CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
LYRIANA
“Rhyan,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, my entire body still.
He was already at my side, his hand on the small of my back. I stepped away, our hands clasping together as he looked through the peephole. I watched as his eyes narrowed, his shoulders tensing.
“They’re small,” he said, his jaw working as he brandished his sword. “We can take them.”
“There’s so many. They can still bite us,” I said, a tremor in my arm. I still remembered the feel of their venom. The absolute spread of paralysis, the fear of being unable to move, unable to stay awake or in control. And then being taken by Brockton.
Rhyan’s nostrils flared, looking back out, before he said decisively, “They can, but they can’t move us.”
“What’s wrong?” Meera asked. Her voice was sleepy, but her eyes were alert and she was already slipping out of her bed.
Jules groaned and sat up, the blankets falling from her thin shoulders. Immediately I felt her panic.
“They found us?” she asked. “Kormac?” In the daylight I could clearly see the golden tattoo on her cheek. She turned her head abruptly, her eyes wide as she looked back and forth between us and Meera. “He’s here? He’s here for me.”
“No.” Rhyan held out his hand, as if to stop her from fearing. “It’s my father. He sent nahashim.”
Jules stilled, her face pale. “Same difference. Gods, I knew it. I fucking knew it.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “There’s no escape.”
Meera was across the room in seconds, sitting beside Jules, and pulling the blankets around them. And to my surprise, Jules softened, actually letting Meera hold her.
“Yes there is, Jules. We did escape. And we’re not giving up.”
“Meera’s right. We’re going to fight them,” I said. “We’ve done it before.”
Jules’s eyes narrowed, perhaps taking in my armor and weapons for the first time since we’d rescued her. I could see the questions in her eyes, and the shock. In that moment, I could feel the full weight of our two years apart, of the separate lives we’d lived without any knowledge of the other.
“Lyr will kill every last one before she lets them come for you. As will I. Dario, too,” Rhyan said. “Hang on.”
He vanished.
“Dario?” Jules asked suddenly, her eyes widening at the place where Rhyan had been. He’d traveled with her already and in front of her, but I could see now how much she’d missed when she’d been in shock.
“He’s the soturion who helped you last night,” I said. “He’s a strong fighter. One of the best.”
“I know who he is,” Jules said. “Rhyan can just … vanish like that?” she asked.
I nodded. “His vorakh.”
At this a tear fell down Jules’s cheek. She shook her head, and then buried her face in her hands. “I can’t. I can’t go back. Not again.”
“You’re not,” I said fiercely. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting them take you. Over my dead body are you going back.”
Her eyes met mine then, and for a second, I swore she believed me. Like she understood. But then she wiped her tears with the palm of her hands, and scoffed, before she curled her knees to her chest, resting her head against them.
Rhyan reappeared beside me with Dario in his arms. “Keep the door locked,” Rhyan ordered. “Push anything you can against it to keep them from sliding in. Don’t open the door, or the windows, not even a crack, no matter what.”
“Got it,” Meera said.
Rhyan turned to me and Dario, his breath already heavy. “Ready?”
Dario held two swords in his hands, and a fierce grimace. “On my life.”
Rhyan wrapped his arms around Dario, his emerald eyes on me, holding my gaze, and then they both vanished.
A second later, he was back. My eyes met Meera’s and Jules.
“We’re going to stop the threat. Just hang on.” I nodded, trying to give them confidence, any kind of reassurance that we’d protect them, that they were safe.
Rhyan’s hands tightened around me, my stomach tugged, and we landed in the hall. I didn’t even stop to think, or assess what was before me. I ran, my sword slashing at anything that moved. I cut down the first nahashim I saw, then the second. A third undulated toward me, its fangs dripping with venom. With a yell, I lopped off its head, watching its body collapse. Rhyan had two medium-sized nahashim on either side of him. And one was racing toward me.
Dario ran interference, but immediately he was surrounded by the remaining snakes. Still he fought back easily, expertly spinning away from their fangs. The nahashim were too young and too small to be much of a threat. At least on their own. But together, they were a force to be reckoned with. He spun, stabbing and decapitating heads, narrowly avoiding a bite to his thigh, before kicking the snake against the wall. He sprinted across the hall, and a second later, the snake’s head had been flattened beneath his boot.
They were falling easily.
Too easily.
My stomach turned, that anxiety I’d felt earlier returning. The largest of the nahashim we faced, the only one who might be worthy of dragging us away, slid back down the hall, his body slithering away from the fight, but his eyes were focused, taking in everything. I’d been around them enough to know what was happening. He was recording the vision and leaving to report back.
“It’s a trap!” I yelled.
Rhyan looked at me in horror, and I could see he’d realized it, too.
“We need to get everyone out. Now,” I said.
The second that one snake found its way back to Imperator Hart, he’d be here. And it would be fast. I’d seen what those nahashim could do. They could fly. They could travel, and there was no telling how close he was already. He’d most likely started tracking us the same hour we escaped.
Rhyan crossed the hall, took my hand, pulling me against him, and I was back in the room with Meera and Jules.
“We need to run,” I shouted. “Now! Get your shoes on, leave everything else behind.”
Rhyan vanished, and I checked the peephole. The remaining snakes had retreated. They’d only shown themselves to draw us out—to confirm we were here.
Several minutes passed and Rhyan returned, his face red with exertion.
“I took everyone else,” he said breathlessly, “back to the woods. We’ll hide out there, find some caves, maybe a wild ashvan or gryphon can get us further.” Then he moved toward me, his arms open, but I shook my head.
“Jules and Meera first.”
His brow furrowed, his mouth opening in protest, but he snapped it shut and reached for Jules.
“Hold on tight,” he said, and they were gone.
“Is it like last time?” Meera asked.
“Yes. One escaped, I’m positive it’s going to Rhyan’s father.”
“Shit,” Meera said.
Rhyan returned, stumbling toward the wall. He was using up so much energy and he’d barely slept in twenty-four hours.
“Take her,” I said. “I’ll run and meet you there.”
“Lyr!”
“Go! I’m just as fast.” I opened the door, tearing out of the room.
I flew down the stairs, jumping the last few steps and landed in front of a shocked Cal, and the woman I presumed to be Marisol.
“Is everyone all right?” Marisol asked.
“Imperator Hart is on his way. He knows we’re here. I’m the last one to leave. Run, if you have to. Please. Be safe!” I yelled as I raced through the door. “And, thank you!” I pumped my arms, running down the alley and across the street, dodging a soturion standing idly before a bakery. Then I made my way to the park, into the woods where Rhyan was standing next to Meera. He was still recovering his breath.
“Go!” I yelled, taking his hand in mine. “Everyone stay together. Keep running straight ahead.”
“There’s woods maybe a half mile away we can vanish into,” Rhyan said. “And draw him away from Cal and Marisol.”
“And then what?” I asked.
“West. To the human lands,” he said. “As far as we can get.”
I looked anxiously at Galen. Sleep combined with the magic of his soturion strength had worked miracles the last few hours. But he was still injured, still running too slow, like the mages.
“Partner,” Rhyan said, his voice full of emotion. In that one word, he seemed to convey a hundred things unsaid. A thousand promises of what was to come between us. An oath of strength and love, and a future of fighting together.
I pulled him against me, my lips meeting his in a quick, fierce kiss, trying to say just as much. To tell him I knew, I understood, that I loved him. I wanted him to know with one brush of my lips that we had so much ahead. And I didn’t care where we went next. As long as we went together.
I let go of his hand. “Take Jules,” I ordered, and reached for Meera. It was the only way we could make up for their lack of speed.
Rhyan’s mouth tightened, but he did as I asked, urging Jules forward.
I yelled for Galen to help Tristan, and Dario to help Aiden. If the soturi used their strength to push the mages along, we could make it. Vanish into the woods and hide. Ambush any more nahashim that came along. And fight Devon Hart.
But the moment I thought of him, he appeared, running behind us.
“GO!” I screamed, my legs running faster. Meera was falling behind, her feet stumbling, unable to match my speed. Rhyan picked up Jules, racing with her in his arms. And I scooped Meera up into mine, racing ahead.
“Stop!” The direct command left a sharp chill running down my spine. But I kept running, willing my feet to run faster, to let all of my training catch up to me.
“Stop at once!” Imperator Hart roared. “Lyriana, Aiden, Dario! Freeze!”
My blood heated, pain shooting down my arms and legs. I couldn’t hold onto Meera, I couldn’t take another step.
“No. No!” I cried out, the pain intensifying. I tried to move my legs, but I couldn’t. Meera climbed out of my arms, tugging my hands, trying to pull me forward.
“Come on, Lyr.” She pulled harder. “Come on! Fight back.”
But I couldn’t. Every attempt to move, to rebel was instantly stopped, the pain like shards of glass cutting into my every nerve. He’d never ordered me like this before—so directly, with so much force.
A tear rolled down my cheek. “I can’t. I can’t move.”
“No. NO!” She squeezed my hands.
“Run,” I urged.
Meera shook her head. “I’m not leaving you!”
“You have to! Go. Get everyone else out.”
Rhyan was already turned around, racing for me, urging Jules to run ahead with Tristan and Galen. Dario and Aiden had already frozen in their tracks, their faces twisted with pain.
Imperator Hart was gaining on us. Nearly within reach. And he wasn’t alone. Five giant nahashim slithered behind him. The same size as the ones I killed in Vrukshire. The ones that had required me to call on Rakashonim to defeat.
“Keep running!” Rhyan roared. “All of you! Go!”
“Lady Lyriana!” Imperator Hart ordered. “Lord Dario, Lord Aiden. Turn, and face me. Drop your weapons. Hands above your heads.”
Aiden and Dario lifted their arms and slowly, my limbs burning, I turned and did the same, until my entire body stilled, unable to move. Only the subtle rise and fall of my chest as my heart pounded. I felt as if I were trembling inside, but on the outside I was frozen. I was completely at his mercy.
Imperator Hart’s eyes danced, his hands on hips as he rocked back on his heels.
“ Himai ,” he ordered. His nahashim slithered forward, their fangs exposed and dripping with venom, ready to attack.
“Rhyan, run!” I screamed, praying he listened. I could handle being taken, could handle whatever came next. If it meant Jules and Meera were free. If it meant Rhyan was safe.
“LYR!” he roared.
No. No.
“I’ll kill you,” Rhyan seethed. His voice louder, closer.
His father shook his head. “You fight me, you come near me, and my nahashim will bite every inch of Lyriana’s flesh on my command. You can’t fight both of us. So be smart for once.”
The snakes were already on us. One sliding in a circle around me, its scaly skin coming closer and closer.
“Oh fuck,” Dario spat.
Suddenly the snake’s tail wrapped around my leg, and then it continued to circle, coiling its body around me, its hiss sounding as it slid around and around.
I couldn’t move my head, but I could see Asherah’s chest plate from the corners of my eye, the red diamonds gleaming inside each star. Asherah’s blood. My blood. My hood had fallen back and in the sun my hair was bright, fiery red.
“ Ani petrova kashonim— ” I started, my voice shaking.
“Lyriana, you call on Rakashonim , and you’re dead,” Imperator Hart shouted. “Keep your mouth shut.”
I stopped, thunder pulsing in my ears, my blood raging.
“Now, we can all return to the capital, and I can try to appeal to the Emperor on your behalf. Or we can do this the hard way. Your choice, Rhyan.”
Aiden yelled out in pain.
Rhyan was beside me, his face pale.
And then I began to feel the squeeze of my own nahashim. My breath came short, and I was starting to panic. I couldn’t move, couldn’t fight back.
“Lyr,” Rhyan said, like my name was a prayer.
“Rhyan,” his father said. “Walk away. Or you kill her faster.” He held his hand out, his wrist twisting. “You kill them all.” His growled, the sound low in his throat.
Dario yelled in pain, and the snake wrapped around me, brought its face to mine, its mouth opened wide. The other two snakes had vanished from my sight, but I had a feeling I knew their targets—Jules and Galen. The Emperor’s prisoners.
Rhyan vanished.
I held my breath, forgetting the snake wrapping around me for a moment while I waited for Rhyan to reappear. I could already see his sword running through his father’s belly in my mind. But would it be enough? The snakes already had their orders.
And then he reappeared, his sword flashing behind his father.
Imperator Hart called out, his next command on his lips.
Rhyan wasn’t going to fight him. I realized it too late. He was going to stop the threat—remove the command from the nahashim, by removing their commander. Removing our own paralysis. His arms wrapped around his father.
I tried to scream. But I couldn’t make a sound. Imperator Hart’s eyes widened, just as Rhyan’s gaze found mine.
They both vanished.
“What the fuck!” Tristan yelled.
But suddenly, Dario gave a battle cry. I could move my arms again but just barely. I was still pushing through the pain of disobeying my orders, and the nahashim was still wrapped too tightly around me. Imperator Hart was gone, but his command was still in effect. And it would be until he was too far for my blood to sense it. But as the nahashim’s muscles flexed its scaly body tightening around me, I realized it didn’t matter. The snake had me.
I coughed, trying to breathe, trying to shift my body, to escape and reach my weapons.
Galen yelled, his hands wrapped around Aiden’s nahashim, his fingers puncturing the scales.
“Lyr, fight!” Meera cried, her stave pointed.
“Trying. It’s too tight … can’t … breathe.” The panic was rising, and I could see it in Meera’s face, too.
“Lyr!” Tristan yelled. “Lyr, I’m coming!”
“Meera!” Jules yelled suddenly. Her voice changed. There was something commanding, and ancient in it. “Control them,” she ordered. “Now!”
I stopped, unsure what she meant. Even Jules looked taken aback, as if she wasn’t sure what she had just said.
But Meera’s eyes widened, the light catching in their bright hazel color. And then she blinked, revealing her eyes were now alight in the glow of blue. Coldness seeped against my skin even with the snake tightening its hold against me, it’s scales as hot as fire.
Meera looked distant, lost almost. And I feared the worst, a vision.
Until she lifted her arms, a gust of wind blowing through her hair. This wasn’t vorakh—at least no vorakh I’d ever seen. Her eyes weren’t rolling back. They were focused, intense and glowing with the blue of a vadati stone.
The blue I associated with Cassarya. Guardian of the Blue Ray. By the Gods.
“ Ani Cassarya, nahashim. Ani petrova ra shah. Nahashim, ani turio, teka. ” Meera’s voice rang out, foreign, almost other-worldly. Like it was her voice and Cassarya’s mixed together. That commanding look I’d seen her wield so often these last few weeks—it was the Goddess. And she had just demanded the snakes fulfill their oath to her and kneel.
To my shock, they did, their bodies slinking down as if in shame, their mouths closed, their fangs now hidden.
I started to dimly recall that Cassarya had always had a close connection with the nahashim. I associated them so much with Lethea, and then Imperator Hart, I’d forgotten their origins.
Cassarya had been the observant one, the one with big eyes who could see far more than the other Guardians. The snakes had always protected Cassarya. And because of her, they’d protected all the Guardians when we’d fallen.
“ Vra ,” she commanded.
And then all at once, the snakes slithered away.
My arms slowly began to feel like my own again and I could take a step without pain. Imperator Hart’s orders were loosening—which meant wherever Rhyan had taken him, it was far enough to break the hold. Aiden and Dario started to shake off Imperator Hart’s orders behind me.
Slowly, everyone came together, looking a little stunned, and huddled in a circle as Meera seemed to finally come back to herself.
“Are we … um … going to talk about what just happened?” Galen asked. He looked slightly afraid of Meera.
“Later,” Aiden said. “I don’t think I really want to know, not just yet.”
Then we were silent until Jules was the one to ask, “Where’s Rhyan?”
Now that the threat was over, and I’d had a minute to calm down, my pulse was rising again, worried. He’d gotten his father away—far away enough from us to undo his command. And I was sure wherever they were, he was fine. He was stronger than his father, a better fighter. And he was unbound—at full strength. When he was like that, he was undefeatable.
But his strength also depended on his energy, on how far he’d traveled and how quickly he could recover. He couldn’t jump too far at once, and not while carrying his father. He might not have known how far he had to go to save us, and might have made several jumps. I could see that happening. As we got safer, he would grow weaker.
My stomach was twisting, and more worries plagued my imagination with every second he did not reappear. He could have traveled to the wrong spot—and been seen by soturi. Or he could have stumbled when they’d landed—just enough for his father to get the upper hand.
But even if that happened, Rhyan would fight. He’d get away. He’d come back. Of course, he would. He knew exactly where we were. We just had to give him time.
“It takes a little for him to recover, right?” Dario asked. “When he … travels?”
I nodded. “He needs some recovery time usually.”
“How long does that take?” Tristan asked.
I shook my head. “Um. Depends how far he went.”
“And what happened to him when he got there,” Dario said, his voice darkening.
The backs of my eyes burned.
“He’ll be okay,” Aiden said. But he didn’t sound convinced.
Still, I nodded vigorously. He would be. “We’ll just give him some time. Wait here. The nahashim are gone. And it was just his father, no other soturi. So …”
“What about the Emperor?” Jules asked.
“Um.” My voice shook.
“Lyr, I want to find Rhyan, too,” she said. “But … we can’t assume Imperator Hart was working alone. They never fucking are. Kormac wolves could be marching on Thene right now. And it wouldn’t be the first time.”
“You’re in charge,” Dario said. “What do you want to do? We can keep running, get Jules and Galen out of here. Or wait for him?”
“We just need to give him time. Just some time.” I blinked back tears.
It was Tristan who took my hand then. “Lyr. We can’t stay out here.” He turned to the group. “Does anyone know the area? Well enough to hide?”
Slowly, everyone shook their heads.
“What about the inn?” Tristan said.
“Tristan’s right,” Meera said when I still didn’t respond. “We can’t remain exposed. But Rhyan will know to go to the inn. He’ll look there.”
I felt sick. I finally had an idea of how Rhyan had felt when I’d done this to him the last time we fought nahashim. I’d let go of his hand, had failed to jump. But at least that time, we could still communicate. This time there was nothing. Too many unknowns.
“Come on, Lyr. Let’s get everyone inside. He’ll find you.”
Shakily, I let go of Tristan’s hand, and in silence, we all trudged back to Auriel’s Flame. Out of the park, we separated, everyone careful to keep their hoods up, their faces down.
Cal and Marisol were standing in the entrance, both holding staves, looking ready to fight despite their age.
“You’re back,” Marisol said, her eyes immediately scanning our faces. She frowned. “Rhyan?”
I was going to cry. “He’s not back yet. He um, went ahead.”
Marisol smiled. “He’ll be back, dear. Don’t fret.”
Cal’s face hardened. “We’ll be on the lookout for him. Don’t you worry.”
We all ended up back in one room. everyone taking a seat. No one was in the mood to talk, and I was grateful because I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I’d taken a spot by the window, staring out at the streets of Thene. Waiting for Rhyan to return. I knew I wasn’t likely to see him walking up to the inn. He’d appear suddenly. But I couldn’t help it. I kept watching, holding my breath with every soturion cloak I saw.
I was on hyper alert. Every sudden sound, every creak of the floorboard, or step or gasp made me jump. Ready to catch Rhyan when he returned. Hours passed slowly. Jules and Galen, both still injured fell in and out of sleep. And Marisol and Cal came and went with lunch and then some snacks as a pre-dinner.
Then suddenly, a sense of cold filled the room. A sharp, familiar cold. The one thing I’d spent the past two years fearing the most. The cold that came from a vorakh. From a vision.
Tristan tensed at once, his eyes alert and predatory.
I looked at Meera, anxiety drowning me, my instinct to help her, to hide her had immediately kicked in. I practically growled at Tristan before I remembered, he was one of them. He had visions, too. But it wasn’t Meera.
It was Jules.
She didn’t do what she’d done the last time. She didn’t look like she was in pain. Nor out of control. She wasn’t fighting an invisible opponent or screaming in fear. Not the way Meera often looked. Jules just closed her eyes, her body perfectly still. She seemed almost calm as she leaned her head back, her brows furrowed.
“Jules?” I asked. “Are you … are you okay?”
She twitched, her breath catching, her eyes moving rapidly back and forth behind her eyelids.
“Jules?” I asked again.
She gasped, her eyes startling open. She looked out of breath, then sat bolt upright. “He’s been captured. They have him in the Palace prisons. They’re marching him out to the Nutavian Katurium. Instead of the Valabellum, they’re going to strip him for possessing vorakh.”
“Strip him?” Dario shouted. “Actually fucking strip him!”
“No,” Aiden said. “No. No one’s been stripped here in … No.”
I had gone still. My heart stopped beating. My brain stopped thinking. I felt like everything in my body was shutting down. I was cold. Numb. Not fully there. Not breathing.
They’re going to strip him.
I couldn’t wrap my brain around it. Stripping was the worst punishment that could be doled out to a Lumerian. So vile because they were so rare on land. I’d only ever heard of them happening in Lethea. To vorakh.
But Rhyan was vorakh. And the games were canceled. And knowledge of the chayatim’s existence had been exposed. Emperor Avery had only been on the throne a day, and he needed to prove his worth. Prove his power. Prove to Imperator Hart that he had won. That his secrets would not be exposed.
I looked around the room half-expecting to see Rhyan again because he had to be here, he had to have escaped. He did have vorakh and he was strong, so strong. The strongest soturion in the Empire. A God reborn.
But he was gone. He’d been captured, and he was going to be … going to be …
My thoughts felt distant, like they were coming from someone else, some other mind, someone more coherent, someone still in the room. Because I wasn’t. I wasn’t here. If Rhyan wasn’t here, then neither was I. Because there’s no way I was hearing what I just had.
There was no way that Rhyan had just sacrificed himself to save us. To save me. Because the world couldn’t be that cruel. Because Rhyan couldn’t have that fate. Because he deserved better. He deserved the world. Because we were going to have more. We were going to be married.
I saw him fighting in my mind, surviving each time, escaping, winning.
And now, I was supposed to believe his strength had suddenly failed? That he was locked up?
If they actually went through with it, he’d lose all his power, all his magic. And he would … he would die. In the worst, most painful way imaginable.
I still remembered Kunda Lith, the examiner from Lethea—the way he’d explained magic when I was terrified and half-naked in my cell. The way he’d explained stripping still haunted me.
Magic exists in physical form within the body. Inside your muscles and bones. It’s why you feel like crawling out of your skin when you’re bound, why stripping almost always kills. The magic must be extracted from every inch of the flesh, and the process—painful, yes—causes organs to shift from each other. I am close to finding a method that will allow the Lumerian to live, though I can’t yet deny the pain.
“Lyr? Lyr?” Someone was calling my name. But I didn’t recognize the voice. It sounded far away and distant. Then they called me again, their voice louder.
I whirled on my heels, turning toward Tristan and reaching out a hand, wrapping it around his neck.
“Lyr!” he yelled. “It’s me. It’s Tristan!”
I released my hand, and he reached for his neck, coughing.
“Lyr, you’re scaring me. You’re scaring everyone,” he said.
I looked down. My hands were shaking, my entire body was shaking. I tried to still, but I couldn’t.
Jules stood up, and walked over to me. She placed one hand on my shoulder.
At once, my heart began to warm, to glow. The light of the Valalumir lighting up, heating from her touch. But this time, it didn’t hurt. I was too cold, too far gone to feel the pain. I realized in that moment the idea of losing Rhyan hurt far more than any fire or flame ever could. I was dimly aware of the pain, of the sensations I felt when Kane had ignited the red light inside me. It would never hurt me again. Nothing would. Not like this.
I looked into Jules’s eyes, and said softly. “He was right about you. You’re Hava.”
She frowned. “Lyr? What are you talking about?”
“Meera will explain. It’s related to what she did with the snakes.” I swallowed. “Is it happening now? Where is he?”
Jules took a deep breath. “I was trained to see clear visions of what will pass. But my timing,” she shook her head. “It’s not always accurate.”
“So there’s a chance it hasn’t happened yet. That it could be stopped?” I asked.
Jules nodded.
“Lyr,” Meera said. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to go get him,” I said.
Dario stepped forward. “You’re farther than Lethea. You can’t just go get him in the capital.”
But I could. I could. I felt the light still inside me. And I touched Asherah’s chest plate, felt her blood—my blood—running through my veins. My connection to my power, my ancient Goddess self. I didn’t care what Mercurial or Imperator Hart said about my strength. I was doing this. I may have pretended I was weak in the arena, but I’d been training my ass off with Rhyan. And I’d been practicing my magic in my mind.
“Yes I can,” I said, my voice cold and hardened.
“Lyr, wait,” Tristan said. “We need a plan. Decide who should go with you.”
“No one is coming with me.” I yelled. I held up my hand before he could protest. “Galen is wanted for murder. Tristan, you yourself aided his escape. Jules is an escaped chayatim. And now Imperator Hart knows that Dario and Aiden have betrayed him. Meera is too big of a pawn in all of this. It’s impossible. Not one of you can return to the capital.”
“And you will?” Dario asked. “You’re guilty of everything you just said, not to mention wanted as a bride by both Emperor and Imperator. Your face is too known, and so is your hair. It’s a dead giveaway this far south.”
“They’ll have to catch me first.”
Dario nodded, and cracked his knuckles. “Well then, it’s decided. Let’s go. I’m coming with you. I’m your bodyguard.”
“No,” I said. “Once I get Rhyan, and free him, he’ll travel with me away from the Palace. He can only handle one person at a time. I can move faster if I’m alone. If you’re there, you risk your life and slow us down. I’m not the the one who needs protection now. Everyone else I care about and love is in this room. And I know Rhyan feels the same.” Though there was one notable exception for me. One sister I could not reach. But there was nothing I could do about that now.
I looked out at all of their faces, not memorizing them, because I would return, and I would see everyone again and I would have Rhyan with me when I did.
“I need you here, Dario,” I said. “You’re the only one strong enough. I need you to protect everyone—Rhyan would want that, too, and you know it. We’ll find you when this is over. If you have to run from here, leave a message for where to find you with Cal and Marisol. But if Jules is right, it won’t take long for me to return.”
“I don’t like this,” Dario said.
I snarled, “I don’t really give a fuck. And I have no time. He could be walking out right now. And I need to get there first.” I already had my plan for how to get there. When Rhyan and I had been on top of the temple, I’d spotted ashvan stables not far from here. I would go there first. I’d steal a horse and I’d ride straight to the capital, straight to Rhyan.
Dario’s eyebrows drew together. “You can’t hold back if you do this. Everyone is the enemy. You’ll have to kill. Are you sure you can do that?”
I thought of Brockton. Of his final moments. Of my sword pushing through his belly. And how I wished I’d had more time, that I’d done more. These were the same people. The ones who hurt Jules. The ones hurting my love. And I knew if the roles were reversed, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.
I tightened my belt around my waist, checking that my weapons were exactly where I could reach them. My stave, my dagger, my knife, my sword, my Valalumir stars on the bottoms of my belt straps. And Asherah’s chest plate, which would be crucial when I made my move.
I reached for the doorknob, “I’m going to get him the fuck back. And everyone who stands between me and him will pay. Every last one of them. If they hurt him, and I find them, if they come between us, they’ll wish they’d never been born.”