“I’m better with a bow,” I admitted.
“I will stay close,” he said with a worried frown.
“Just keep the undead off me when we find the Devourer so I can concentrate on summoning the wind.”
“I will guard you with my life,” he said, moving closer to me. His gaze never left mine.
It lit a fire in my lower abdomen again, and I couldn’t help but grab hold of his shoulders and press my lips to his. He deepenedthe kiss immediately, holding me against him like he never wanted to let me go. I held on just as tightly.
When we finally managed to break apart, I remembered why he had come to my room late last night. “Did you speak with Emperor Altair?”
“Yes,” he said, mouth tightening. “He remained much the same as when we last saw him.”
“Does he suspect anything—like that we’re about to defy him and attack this creature he formed a dangerous alliance with?”
“He is too lost within himself to notice right now—he could barely answer me, and he remained in bed. I don’t foresee him searching for us this early in the morning. Also I noted that Lord Heron, for once, was absent from his side.”
“I suppose that’s good for us in this case, but what about…” I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry. “What about the wedding?”
Talon’s face may have remained the impassive soldier’s mask he had honed through years of discipline, but behind those captivating blue eyes, a storm raged. “He still expects it to take place soon.”
I pushed down the clawing desperation within—I knew very soon I would have to make a terrible choice, and the fate of my people hung in the balance. That was if I made it out of this battle with the Devourer alive.
“Ready to go?” he asked, when it was clear that I couldn’t bring myself to respond about the wedding.
When I nodded, he pulled open the door, where Zamir waited on the other side.
She saluted us both. “Falcon arrived in the pasture to guard Shazeera as you ordered, Commander,” she said. “Baz and Kestrel are waiting for us in the armory.”
“Good,” Talon said. “Lead the way.”
The hallways were quiet as we headed toward the armory, located just off the aerie. It became obvious why Talon had chosen dawn, as most of the palace still slept soundly in their beds.
While I stood guard, Talon and the others changed quickly into leather armor. But instead of the dusky gold outfitted with eagle-feather pauldrons, they all wore black leather. Despite the imminent danger, when Talon walked toward me with his sword at his hip and black armor setting off his dark hair and blue eyes, I froze, lips parted as I drank him in. The armor accentuated his leanly muscular body and broad shoulders.
He walked over to me and leaned close to my ear. “Don’t look at me like that,” he murmured as he handed me a light sword with ornate filigree on the hilt. My gaze flicked up and met his, only to find them burning with desire.
I was the first to tear my eyes away, a blush sneaking up my neck.
“Everyone said their goodbyes?” Kestrel said, destroying the mood in an instant as only he could.
Talon gave him a withering look. “Let’s go.”
We snuck through the back passageways that servants usually took, and just like the day before when we went to find Caelen, we encountered very few servants. Clearly, they were keeping themselves hidden.
As we moved steadily to the west, we crossed an interior bridge with a mountain stream running beneath it. It seemed to separate the eastern side of the palace, where we stayed, with the west wing, which now housed a monster.
It was as if I could sense it, though I knew I lacked such skill. I could almost hear something on the other side, like the slowthumping of a heart, the scrape of a claw, the eerie whisper of a voice in the dark. Every hair on my body was standing on end.
Our death waited there beyond the door, lingering in the darkness.
The sound of metal sliding against metal rang out as Talon and the others drew their swords, while Zamir kept her daggers drawn. I gripped my sword as Talon kept me behind him. With a nod, he signaled for Baz and Kestrel to pull open the heavy door.
Walking through that doorway was like wandering in a shadowy wood, knowing something watched from the darkness.
It was a long, dark hallway with only every other wall sconce lit. The shadows were deep and impenetrable. Enormous windows were covered with tapestries, so only weak light shone through from the bottom. A sickly-sweet smell wafted from farther down the hallway, so rotten I covered my nose with my hand. The scent of decay.
Of death.
