Page 135
The second I reached the top, hoisting myself to a stand, I ran straight for the river system. Thunder shook the ground, lightning flaring up the sky through the boil of clouds above the canopies. The river itself rippled with violent lashes of rain, and I skidded to my knees on the muddy bank that threatened to suck me under.
“I need help!” I called. “Please! If you’re there!”
Three pinkish snouts broke the surface of the water, and soon I had launched myself in, climbing onto the slippery back of one of the dolphins who began to dive in and out with cackling glee next to the two others. Water plastered my face as they took me north, toward Cardina, and then up a smaller northeast rivulet toward Wasteon before—
“This is where it ends,” the dolphin said when the rivulet snaked left again. “The only way to get where you’re going is on foot.”
He flapped his fins as if to accentuate what he didn’t have, and I bent low to give his snout a quick kiss. “Thank you!” I cried, splashing back to the bank. Although I begged to differ that I needed to travel the rest of the way on foot…
This part of the jungle emitted a more snapping song than I was used to, filled with carnivorous pitcher plants and poisonous trumpets, but it responded to my desperate hum all the same. Bristled branches curled around me and shot me forward, toward Wasteon.
I’m coming for you, Coen, I sent out into the thrashing, thunderous night. Just hold on a little longer, via. I’m coming.
CHAPTER
43
COEN
Great, serpentine ropes of magic formed a cage-like arc above my head, shimmering through the night sky.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” trilled a voice. “To be in the midst of all this splendor?”
Slowly, I turned to face the Reeve at my side. Mydusia’s veil fluttered over her face, her knuckles sharp as she clutched the ivory railings of the palace balcony that overlooked the original Esholian Institute sprawled out beneath us.
Out of all the hundreds of faerie trainees below, one had just exploded with their innate power. I had no idea what their catastrophic event had been, but from the keening wails rising from the source of the serpentine magic—a glowing blob in the center of campus— it sounded about as painful as mine had been.
The nature of the magic itself was still a mystery, as far as I could tell. From the great, arcing ropes, several reflections of our surroundings glimmered back at us. A series of portals, maybe? Or different looks into someone’s soul?
I couldn’t find it in me to particularly care. Frustration festered in my bones to the point of pain. Mydusia had kept me here in Sorronia since sunrise, continuing to peck at me with words that held me back every damn time I tried to Walk away.
“After you give me my sister’s head,” she sighed now, “you will be down there, putting together an army of fresh meat.” She gave a high-pitched giggle that felt like squealing, screeching nails along my eardrums. “Isn’t that exciting?”
I un-gritted my teeth. Forced a polite head dip.
“I’m honored, Your Majesty, but I really need to excuse myself. I have a strike against Dyonisia’s elites planned for…” A quick glance at the position of the moon above the arc of new magic told me I was running out of fucking time. “Right now.”
As soon as I spoke the words, more than just frustration boiled over. If Sasha, Sylvie, and I didn’t get to Wasteon in time, the villagers who had promised to protest would find themselves facing dozens of elites by themselves.
And die without me there to save them.
Didn’t Mydusia want me to kill elites, for fuck’s sake? I was doing it for my own personal agenda, yes, but it was also the path to conquering her sister. What was her real reason for dragging me out here to this balcony so late at night?
Maybe she didn’t have one, because Mydusia nodded with a slight hum. “Yes, I suppose I shouldn’t keep you any longer, General. You’ve been doing such a marvelous job with your daily quota. I wouldn’t want to hinder that.”
Thank the God of the Cosmos. Not only did I have a bunch of villagers to save, but I’d promised Rayna I’d meet her at the Element Wielder ball after. And as much as the tattoo on my back itched with bloodlust, my fingers itched to find a place around her waist. To hold her close. To dance.
I was about to pull on my darkness when Mydusia’s voice stopped me again.
“Just one more teensy, little thing.”
The queen of Sorronia turned toward me. I couldn’t see her magic-leeching eyes through the fabric of her veil, of course, but I was willing to bet they leaked frigid glaciers despite the smile crinkling her lips.
“It has come to my attention that you are—” She tilted her head. “—romantically involved with someone on the island.”
Every other thought buckled under the paralyzing weight of dread that hammered through me. It took me half a second to process that somehow, Mydusia had found out about Rayna—but perhaps didn’t know all the details. Not her identity or how much she actually meant to me or anything detrimental.
Yet.
