My insides alternate between scalding heat and sickening cold. “I have to believe that Killian’s Bonded won’t hurt them,” I say, communicating over the bonds with the group to avoid the chance of being overheard.“Their battle isn’t with the commoners of Linsfall. He likely wants them on his side.”
Venna hesitates.“You have the last Tear?”
“I do.”
“And… it caused all this?”Venna gestures helplessly around her.
I swallow.“I don’t know for sure. But, yes, I believe so.”
That seems to decide it for her.“We must not let that power fall into enemy hands. We should find somewhere safe to regroup.”
I’m grateful, then, that I’m not the only one who thinks we need toleave—no matter how in need these people are. Venna, a friend with more compassion than me, supports this decision.
“Agreed,” I say.“United with Lucien, we’ll have six Tears on our side. Even with Killian sapping my magic and Alistair’s strength, we should have the power to take him down. Then we can come back here and rebuild. But we should choose the time and place of that fight.”
Stark grudgingly agrees.“We need a plan, not to make a desperate last stand after a long night of tiring ourselves out.”
“Let’s go. Right now,” I order, and the rest of us mount up. We did what we could, but we’re out of time.
We start to fall into traveling formation, but before we can move, a trembling voice calls out from the crowd. “You’re abandoning us, Your Highness?”
My throat closes up, and I can’t so much as turn to seek out the source of the question. The wail of a child shrieks over my skin, rending me open.
“I’m so sorry to leave you like this,” I tell them. There’s no way to know whether my voice carries across the crowd.
Whether any of them will even hear my apology.
I force myself to look at the sea of faces before and behind me, doing everything I can not to remember the faces of the lost, those I’ve sent into the unknown and those taken from me.
“I will never abandon you. I promise. Whether you believe I’m your rightful ruler or that Killian Valtiere is, I have sworn my life to you, the people of Nocturna. At this moment, I’m being pursued, and the safest thing I can do for you is leave. As soon as I have troops under my command, we will return to Linsfall to help rebuild. Until then, I know you can count on one another.” Then I urge Anassa forward.
There are no more questions as we ride toward the camp where Elias and Lucien wait.
We move at speed in perfect formation. Stark is at my side, leading with me. Noemi rides on my other side for protection. Venna rides behind us, ready to alert us quickly if we’re being followed.
There’s smoke in my lungs as we pound over the frozen dirt. The hilt of my dagger is cold in my grip, radiating pain up my arm.
I’m so wrung out that I don’t know if I could conjure a whisper of magic. But my daggers have never failed me.
We race through the woods and out toward our campsite without incident, our wolves pushing hard to get us away from danger as quickly as they can.
The fire of our camp is visible on the next hill. And then a shiver of awareness draws my attention to our bonds. Venna sensed something.
I don’t have time to fully perceive it before a high-pitched hiss of air touches one of my ears and then the other. Then a thud, a whimper cut short.
Blindingpain ruptures through my connection.
I choke and nearly fall off Anassa; the hand I’m gripping her with has an impulse to snap to my throat, to stop the bleeding.
“Stop!” I scream at Anassa, both aloud and echoing over our bond, and her paws scrape deep grooves in the ground as she fights her momentum.
I whirl around.
Venna’s wolf Skaia is on the ground. A massive arrow is punched clear through her throat.
She’s bleeding so much. She’s—
She’s dying.
