5. Talon
5
TALON
I left the castle and stepped onto the ramparts, seeing Khazmuda saddled and ready to take flight. I climbed up his flank by the ropes, and the second I was in the saddle, he jumped for the sky and his massive wings caught him.
We flew through the cold, the wind making my cape fly behind me and cooling the heat of anger that pulsed in my neck.
Khazmuda said nothing, knowing my anger was too extreme for conversation.
We landed in the clearing near the trees, the snow crunching underneath Khazmuda’s talons when he landed where grass should be.
I slid down his side and felt my boots drop a foot into the snow.
I’ll hunt . He took off again, the sky dark.
I gathered supplies and made a campfire, striking the match against the rock like I taught Calista and setting it ablaze. Then I sat on a boulder and stared at the fire, feeling my anger only get worse, not better.
Khazmuda returned nearly an hour later and dropped his kill in front of me.
“I’m not hungry.”
This is all mine?
“Enjoy.”
He opened his massive jaws and ate the creature in a couple bites, the bones cracking under the pressure of his sharp teeth.
My eyes remained on the fire.
What did she say?
I stayed quiet.
Khazmuda lowered his head to the snow, his breath coming out as vapor. We’d just spent weeks out in the wildlands, but once we returned to the castle the luxuries weren’t satisfying.
My mind was still in the wild…with the woman I’d left behind. “She’s stubborn.”
Where is she?
“A cabin.”
Alone?
“It seemed that way.” A part of me had feared I would drop into a situation I didn’t want to witness. But she was alone, reading a book just like she’d done in her bedchambers down the hall.
That cabin must belong to someone.
“We had so many other things to discuss, I didn’t get a chance to ask. And even if I had, she’s too smart.”
You couldn’t distinguish the area?
“Everything outside the windows is blacked out. I can only see the room she’s in.”
Is that what Bahamut sees?
“No. I think he gave me an attenuated version of his powers.”
Her anger toward you hasn’t softened?
The complicated affection she felt for me was still there. I could see it in her eyes. But all the anger and hurt…that was still there too. “No. And I don’t think it ever will.”
She needs more time. She holds on to her anger with an iron fist—just the way you do.
My eyes remained on the fire, seeing her green eyes staring back at me. “Yes…I know.” We fell into silence, my eyes focused on the campfire while Khazmuda was focused on me, his black eyes a deep contrast against the snow around us.
Then he appeared, his presence silent but powerful. He was seated on the log, conjured out of thin air, his blue eyes reflecting from the campfire. His eyes shifted to me, subtly hostile like always. “What did you accomplish?”
An argument—that was all I accomplished.
When I didn’t say anything, Bahamut conferred everything I omitted. “Nothing, I see.”
“I thought I would be able to see her surroundings.”
“I told you I don’t intervene with the living.”
“But you can see your surroundings as we speak. You know her location.”
“But it would be wrong to give a mortal that unaccountable power. You asked to speak with her, not track her, and if you had asked to track her, I wouldn’t have helped you at all.”
“How is granting me the power over the dead any different?”
“Because they’re dead.” His eyes shone in ferocity. “I’ve given you your opportunity. Now it’s time to revoke it?—”
“I need more time.”
“No.”
“Bahamut.” I had no power against this god, couldn’t even touch him, but I commanded him like I did, because this partnership had lasted ten years.
He watched me, eyes perpetually angry.
“Give me more time.”
“I think this has nothing to do with your ambitions. Your desire to connect with her is entirely personal.”
“It’s both.”
He turned his gaze back to the fire. “This will cost you, Talon.”
“I know.”
He vanished, disappearing in silence within the blink of an eye.
When I returned to the castle, it was late, but Commander Navarrese was stationed on the ramparts, like he was waiting for me.
I left Khazmuda’s body and felt my boots hit the stone under my feet.
Khazmuda immediately took off to find a comfortable spot in the field to retire for the evening.
I headed for the double doors where the commander waited, the guards placed on either side of the doorway.
He stood with his hands behind his back, but his eyes carried a hesitancy.
“What is it?”
The hesitancy remained in his gaze, as if he didn’t want to answer me.
“It’s late, Commander.” I had a bed waiting for me, a bed that would hold my body but not my dreams…because I hadn’t slept much since Calista and I parted. Too riddled with guilt and stress, I spent my evenings drinking and staring.
“General Titan has been spotted.”
The turmoil in my life had made me forget all about him. “Bring him here, and I’ll burn him alive.”
His eyes dropped down for a second.
“Yes?”
“The last time he was seen, he was marching to the White Mountains…with a small army of his loyal supporters.”
I’d expected him to march here, to attempt to claim Calista as his own and face me. “So, he flees?”
“All the ships are in our harbor, so he has no other option.”
“But there is no passage through the mountain.”
“Looks like there is,” he said. “What are your orders?”
I was too preoccupied with other matters to hunt him down. Ever since Calista and I had parted ways, she was always on my mind. “If he wants to leave, good riddance. Have our scouts follow him to the other side. I want details of the terrain and the land beyond.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” The commander gave a quick nod before he stepped through the doorway that the guards opened.
I made the journey down the hallways to my royal bedchambers, the fire in the hearth because the servants had prepared it for my return.
But I wasn’t alone.
Nadia lay on the bed, perched on her elbow, the fire casting her in a beautiful light. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
I looked at her naked body on the bed but didn’t see her face. I saw a brunette with green eyes that were on fire. I saw fair skin with a couple freckles. I saw lips that ached for my kiss. I turned away and removed my cape. “Did I call for you?”
“No. But it’s been a while?—”
“If I don’t call for you, then don’t come. Leave.” I undressed as I moved through my chambers, ready to shower and wash the smoke from my hair. I didn’t check to see if she got dressed and left. I stepped into the shower and forgot about her the second the warm water hit my skin.