The sky splits open.
A bolt of lightning shoots down, colliding with the water.
Electricity vibrates through the rushing stream, into every warrior on the ground. Their bodies jerk, arms clawing uselessly. The familiar stench of burnt flesh dominates the air.
One by one, the men fall to the ground.
I loose a shaky breath. My vision blurs—I’ve expelled all my power. I couldn’t summon a raindrop if I tried. I take another deep breath to steady myself, blinking rapidly, willing my eyes to focus.
Mayah stands frozen, hands clenched into fists.
Her head swivels slowly as she scans the damage—her fallen people. Her shoulders drop, chest heaving with shallow breaths. I can’t see her face, but I don’t need to. I recognize the guilt bearing down on her shoulders.
Mayah’s breath quickens, hands clenching and unclenching.
She regrets this—killing them all—even though there was no other choice. She likely blames herself. And me.
And she could easily decide to kill me next.
In my weakened state, she’d have no trouble besting me.
My knees protest as I reach toward the ground. The iron cuff that dug into my wrist for days is cold in my grasp.
Something twists in my heart as I study Mayah from behind. She looks defeated, shoulders slumped under the weight of her guilt. I shove down my reluctance along with the bile creeping up my throat.
“We killed them,” she breathes, her soft whisper barely reaching my ears. “I—”
I bring the metal cuff down across the back of her skull with a sickeningcrack.
I catch her before she hits the ground.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Skies,howdidIfind myself here?
Riding a stolen horse, my unconscious, traitor of a wife slumped in front of me. She groans lightly, shifting against my chest. Every jostling step sends shockwaves of pain through my bruised body. I grit my teeth at howrightshe still feels in my arms, even after all she’s done.
All she planned to do.
An unwelcome flicker of guilt wavers in my chest. Her father was a stormwielder. He murdered her mother, then used that to manipulate her. She thought she was seeking revenge on her mother’s killers when it had been her father all along. She—
No. I refuse to let the walls around my heart crumble. She could’ve achieved her goals without making me fall in love with her. All the lies she told me—that somehow slipped past my useless truthwielding.
That she’d miss me. That shewantedme.
The love in her eyes that I swore I saw—it was all an act. She was aching for her captain all along. Not me. Never me. She fell right back into his arms the moment I left.
Mayah groans again, low and pained. Another wave of guilt crashes through me—I struck her hard with the iron cuff.
But I had no choice.
With my reserves dry and body ravaged, I couldn’t risk her turning on me again. After she fainted, I checked for survivors. There were none, though the general and his woman weren’t among the dead. They must’ve escaped soon after Tormik fled. I gathered whatever supplies I could find, along with a smaller set of iron shackles, before saddling one horse and freeing the rest.
Now, after an hour of riding, I’m still struggling to answer the same question: what do I do now?
I thought I’d die in that camp.
But perhaps I can use that to my advantage. My father doesn’t know what happened. Maybe I can disappear. Leave the continent like I’ve always dreamed but never dared hope.
