Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
LYRA
My stomach pitched as the Dark Palace fell away, the carved obsidian features reflecting the glowing pool of lava below. I felt Sorsha’s labored breaths as she flew us out of the volcano, her wings beating hard against the oppressive, sulfuric air.
All around us, demons swarmed, and I gripped my dagger tighter. There were so many of them.
Squinting through the blizzard of ash, I spotted an ungainly form up ahead.
Adriel.
At least a dozen demons were arrowing toward him, but the moment they drew close, Kaden sent out wisps of his lethal shadows. They lashed out like whips and nets, wrapping around the demons’ necks and wings and wrenching them from the sky.
Shrieks echoed off the volcano walls as they plummeted toward the spewing lava below, and a fresh horde of them spilled from the obsidian palace.
Glancing over her shoulder, Sorsha cursed and threw out a hand, aiming for the winged beasts on our tail. I looked down just in time to see glimmers of iridescent light collide, coalescing to form long glowing daggers.
They sliced through the air, adjusting their trajectory to home in on their targets. They tore through the demons’ membranous wings, sending two careening toward the bubbling pool of lava.
My heart soared as Sorsha sent out another volley of her magical blades, but these were smaller and weaker than the last. The cadence of her wing beats suddenly faltered, and I realized she was struggling to hold her winged form while weaponizing her power.
Tilting her head skyward, she flew harder — racing toward the mouth of the volcano.
My heart stuttered. Without Kaden’s shadow magic, I had no way to fend off our attackers. But then I heard a loud rumbling from above, and when I looked up, great chunks of volcanic rock were tumbling toward our pursuers.
Sorsha’s body tensed as boulders the size of horses careened through the air. Adriel didn’t so much as glance in our direction to see if his aim had been true, but I knew without a doubt that his earth magic was the cause of the rockslide.
We cleared the rim of the volcano a moment later, though I could still make out the shadowy forms of several demons pursuing us.
My mind raced. Perhaps I could summon my own magic as I had down in that cell.
Closing my eyes, I focused on my intent as Gaeldric had taught me, imagining our demon pursuers plummeting through the air. But no matter how hard I concentrated, nothing happened.
A feeling of helplessness swamped me, followed swiftly by anger. I felt so useless being carried through the skies, unable to summon even a sliver of magic. But then ribbons of shadow streaked across the grayish sky, and a sickening gurgle told me Kaden had taken out our pursuers.
Sorsha’s grip on me eased ever so slightly, and the cadence of her wing beats slowed as she flew us over the Barrens. Soon we left Mount Dorthus and the choking clouds of ash behind, and a howling wind drowned out everything else.
With the danger behind us, I could practically feel the joy radiating from the princess. Her chin jutted skyward as she flew through the clouds, the tips of her beautiful iridescent wings glistening in my periphery.
My heart swelled. I couldn’t even imagine the elation of flight after being denied it for years.
Impressively, neither Sorsha nor Adriel seemed to slow their pace, even after several hours.
I had no idea how they knew where they were going.
I couldn’t see anything through the thick cloud cover.
But soon the crash of waves became audible over the howling wind, and when I drew in a breath, I tasted salt.
We were crossing the Drathen Sea.
As the air grew colder, the jagged outline of the Oranthan Mountains materialized through the mist. But rather than leading us higher to bypass King Alfrigg’s wards, Adriel dipped below the clouds, where foaming waves met a rocky coastline.
Huge white boulders punctuated the shoreline, and the lonely screech of gulls greeted us as Sorsha brought us to land on a cold, pebbly beach.
My knees wobbled as she set me on my feet, and I nearly face-planted in the sand. “Where are we?” I asked, my voice hoarse from the cold air.
“Just outside the village of Bijult,” said Adriel in a low voice. “There is a safe house where we can stay until Kaden is well enough to fly.”
But Kaden was already several paces ahead, striding toward the rocky cliffs.
Shadows billowed in his wake, stirring the dry seagrass as he ascended a trail that led up through an outcropping of the bleached white rocks.
The stiff set of his shoulders and his drooping, bloody wings were the only signs of how badly he’d been hurt.
My heart felt as though it had been ripped from my body and clumsily put back into place. He hadn’t said a word to me as we’d made our escape, and I wondered if Adriel had gleaned any insight into what he’d endured.
Guiltily, I retreated into my mind and peered through the dense hedge I’d created to shield my innermost thoughts. I felt for that glimmering golden thread that represented our bond, but all I found was the dull, lifeless thing I’d held before.
Not a sliver of recognition flared down our mental pathway. No love. No longing. Just . . . emptiness.
Had Fleshtalker somehow broken the bond between us? Was that the reason Kaden had looked at me with such hatred back in his cell?
Without the mating bond, perhaps he no longer felt any connection to me. I was just the huntress for whom he’d suffered to protect.
Pushing those dreary thoughts aside, I clambered up the rocky incline after Adriel and Sorsha, who had magicked away their wings. Neither the princess nor the royal guard spoke, though I could feel Sorsha seething from Adriel’s abandonment at the palace.
My thighs burned as we ascended the rugged switchbacks that led up the side of the mountain. There was little in the way of vegetation, either because it was too cold or because of the unforgiving wind that thrashed at the cliffs.
We cut a path through the towering white boulders, and after nearly an hour, a few scraggly pine trees appeared. The terrain leveled out, and a grouping of strange-looking structures jutted out from between the cream-colored stones.
The sharp, angular rooflines of the homes seemed to mirror the peaks of the Oranthan Mountains. Thatched roofs contrasted with outer walls blackened with pine tar to guard against moisture and decay. Fragrant smoke puffed from narrow chimneys, and relief seeped into my bones.
The back of my neck prickled with the feeling of being watched, but none of the others seemed concerned.
We reached a set of rickety wooden steps, and Kaden ascended without so much as a glance around the village. His movements were even stiffer than before, and I could tell that he was in pain.
We followed him up to a small landing that led to a cottage with the same odd roofline. The house looked as though it were bowing against the unrelenting wind, and suddenly I understood the reason for the design of the homes.
Kaden flattened a hand over the center of the door, and a glimmer of golden runes seemed to wink in answer.
He stepped aside to allow his royal guard to clear the house before entering, and Sorsha paused on the edge of the platform to summon a ball of faelight.
Opening the hatch of a red-tinted glass lantern mounted on the outer post, she turned to me with a grim smile. “A signal that the prince has arrived.”
I was too weary to ask who she was signaling or why. When Kaden and I had visited Klod?sch, he hadn’t wanted anyone to know who he was, but perhaps things were different there.
Inside the house was small but comfortable. Woven rugs covered the squeaky floorboards, and more weavings made of seagrass and shells decorated the walls. The windows were fashioned from some wavy stained glass with intricate designs near the top depicting winged creatures crossing the sea.
A wooden table with four chairs stood beside a stone hearth, with a padded bench along the wall.
Adriel knelt before the fireplace and began arranging a few thin logs in the grate as Kaden started up a narrow staircase.
I made to follow, but Sorsha stopped me with a gentle hand on my arm.
“Someone must tend to his wounds,” I snapped.
“Perhaps now isn’t the best time.”
“When would be a good time?” I retorted, jerking away and storming up the staircase after him.
The wooden steps groaned under my weight, but the little house seemed sturdy. There was a doorway off the landing that led to a cozy bedchamber, but Kaden kept going up a rickety ladder to a third-story alcove.
Heart in my throat, I went after him, my head popping through the narrow opening. This room was even smaller than the broom closet the two of us had shared at the inn in Klod?sch.
Kaden was slumped on a thin pallet with his back to me, wings splayed on the blankets behind him. He stiffened as I pulled myself through the hole but didn’t turn to look at me.
“I should see to your wounds,” I said, feeling suddenly awkward and foolish. Everything inside me ached to be near him, but he clearly wanted nothing to do with me.
“Don’t bother,” he replied, his tone flat and emotionless.
“T-there could be splinters,” I stammered. “They’ll get infected if they’re not —”
“I said I’m fine.”
I opened my mouth to argue but quickly snapped it shut. I wanted to tell him he was being an idiot, but it occurred to me that he might need some time alone to process his imprisonment.
Swallowing my protests, I backed down onto the ladder and descended the stairs. Adriel was coaxing a fire to life in the hearth, and Sorsha was rummaging through the cupboard in search of food.
A sharp knock at the door made me jump, but before I could react, the royal guard was on his feet with his sword drawn.
“Oh, for goodness sake.” Sorsha rolled her eyes. “It’s only Gertrude.”
Adriel’s shoulders relaxed, but he didn’t sheathe his blade as Sorsha pushed him aside and opened the door.