanted to rob him, why not kill or maim him, then relieve him of his belongings? And why healhim?”
“Ifthey healed him,” Calrain reminded them. “They might nothave.”
Yarim shrugged. “Perhaps this is some sort of recruitment ritual, and the bandits plan to make Riann work for them. He is a strapping young man who is good with a sword—they would have use forhim.”
Zolotais huffed. “Recruiting someone by kidnapping doesn’t seem an effective way to swell one’s ranks,” she said as she floated along behind them. “It is more likely we are in their territory, and that they have taken Riann back to their camp to interrogatehim.”
Tariel shuddered at the thought—she knew quite well what “interrogations” usually entailed. Except… “That doesn’t explain why they healed him, if that is indeed whathappened.”
“No,” Zolotais agreed, a troubled look on her face. “Itdoesn’t.”
They continued through the forest for a while, the path climbing steeply and slowing their ascent. Eventually, it leveled out, but as the trees grew closer together and the paths began to branch out, they quickly lost the tracks. Tariel was forced to rely solely on the bond as they navigated their way through the forest, which was tricky while trying to remain on one of the paths the entiretime.
After what seemed like endless hours of switchbacking through the forest, the trees began to thin out, and they could see the sky again. But Tariel’s relief at feeling the wind on her face was short-lived when the bond led them straight to the edge of achasm.
“Damn,” Yarim said as they peered over the edge. There was a river at the bottom, a good two hundred feet down, the water hissing and frothing as it barreled its way south, likely toward the sea. “Our horses won’t be able to navigatethat.”
“Tariel might be able to use her magic to ford the river,” Zolotais said. “But considering how little sleep all three of you had, I doubt she is in any condition to do it now. You might consider, ah, replenishing your reserves before you continue on this leg of thejourney.”
Calrain and Yarim exchanged glances while Tariel shook herhead.
“I could not possibly think to make love right now,” she said. “Not while I am so worried forRiann.”
But Zolotais did not yield even an ounce of sympathy. “The three of you are useless to Riann if you are weak and exhausted,” she said. “You can either rush off to your deaths now, or take a few hours to regain your strength so you can properly savehim.”
“We take your point, Zolotais,” Yarim said gently, before Tariel could argue. “We shall make our way down to the river, then stop for the midday meal and decide what to donext.”
“Very well,” Zolotais said. She vanished back into the abacus in a flash of golden light, leaving the three of them to figure out the safest path down to theriver.
After some trial and error, they found the entrance to the trail that wound down the side of the chasm and headed down single file. The path was narrow and filled with pebbles and dirt that horse hooves could easily slip on. With the sheer drop on the side, they took it as slow as possible. Tariel held her breath nearly the entire way down, her stomach knotted with dread, excruciatingly aware of how easily any of them could fall to theirdeaths.
By the time they made their way to the bottom, a dull headache pounded at her temples, and she wanted to do nothing more than lie down and close her eyes. Perhaps Zolotais was right, she thought ruefully as she stared at the raging river. An hour or two of rest would do hergood.
“Come,” Yarim said as they brought their horses to a halt. He dismounted, then reached up and circled his hands around Tariel’s waist. “Let me help you down, before you falloff.”
Tariel let him pull her off her horse, snuggling into his chest as he carried her over to a grassy area. Calrain was already laying out the bedrolls, and as Yarim sat Tariel gently down onto one of them, her stomach grumbledloudly.
“Oh, all right,” she said sheepishly as Yarim and Calrain smirked at her. “I’lleat.”
“There is no shame in admitting you need a break,” Yarim assured her as he handed her a hunk of bread and cheese. “We have been riding for a good six hours, and none of us slept much lastnight.”
“We also aren’t used to traveling this much,” Calrain pointed out as he sat down on the bedroll on Tariel’s right. He drew his knees up to his chest as he munched on his crust of bread, his silver gaze thoughtful. “Before you, I never would have lasted more than a few hours on a horse, never mind days and days of travel. My body has grown stronger, but yours has not, Tariel. We all have ourlimitations.”
“It would have been nice if I had gotten enhanced strength and healing,” Tariel said, only half-joking. “But I suppose I’ll have to content myself withmagic.”
Yarim snorted. “I consider anyone who wields even a drop of power to be damned lucky. Even in the Maroyan Empire, only one in every twenty-five women wields magic. And in men, it is even rarer. My own sister was a mage of middling strength, and I always enviedher.”
“In men?” Calrain echoed, sounding shocked. “But I thought only women hadmagic!”
“As I said,” Yarim said around a mouthful of food, “it is very rare. But every once in a while, a male child will exhibit some magical talent. It might be as simple as being able to sense the presence of a body of water—quite useful in the desert, mind you—or being able to influence feelings to get someone to do yourbidding.”
“Interesting,” Tariel said. “I think that if Sir Jerrold had known that, he would have had you arrested muchsooner.”
Yarim’s full lips quirked up at the corners. “He didn’t seem to like me much upon our first meeting. But I imagine he no longer believes I am the one with magic, now that he has seen what you cando.”
The reminder of their encounter with Sir Jerrold in the inn sobered them all. Tariel’s skin went cold as she remembered how she had blasted the witch hunter and his remaining knight through the wall with a bolt of magic. He should not have been able to survive such a blow, and yet, according to Riann and Yarim, only his companion had been found in the snow. Somehow, the deadly witch hunter had gotten away, and though he was probably gravely wounded, Tariel would be a fool to think he would retreat to his cave to lick hiswounds.
No, a man like that, possessed by the soul-devouring fanaticism that gleamed in Sir Jerrold’s eyes, would stop at nothing until he had caught his quarry. And though Carliss was rumored to be friendlier toward magic-users than Fjordland, Tariel knew they would not be truly safe until they had reached theEmpire.
The three of them finished their meal, then snuggled together on the bedrolls. Sandwiched between Calrain and Yarim, Tariel allowed herself to be lulled to sleep by their combined warmth. Exhaustion should have blanketed her mind completely. Though she drifted into the darkness, in the back of her mind, Riann’s thread still tugged on her. She had to findhim…
The sensation of soft lips on the back of her neck tugged Tariel from sleep. Tariel shivered a little as a pleasant warmth slid into her veins, stirring the desire that always slept just beneath the surface. She arched her neck to give Calrain better access, moaning softly when his teeth found just the rightspot.
Yarim opened his eyes, their violet depths gleaming as he watched Tariel and Calrain. But her Maroyan lover wasn’t content to sit back and let Calrain have all the fun—he found the ties at her bodice and deftly loosened them, freeing her breasts from the confines of herdress.
The three of them made love together by the river, using their hands and mouths to awaken each other’s senses and stoke the flames of their need. Calrain slid into her from behind, thrusting slow and deep, while Yarim played with her nipples, licking and sucking until she cried out, her inner walls clenching around the cock inside her as shecame.
As always, the orgasm triggered a flood of magic from within her, making her skin glow and boosting her mood. But even her renewed strength wasn’t enough to banish her exhaustion, and after the three of them had sated each other, she slipped back into sleep. When she woke they would continue on their journey to find Riann. But for now, she would regain her strength so that when the time came, she could rain hell on those who had takenhim.
