Chapter Nineteen #2
I let out an unhinged scream when he does a barrel roll to flip us upside down, but the bonds of akasha keep me firmly in place after he rights us once more.
I’ve barely had time to catch my breath as he folds his wings tight to his sides and plummets toward the ocean.
The onslaught of wind makes my eyes stream, and I blink wildly, desperate to see what’s ahead, but there’s only a deep, dark blue.
Gods, are we going to go under?
But my devious azdaha levels out just above the surface of the waves, those powerful wings flaring wide and making my stomach swoop as we glide gracefully a few feet above the crystalline water. Raz drops one clawed hind leg into the sea, creating a wake of white foam behind us.
I’m so mesmerized by the glittering stream that I don’t spot the movement until some kind of spinning sea serpent with an open maw full of fangs launches itself from the indigo depths right at me.
At the last second, Raz veers upward, his huge body shuddering with fright as the monster narrowly misses us and dives back down.
“What in Droon was that?” I yelp, watching it arrow through the water beneath us.
Oh, Starkeeper, you should have seen your face. Raz shudders again, and I realize that it’s with laughter, not fear.
I scowl and yank on one of his chartreuse frills. “You did that on purpose, you overgrown lizard!”
That is a razortooth eel. It’s mating season so they’re extra vicious. He flashes me a hint of fang in amusement. They’re good eating.
I sigh theatrically at the hopeful note in his mental voice. “Fine. I suppose I should thank Indira letting me steal you away from your duties yet again. Let’s go catch some eels for your fierce mate. Just don’t drop me.”
Not on my watch, Starkeeper.
***
TODAY IS DAY fifteen, and still no Darrius Nightsong.
In his absence, Ani has been a stalwart companion whose company I value greatly, even if she’s infuriatingly tight-lipped about her brother’s whereabouts. Our routine since Darrius vanished has been consistent, spending most of our days and meals together.
“Is the king well?” I ask Ani while we get our lunch from the cook and carry it to the library.
My mouth waters at the smell of the savory lamb, eggplant, and tomato stew, served with piping-hot rice, that the king’s thoughtful cook prepared as a treat for me.
I suspect, however, that the kind gesture is because of him.
The missing monarch himself. And I don’t want to like that at all.
“Yes,” Ani says.
“He’s not in any danger, is he?”
Ani lifts a brow as we enter the library, but she doesn’t tease me about my concern. “No.”
“Does he do this often?” I venture. “Disappear?”
“On occasion.”
“Why?” I ask.
Ani shrugs. “His story to tell.”
I groan inwardly: that was the same thing Razulek had said when we’d flown together. Gods, it’s like pulling teeth to get anything but noncommittal answers from anyone. So, I ask the question that is really troubling me. “Does he usually return unscathed?”
To my surprise, Ani lets out a snort. “I wouldn’t say unscathed, but he’s usually in better spirits when he does.
He hasn’t been gone this long for some time, however.
Not since . . .” Her face clouds slightly.
“Well, it was a while ago, perhaps half a year or so. Something terrible happened, I believe, and he disappeared for weeks.”
“Where does he go?” I prod, encouraged by full sentences for once.
“Why so curious?” Ani returns. I feel my cheeks heat at her scrutiny.
“I’m not,” I say. “I just want to go home, that’s all.”
I rub my eyes. My desire to return to Coban is no secret, but the only person powerful enough to open a portal to another realm is the missing Darrius.
“Is portal creation another of your brother’s numena?” I ask Ani.
“Yes, there’s a reason he’s the only sovran in Everlea,” she says. “He has master rank over kinetic magic as well. To open a portal across the realms, one would have to be an ergokinesis master with the ability to manipulate raw energy.”
“And no one else can?” I ask.
Ani’s face is solemn. “No, and even if they were powerful enough, it’s forbidden for anyone else but the king to do so.” She shoves the pile of books I’d saved from our last library visit toward me. “Don’t worry, he’ll be back soon. Catch up, you’re behind.”
Given the size of the library, I’ve been diligent about learning runes as well as researching what I am, but most of the history is different here.
There are few tales about the legendary Starkeeper and his role in ending the war.
The prophecies are different, though they seem to be pulled from similar places—each of them that I’ve read speaks of a celestial being blessed by the four Royal Stars whose star magic is reborn in times of dire need.
I sigh and start to eat while perusing the book on the magic systems of Endara, divided by realm.
True to what Darrius had imparted, there were three realms once: Everlea, Oryndhr, and Rothdar.
The little I can find on Rothdar also supports what he’d told me—it’s a dead realm of graves, ghosts, and bones.
Curious, I stare at the enormous map on the far wall, and I make my way over to it. I recognize the major cities in Oryndhr, including Kaldari and Eloni, as well as my desert home of Coban. The Dustlands, the home of the Jade-addicted Scavs, take up most of the middle.
With a fingertip, I trace the Barrin Mountains that divide the continent into two, with Oryndhr at the bottom and Everlea at the top.
I tap the spot near Deadman’s Canyon where I’d flown with Razulek.
Half of Everlea is steppe, I notice, the area divided among four names according to the drawn borders.
“Are these steppes home to the horde clans you mentioned? The ones with elemental magic?” I ask Ani.
“Yes, the Aspa?anā,” she replies, coming to my side and pointing each of them out.
“Rakh, Karkad, Chamros, and Shabra are horse-riding nomadic warriors. Each of them is gifted in akasha. Rakh are fire wielders; Karkad is water; Chamros, air; and Shabra, earth.” She eyes me. “You should meet their leaders.”
My brows rise. “Why?”
She gives a nonchalant shrug. “The Aspa?anā clans are interesting and have their own magic. Perhaps they might have insight into your cuffs.”
“Would they really?” Hope rises in me.
“It doesn’t hurt to try,” she says. “When my brother returns, you can get his opinion, if you need it to decide.”
I bristle at the not-so-subtle insinuation that I need Darrius’s permission to make up my own mind. “Tell me more about them. What are their leaders like?”
“In each clan, there is a warrior queen or warrior king. At the moment, there are two male rais and two female raissas, but that changes frequently.”
“They’re not a patriarchal society?” I ask in surprise.
She shakes her head. “Gender independent.”
The idea of a society where women are equally valued as men is deeply fascinating, but their whole culture sounds very different from what I am used to.
“You truly think they can help?” I say, lifting the cuffs, and Ani gives an uncertain nod. The truth is, though, it’s the only new lead I have—I’ve found no other answers in this library. “Well, let’s hope that your brother comes back and can arrange a meeting.”
“I can take you,” Ani offers.
I want to blurt out a yes, but something stops me from accepting. I want to be rid of these bracers, but this is still Darrius’s realm, and I’m unfamiliar with the territory and the people. It’s best to tread cautiously. With my luck, I’d end up causing a diplomatic incident.
I wrinkle my nose and walk back to the table. “Best to wait for the king.”
***
THE NEXT AFTERNOON, on Ani’s suggestion, I go to the stables. All she had to do was mention something about newborn foals and I was out the door. Who doesn’t love baby animals?
But all the buildings are strangely quiet.
“Nuadar?” I call out. Ani told me he is the grouchy beastmaster and gamekeeper. He pops out of a stall, offering a surly grunt for a greeting. “I’ve come to see the foals.”
He frowns. “Foals?”
“Ani said there were babies.”
His brows lower even more. “The princess must be mistaken.”
“Are there any other types of animals besides horses here?” I ask, disappointed but determined to not have the time be a waste.
“Some,” he says brusquely.
“What kind?” I press, but he glares at me, muttering about how he is too busy to trifle with silly Oryndhrian interlopers, before spinning on his heel and walking away. I stare and shake my head. Rude!
With a sigh, I cross the exercise yard, where a handful of grooms are training sleek-looking, enormous warhorses, and then march toward a set of joined towers I haven’t seen before. I have no idea where I’m going, but it feels good to be out on the grounds.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Nuadar keeping pace a few lengths behind me and trying to stay out of sight. I grin. Good, at least I won’t get lost or stumble somewhere I’m not supposed to be.
After walking down a narrow path, I notice a much larger, fully enclosed paddock that stands on its own near the forest behind it.
I feel an odd pulse of magic, which makes me slow with curiosity—and then a massive howl pierces the air.
Chain links rattle and then snap as another guttural, inhuman roar nearly makes me leap out of my skin.
I rear back at the sound of something huge trying to escape its cage and crashing over and over into the gates of the paddock enclosure.
“What’s in there?” I shout to the gamekeeper lurking behind me. My heart is in my throat as we both watch the reinforced gates nearly buckle beneath the force of whatever’s attacking it.
Nuadar, usually so dour, has an awful look on his face as he beckons me toward him. “Nothing to concern you. Quickly. He’s probably scented you already.”
“What has scented me?” I whisper, as the banging grows more frenzied.
But before either of us can move, the gates buckle, one flying off its hinges, and the biggest beast I’ve ever seen prowls toward us. Toward me.
The air punches from my lungs, blood draining from my body in a rush and leaving me in a shivering, utterly useless heap.
I am frozen in terror, unable to draw a single breath.
Gods, what is that? A lion? But then my eyes see wings and a bulb-tipped tail that looks like it belongs to a scorpion.
My brain stutters as I realize what it is with a strangled, petrified gasp: manticore.
A man-eater.
The monstrous beast sets me in its voracious, glowing golden sights as my legs soften to the consistency of jelly, and my trapped magic is crashing through me, trying to handle the flight-or-fight response taking over.
Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm.
Nearly the size of a warhorse but far more muscular, the creature has a wild golden mane, a lion’s face, and fangs as long as my forearms. Ropy muscles shift and contract beneath sleek reddish-gold fur with every soundless step it takes.
It could be right behind me and I wouldn’t even hear it.
My eyes return to the pair of gold-veined scarlet wings flaring out over its back, then move down to the wicked talons of its feet, which tap the ground with ominous clicks.
What’s most mesmerizing is the scorpion’s tail flicking warningly over its hindquarters.
If my heart wasn’t trying to dive out of my body, I’d be fascinated by how chillingly beautiful the creature is.
A beautiful monster.
One that looks like it wants you for dinner.
“Nuadar? What happens now?” I whisper over my shoulder, where the gamekeeper is standing utterly still with petrified eyes. Fuck, this is bad.
“Whatever you do, do not run, my lady.”
The formal address makes me panic. He was grumpy before, which means I’m definitely about to die. Without magic, no amount of training will save me from this thing.
It roars again, and I swear I can smell death on its breath. Fuck this. I’m not standing here like some kind of sacrificial offering.
Ignoring Nuadar’s frenzied shout, I turn and bolt.