I recalled all the wooden scorpions that decorated Raithe’s bookshelves. “Well, let’s hope for good luck then.”
As my heartrate settled down, I stared at the black creature that was the symbol of Scorpio. It wasn’thideous, but its curved tail looked awfully menacing. I pulled away from the dancing crowd.
“Thank you, Felaf,” I said. “For bringing me here. I needed this. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable by doing so.”
Felaf steered me away from the eavesdropping swimmers. “I serve you, of course, but?—”
“But you don’t like breaking the rules?”
“Rules are there for a reason. I only hope you were able to get what you needed out of today.”
A heavy silence lapsed, drenched in the memory of that boy’s final moments. “I did. But, Felaf, rules aren’t always meant to be?—”
Felaf’s head jerked as though something caught her attention. Her sudden movement reminded me of a predator sensing a prey.
Maybe even the opposite.
“Felaf?” I asked, staring into her widening, glowing eyes.
“I thought I heard…”
A thunderous boom sounded, followed by another and then another. Heat seared my back before Felaf’s arms wrapped around me. Our bodies were tossed from the force of whatever violence exploded from the buildings around us, including the bathing house.
“I’ve got you!” Felaf yelled, tucking me to her. My scream was drowned out as we tumbled amidst smoke and green and debris. Our blunt landing into either the ground or some immovable force punched the air from my lungs.
My ears rang. I couldn’t see anything beyond Felaf’s scratched face, her blonde hair singed and covered in soot. My head spun as I struggled to reconcile what had just happened.
“Another attack?” I panted.
“We can’t stay and find out. Let’s—” Her words broke on a gasp when a squishing noise pierced my ringing ears.
I cried in horror, both of us looking down to something that had pierced her flesh. I couldn’t discern what was happening until I touched the center of her stomach, where a sharp edge protruded. A sword, but I couldn’t see it with my eyes. How was that possible?
She whirled around, unsheathing her own sword. “I’ll be fine?—”
The tearing of flesh reverberated. With an angry yell, she lunged forward, slicing into the smoke that blanketed us. In that same moment, hands gripped my arms. Then my legs.
They were hands that I couldn’t see, somehow shrouded by the cover of the explosion’s aftermath. I thrashed against the unknown restraints as I was pulled away.
“Stop it! Let me go!” I screamed. “Fel?—”
A wet cloth clamped over my mouth, muffling my shouts. Pressure squeezed at my cheeks until a familiar, lemony flavor seeped into my mouth and trickled down my throat.
Vervain.
Chapter 44
Raithe
“Tell me you’re joking.”I seethed at Letti outside the kitchens. “Tell me you’refuckingjoking.”
She maintained a bored expression. “Do I look like a comedian?”
“Why the fuck wasn’t I made aware of this?” I dragged my hands over my bruised face, wincing. “I spent the last few hours sleeping, assuming my princess and fellow guardian were safe within the palace walls, as theyshould be.”
“I didn’t want to tell you while you were in a volatile state.” Her narrowed eyes roamed me from head to toe. “Which it seems you still are.”
“They went into the city without me. You know how dangerous?—”
