I narrow my eyes at them, unsettled by their appearance.
The younger soldier is frozen for a moment before his jaw clenches. “We have to find the king. We’re sworn to protect Antony. Once he returns, order will be restored.”
The captain’s grip on Evron’s shoulder visibly tightens. “Are you willing to risk your life for that cause?”
Evron gives a firm nod, a determined light growing in his brown eyes. “Without hesitation.”
“Well,” the older man says, “that’s a fucking shame.”
An iron blade glints in the starlight.
With a single, swift swipe, the captain slices open Evron’s throat, then shoves him into the darkness.
I jump back as the young man lands on the ground beside me, his upper body falling into the bloodlands while his legs remain outside of it.
His hands fly to his neck, a futile attempt to stop the flow of blood, his eyes wide, mouth open.
With furtive, upward glances, the captain kicks the younger man’s legs into the darkness, fully concealing his crime.
He spits on the ground where his victim’s blood spilled.
“Long live Hadrian,” he snarls beneath his breath. “True King of Iron.”
In the process of leaning forward, a wooden amulet attached to a leather string around the captain’s neck slips free of his armor.
The amulet is made of wood I recognize, its grain unusually dark with unique whorls circling its surface.
That same wood was used in the hilt of a knife wielded by an assassin who came after me yesterday. I carry that wooden handle with me, wrapped in the dragon’s hide along with my clothing.
Unlike every other substance I’ve ever encountered, this wood doesn’t burn in my fire.
Well, I might be reluctant to use flames right now in case I draw attention to myself, but I’m not afraid to use my strength.
Before the traitorous captain can move away, I launch myself forward.
My right arm snaps out, extending into the starlight.
On the other side of the boundary, the traitor’s eyes fly wide.
He doesn’t have time to shout before I wrap my hand around his neck and pull him into the same darkness into which he so callously cast his comrade.
Dropping my weight, I yank him to his knees and, in the same movement, swing my other fist into the side of his head so hard that his neck snaps.
His life is over instantly.
Allowing the captain’s body to slide to the ground, I bend briefly to the iron scars on his arm, quickly realizing why I found them unsettling.
They’re old. The skin around them is too calm to be new. They might even have been inflicted more than a week ago. A deliberate mark, not a scar rendered in the heat of a recent battle.
I return my focus to the man named Evron.
Blood continues to flow from his neck and bubble between his teeth, although the stream is weaker now. He doesn’t have long.
He tries to wriggle away from me, but it doesn’t do him any good.
I stop where I am, arms splayed. “Your death is certain. I won’t make it more painful for you.”
I can’t help him. Even if I could control myfire to such a precise extent, the wound is too large for me to successfully cauterize.
