I shake my head. “I swear to you, Sae. Aldrich and I are doing everything we can. We’ll find a cure for you.”
Her cheeks redden. “Ifthere’s a cure, Meryn.If.”
“Sae—”
“Just stop, please. You shouldn’t promise things like that. What if you can’tfind a cure, Mer? What if I’m a Siphon forever? Have you thought about thatat all? Because it’s always on my mind.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I don’t want her to give up hope. She turns her eyes on me, and they shine with tears.
“What are you going to do with me when you fail? Will you put me away somewhere? Banish me? Leave me behind, like you tried to do today?”
I turn away, hurt, afraid. I want to tell her thatnothingis more important to me than she is, but—
A twig snaps behind Saela. I whirl back around to look for Anassa returning with prey.
But there’s a man there, tall and uniformed, face twisted with hate. And he has a knife to my sister’s throat.
“Gotcha, usurper,” he snarls at me.
21
STARK
Cratos and the other direwolves have barely had a chance to rest when a throbbing pulse of fear comes over my bond with Meryn, followed immediately by her voice in my mind—and in Venna’s and Noemi’s, judging by the way they both still.
“Come quickly. Deserter soldier, he has Saela. Don’t attack, I’ll try to talk him down, but please be at the ready.”
A growl rips out of my throat. Howdarehe?
If she hasn’t made progress by the time we get there, I’m going to yank out this guy’s intestines through his mouth.
The three of us mount up in record time. Our direwolves move swiftly and quietly through the forest to reach Meryn and Saela at the clearing. The setting sunlight through the forest leaves makes everything dappled in shadow.
We slide off our wolves to move closer but stay out of sight.
Meryn and Saela are on the opposite side of the clearing from us. The soldier is unkempt and dressed in a Nocturnan uniform, his eyes wild as he presses aglittering knife to Saela’s throat. Her skin is drained of all color, lips pressed into a thin, quivering line.
“Are you one of my soldiers?” Meryn’s voice echoes across the clearing.
The man’s face twists in contempt. “Yoursoldiers? Absolutely not.”
The rage in me builds, so close to the surface now.
The woods around the man rustle. Then figures emerge from the long shadows cast by the struggling sun. Their faces move in and out of the pale bluish light as they approach.
More soldiers. Maybe thirty, all wearing the same uniform.
Fuck.
“You two stay here,” I tell Noemi and Venna, voice low. “I’m going to disarm him. Be ready to attack, and make sure Skaia and Ephyse are prepared.”
Venna signs back—my words must have been too soft for her. “Please repeat?”
I attempt repeating the message in sign language. I’ve been studying it on my own since I first learned one of Meryn’s closest allies was hard of hearing. She nods, so I must’ve made enough sense.
“Is Anassa almost here?” I ask Cratos.
“Yes, almost,” he replies.“We’ll attack at your signal.”
