Zaarib bared his teeth; Khalid bared his back.
“Stop swinging your dicks around,” barked Rana, the oldest member of their group—Kamaal’slegion.The Legion of Silverstorm.An airborne horde of wyvern riders, not simply ground warriors anymore. He’d done this in secret, without telling me. Despite me making no secret of the fact I despised our father, Kamaal had kept me in the dark while he trained his ground legion to fly, while they bonded wyverns, while they collected information on the king, the council, and every power player on the continent.On the continent,because this legion had information on Kalder, too. Not in the same way the Torn Isle did, through an emissary and peace talks; through subterfuge and deadly missions.
I was definitely going to throttle my brother when I saw him again.
Did you know about this?I demanded of the lightning soul.
Her silence spoke volumes.
And yet you allowed me to send my wife there, under his protection.
Threads of fate,she replied.Things are falling as they are meant to.
I didn’t bother replying to that bullshit. My shock was giving way to anger, and I couldn’t afford to lose control. Something told me I’d need every last lightning bolt for what was to come in Morysen.
“The Torn Isle sent Fyrevein to kill us,” Rana said to Khalid, “because they knowweknow the bodies dumped on their shores were put there by their own people.”
“They—what?” A headache began to flare at my temples. “That makes no sense.”
She scoffed, giving me the same searing look she gave Khalid. “They’re as involved in this dark war as any of the king’s council. It’s the same as the last time darkness tore across this continent—the Zalaam queen promised power in untold levels, and her allies didn’t give a shit who died in pursuit of that power as long as they got their share. I bet there are corrupt leaders in every city. They must have assumed they could corrupt you, too, if they sent you after us, if they were willing to risk the chance we’d ally our forces.”
“Forces,” Shula repeated, jumping on that word. “How many forces are we talking? Enough to fly into Morysen, break someone out of the dungeons, and get out again?”
I could have hugged her for how focused she was on freeing Ameirah.
Khalid fixed his shrewd eyes on her, then gave me a knowing look. “You would have assassinated the Silver Rider in exchange for Torn Isle’s help in freeing Ameirah.”
“Lucky guess,” Zaarib muttered under his breath, glaring at Ameirah’s cousin. My cousin, too, I realised.
“Answer Shula’s question,” I bit out, and forced myself to add, “Please.”
“You can’t expect us to trust you simply because you agree the king’s a dick and we’re at war,” Khalid laughed, caustic enough to fray my temper.
“Ameirah isimprisoned,”I snarled, ignoring the lightning soul’s advice to take a breath. “She is locked up in dungeons where blood permanently stains the cells, where unforgivable atrocities occur in secret, where people disappear into massgraves never to be found. Where right this minute, my wife could be screaming and begging for mercy that will never be granted before she is slaughtered and thrown into one of those graves—”
My voice strangled, my chest heaving with hard breaths. I couldn’t forget the fear in her eyes in that dream, couldn’t forget the way she clung to me, trembling all over as she tried to remember what had happened to her. I couldn’t forget the pain I’d felt only hours before, strong enough to make me almost slide off Mak’s back as we flew into the Red Star.
Hers. I didn’t know how, didn’t know what magic allowed me to sense her pain, but that agony belonged to my wife. I had no doubt of it. How long would it be before I felt them torture her again?
“We have enough to get into Morysen and out again,” Khalid said, any snarling amusement wiped from his expression. “We’ll fly in with you, and reinforcements will only be an hour behind.”
I stood in a rush, blood pounding in my head, and I knew the clouds were dark over Earlsorn, knew a storm gathered. Power I would no doubt pay for later, with more marks on my body. I didn’t give a shit as long as I got Ameirah back before the king could hurt her.
“Shula, explain our plan. Work through any issues. I need some air.” I didn’t wait for my friend’s confirmation before I strode for the door, gasping down lungfuls of hot air when I reached the small, unevenly paved road outside.
I couldn’t stop feeling that pain, couldn’t stop hearing her voice as she shook in my arms.
I’m afraid, Varidian. I’m so afraid, and I can’t remember why.
My head spun, and the sky turned dark, shadows of clouds passing over me. I needed to get my shit under control, but I couldn’t. Ameirah was imprisoned, the captive of a man whowould doanything,torture and killanyone,in his quest for power. I struggled for breath, my head spinning.
“I didn’t realise,” an unwelcome voice came, the door closing as Khalid joined me. “That you loved her so much.”
“More than anything,” I snarled, and jolted when the man grabbed my wrist. Only the fact that my chest opened to allow a rush of breaths stopped me from stabbing him. I looked at him in surprise. “You’re a healer.”
A sharp nod was his reply.
I didn’t know what power I’d expected from the scowling gentry but not healing.
