Warrior of the Drowned Empire (Drowned Empire #6)

CHAPTER TEN

LYRIANA

Aiden. This was Aiden. I remembered now. Rhyan had wished for a pet gryphon as a boy. He told me he would have named him Aiden. But then he met a real Aiden, and he became one of his best friends, and the desire for the pet was gone. Now, Aiden, the mage, and his friend, had us both bound, while Dario, Rhyan’s other best friend, looked murderously at us.

Rhyan struggled against his ropes, grunting and yelling. “Aiden. Aiden please, listen to me. Don’t do this!” he begged.

Aiden’s mouth tightened, his expression pained, but it was Dario who sneered and said, “Oh I think we will do this.”

“I owe you both an explanation. I know I do. But you have to let us go. You don’t know what’s going on,” Rhyan said, his voice desperate.

“Funny thing that is. We never seem to know,” Dario said. “Come on, Aiden.”

I was already struggling against the rope, trying to break it. Rhyan had done it before, and I had my soturion strength now. I was stronger than I’d ever been. But as my muscles strained, and I pushed against my bonds, using everything I had, the ropes only cut into me more sharply. It was impossible. Aiden had tightened the ropes around me with a vise-like grip. And he was keeping his focus trained on them, not letting them loosen an inch no matter how hard I fought.

I’d been bound before, but never like this, never with my power intact. And all at once, I understood how truly torturous it was. When Tristan bound me on Imperator Kormac’s orders, it had hurt. The ropes were too hot against my skin, but mostly I’d been terrified of what was happening. The situation itself had been far more horrifying than any pain I’d felt from the binding.

This time, though, was so much worse. I was in agony. But Rhyan? Gods! Rhyan had gone months like this because of his father’s cruelty. He’d gone months like this just to protect me.

“At least, release him!” I shouted. I couldn’t stand to see him in the ropes now that I could fully understand what they did to him, understand how they’d been used against him. They were his own personal kind of torture. “Take me instead. I won’t fight back, I swear.”

“No,” Rhyan growled. “No! Your quarrels are with me. Deal with me. I have a lot to answer for. To both of you. And I will answer. I swear it. It’s me you want. Me who my father wants. Not her.”

Dario laughed. “Our quarrels? That’s how you’re referring to what’s between us now. Quarrels? What a fucking polite choice of words. But then again, what else should I expect from the smooth tongue of our old Heir Apparent?” He shook his head. “But you’re right on one thing, friend.” Dario’s accent deepened, the lilt that I found so beautiful sharpening into a vicious threat lacing each syllable. “ You do have a lot to answer for. A fucking lot. And trust me. We will be getting every one of those answers from you in kind.”

“Dario!” I yelled. “I beg you. You were his friend. Don’t do this to him.”

“Lyr,” Rhyan said, a warning in his voice. But I could see how much this hurt him, the pain and panic in his eyes.

“ Was, I believe is the important word, my lady.” Dario scrunched his nose. “Past tense.”

Rhyan squeezed his eyes shut, his face contorted with pain.

I gave up on reasoning with Dario. “Aiden,” I pleaded. He seemed more reserved, possibly more level headed. “Please.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot abide by your request.” Aiden spoke formally, his accent barely there. His lilt was stifled in the way Rhyan often hid his, except for the moments he lost control of his emotions. There was a stillness to him—one I’d sensed when he’d touched me before.

“You see,” Aiden continued, “Rhyan has a small tendency to sneak away. And kill the people you love on his way out.” His voice hardened. “We will not be releasing you either, my lady. Maybe you misunderstood me. I’ll explain again. And slowly. You will both be brought in for an audience with His Highness, Imperator Hart.”

“Aye,” Dario said. “Enough with this.” He glanced around the darkening woods. The trees went on for miles. And we were in the center of it, vulnerable and exposed. Something unspoken passed between Dario and Aiden. “You’ll have time to consider what you’ll say to His Highness. We’re too far for safe passage tonight, especially with two prisoners. Too many reports of akadim lately. We’ll find cover for the night.”

I locked eyes with Rhyan. Once we reached shelter, we could form a plan and find a way to break free. He watched me carefully, his jaw muscles tensed, his expression unreadable.

“Let’s go then,” Aiden said. “I saw the entrance to a cave nearby.”

“Rhyan,” I whispered. I needed to know if it was the one where Meera was waiting for us to return.

His widened eyes seemed to confirm.

Shit.

“If you don’t shut it, Lady Lyriana, I’ll be having Aiden add a binding to your mouth,” Dario snapped.

I glared, but nodded. The last thing I wanted was a gag on top of my bindings.

“Come then, my lady,” Aiden said formally. He walked ahead, and tugged on the rope. I had no choice but to follow, taking tiny, awkward steps—all I could manage with the bindings.

As we walked, the sky blackened, the faint glow of the moon and twinkling stars, our only source of light. But then a small flame appeared, crackling and spitting, floating before Aiden. For him to be producing light like this, to power and sustain it purely by his magic, he had to be a ridiculously accomplished mage. Which, I should have guessed. His impersonation of Rhyan had been nearly perfect. It made him incredibly dangerous.

And Dario, according to Rhyan, was an extremely vicious soturion. I shouldn’t have expected anything less. These men hadn’t just been friends with Rhyan before he was forsworn, they were part of the elite of Glemaria. Some of the best fighters in the country, if not the entire Empire.

Aiden turned, leading us through a small clearing. I kept my eyes ahead, watching the ground carefully, making sure I didn’t accidentally trip on a loose rock or stick, until we came to a glade that led to another secluded cluster of trees. Beyond that was a small rounded clearing, and then the cave Rhyan had brought Meera to. I looked up, and sure enough our gryphon was flying above in lazy circles.

“Patrol?” Aiden asked, watching the gryphon’s flight pattern. “Could we use it for passage to Seathorne?”

I held my breath.

“Wild,” Dario said, dismissively. “Too much effort to tame now.” He slowly eyed the horizon and shivered. “Let’s get inside.”

We took the remaining steps, passing through the cave’s entrance without any problems. It was a bad sign. We shouldn’t have been able to enter, not if Meera’s wards were in place. Which meant she hadn’t put them up yet, waiting for me and Rhyan to return.

“Your accommodations for the night,” Dario said grandly as Aiden led us inside. “I’m not sure if this is the kind of place that fits the lifestyle you’re accustomed to, my lady. But alas, I don’t actually care.”

I took in our surroundings. It was smaller than our last cave. And there was a distinct smoky quality to the air of a recently extinguished flame. But Meera was nowhere to be found. Nor was there any sign of her, or our things.

Aiden helped me to sit down against the wall, and on the other end of the cave, Dario pushed Rhyan onto the floor. I was about to shout, but Rhyan brought himself up to a seat, leaning his head back against the stone wall, his eyes closed.

Outside a wolf howled, and snow fell, the wind blowing in through the cave’s interior. Aiden’s eyes were on me as he moved to the center of the space, using his stave to pull out logs and twigs so he could transfer his fire.

A few pieces of wood rolled to his feet, followed by a stack of sticks, already neatly tied together. Their tips were charred, the acrid smell of smoke still clinging to them.

My eyes met Rhyan’s, full of alarm, as Aiden bent over, brushing his fingers against the ashes.

“Still warm,” he said, dropping his flame onto the pile. The fire he’d sustained burst to life, twice as large as it had been, the flames sputtering in every direction. “Looks like we’ve got company.”

“Put up the wards,” Dario said. “No one in. No one out.”

“On it.” Aiden kept both eyes on me and Rhyan as he pointed his stave at the entrance and performed the warding spell. If Meera was outside, she’d never find her way in—and without a vadati I couldn’t contact her. She would be alone—cold, scared. In danger.

I tried to remember to breathe. To inhale, and exhale.

Aiden crouched before me, his keen eyes assessing. “Let’s speed this process up. Is it just the two of you? Or is Dario going to find someone back there?”

“No,” I said, my pulse vibrating. “He won’t.”

“You’re lying.” Aiden tilted his head, bringing his face even closer.

“I’m not.”

“Easier if you just tell me the truth.” He pointed at my heart. “Otherwise, we can do this the hard way. I can make you talk.”

Rhyan shifted violently in his seat, a growl under his breath. But any threats he was about to make were stilled when Dario returned from the depths of the cave, clutching our belongings in one hand, and Meera in the other.