Chapter 22 #2
For the moment, though, they weren’t paying attention to me. They kept their gazes averted as they carefully took off their clothes and hung them on one of the empty hooks. I stripped out of my own clothing unselfconsciously and then did the same.
When I stepped into the water, though, I immediately let out an appreciative groan.
It was the perfect temperature—hot enough to soothe muscles, curls of steam coming off the surface.
They both shot me looks like I had just done something unforgivably crass.
With eyes still averted from each other’s naked bodies, they slipped silently into the water.
They made no effort to talk to me, so I tried to pretend they weren’t there and enjoyed the warm water instead.
After a few minutes of peace, Lady Corvina deigned to speak to me. “Has the emperor taken you into Naharu yet?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“No, but I would love to see it.”
They both winced like I had shouted my response to them. “You mustn’t speak so loud, First Daughter,” Lady Starling said, her tone soft but reproachful.
“This is my normal speaking voice.”
“It’s best to speak quietly so that everyone is forced to listen closely,” Lady Starling said, in a way that suggested this was a well-known proverb.
I didn’t really want to go around whispering, so I just nodded and barely lowered my voice. “Do you live in Naharu?”
“Yes, we both do—in the royal district,” Lady Corvina added with unmistakable pride.
“That’s the area closest to the palace,” Lady Starling said.
“How many districts are there?” I asked, fascinated despite myself. I did like learning about other cultures, and there was so little that we knew about the Zephyrians.
“Four,” Lady Corvina said. “Royal, Merchant, Artisan, and Tradesman.”
“So each area is divided by family occupation?”
“Yes,” Lady Corvina said in her strange whisper.
“I would love to go visit Naharu. Or anywhere, really. I would like to travel the continent now that the war is over.”
They shared a look. “An empress doesn’t travel.”
“What do you mean?”
“The empress must never leave the palace or its immediate vicinity, like Naharu,” Lady Starling said in a tone that suggested it was offensive for me to say otherwise.
“I’m afraid that’s a rule I won’t be able to follow. For one thing, my entire family lives on the plains.”
“This is why you’ll make a disgraceful empress,” Lady Starling said with a sneer. “You have no regard for the rules and customs of our people.”
“Not when they’re completely isolating and barbaric.”
Lady Corvina let out a barking laugh that got her a nasty look from Lady Starling. “This from someone who lives in primitive tents and barely clothes herself.”
“We shouldn’t have even bothered to help you learn about the Zephyrian ways. You’re obviously incapable of it,” Lady Starling said, still in that ridiculous half whisper.
I wasn’t sure how they thought they were helping me learn the Zephyrian ways after such a short conversation, but I also knew they were just a couple of mean, petty women who would never like and accept me.
I thought of Lord Heron’s warnings about the dangers of the nobility, and I almost snorted out loud.
These women were pitiable, not dangerous.
“Then leave,” I said with a shrug of indifference that I knew by Lady Starling’s narrowed eyes got to her more than if I had reacted badly, like she expected. “I never wanted the two of you here with me anyway.”
“Do you know who we are?” Lady Corvina hissed at me. “We are from the noble houses of—”
“Do you know who I am?” I interrupted. “I am the First Daughter Zara of the Children of Earth and the future empress of the Zephyrians. Your future empress. You’d do well to remember that when you speak to me.”
Lady Corvina opened and closed her mouth several times, which was satisfying until I caught the dark look on Lady Starling’s face. She looked like she wished she had a dagger to stab me with. If I hadn’t glanced at her, I wouldn’t have noticed the growing shadows behind her.
The shadows coalesced into a dark, writhing mass. I felt the color drain from my face as it moved like smoke toward us. The shadows reached Lady Starling first and poured into her until her eyes were black.
I flung myself to the water’s edge just as the shadow streamed into Lady Corvina in the same way.
Before I could make it out of the water, each woman latched onto my arm and pulled me under.
I didn’t even have time to scream for Baz.
I fought wildly, but they held me down with inhuman strength.
I could see their distorted faces through the green water.
They were eerily calm as they tried to drown me.
I was young and strong, but I couldn’t hold my breath forever.
A renewed surge of panicky adrenaline flooded my veins.
I kicked out while trying to wrench my body away from them.
They held tight, having the advantage of height since they were both standing on the outcropping and using their combined body weight to hold me under. My lungs burned, desperate for air.
I have to have air, I thought. Would the wind respond underwater? I imagined the way a strong wind could toss waves and churn the deep waters of the ocean.
I sank deep inside myself to where that power rested, and pulled it to the surface of my mind.
All I could think about was how I needed to get out of the water.
And then suddenly, a million effervescent bubbles surrounded me.
They swirled around my body faster and faster until finally, I felt an incredible force beneath me.
It lifted me so powerfully that both Lady Corvina and Lady Starling were blown back.
I landed hard on the edge of the water, coughing violently and gagging.
Baz finally heard the struggle and came to my rescue, but Lady Corvina and Lady Starling threw themselves upon him. They clawed him like wild animals, screaming and fighting. He struggled to subdue them.
Before I could get to my feet, a warm robe was thrown over my body, and I was pulled against a rock-hard chest.
“Haul them before the emperor,” Talon shouted to Baz as he and the other guards finally managed to subdue Lady Corvina and Lady Starling. “I will take care of the First Daughter since obviously you cannot.”
“I’m sorry, Commander,” Baz said, his expression twisted with regret. “It happened so fast. I never would have thought—”
“Enough!” Talon cut him off.
Talon’s face was twisted with a mixture of fury and concern as he helped me turn to my side and then pounded my back. “Get it all out,” he told me gently. I coughed some more until finally all the water had come up. I fell back against him, breathing hard.
“I’ve got you, just breathe,” he said near my ear, his arms warm around me.
I had never wanted Ama or Mariyah or any of my family so much in my life. I thought of Shazeera, not even at my side. Had this brief blast of wind power damaged our connection again? Another blow to our bond that I hadn’t even meant to do.
After a moment, I leaned away, partially covered with the robe. I turned to look at Talon, and he gazed down at me, eyes wide with concern. I didn’t even think about it first; I threw my arms around him and held on tight. He froze for a moment, but then he returned the embrace.
“You’re safe now,” he said into my neck.
His own distinctive smell—leather and mountain air—surrounded me.
I thought of the shadows that entered the two women before they tried to drown me. I was definitely not safe here, and I wasn’t sure I ever would be.
I got shakily to my feet, and the robe he had thrown over me pooled on the ground. Talon’s eyes darkened for a moment before he averted them.
We weren’t afraid of nakedness, so to watch the Zephyrians take such pains to avoid looking at the human form was disconcerting. I struggled with the robe for a moment, my whole body still shaky and difficult to control.
He must have still been watching out of the corner of his eye, because he came behind me and held the robe up. “Let me help you.”
I was finally able to slide each arm into the holes and belt it. When I turned to face him, I saw his throat move like he was swallowing hard. He was wearing a robe, too, though his was black and open to reveal a muscular chest.
“I’ll escort you back to your room,” he said, and I nodded.
As we walked, he kept close enough for me to feel the heat from his skin. “What happened? How did you end up with Lady Corvina and Lady Starling?”
“I came across Lord Heron and the two of them on my way to the hot springs, and he all but forced them to accompany me.”
His voice dropped into a low, dangerous tone. “He is behind this assassination attempt?”
I thought of how the shadows poured into Lady Corvina and Lady Starling, turning their eyes black. “I think they were there to put me in my place. Before they tried to drown me, they were entertaining themselves by attempting to belittle me. I didn’t get the sense they had murderous intentions.”
“Until they held you under?”
I shivered. “Until then.” I opened my mouth to say more, but then I considered the deep shadows on either side of us in the dimly lit hallway. “I’ll tell you the rest when we get inside my room.”
We walked quietly down more hallways and upstairs, passing a few guards who saluted Commander Talon. Finally, we arrived in my room.
Raven was inside waiting, and the minute she saw us both, she left to get us hot tea. I went and sat on one of the wingback chairs, but Talon remained standing.
“Why do you think they tried to assassinate you?” he asked as soon as we were alone.
“This sounds far-fetched, but I saw shadows pour like smoke into them, turning their eyes black. They held me under right after that.”
Some of the color had drained from his face. “Shadows? You’re sure?”
I nodded. “They reminded me of the creature we saw in the throne room.”
“If the Devourer is targeting you,” he said, his tone gruff, “then you’re in danger. Where was your guard?”
“He was there but behind one of the stalagmites. Your people have some sort of aversion to nakedness, so he wasn’t willing to be within view of me. He couldn’t hear me drowning.”
He muttered something under his breath. “He could have stood where he could watch but kept his eyes averted. Regardless, I’m going to up the number of guards outside your door.” He ran his hand through his thick hair and met my gaze. “I’m sorry I had to leave you for a couple days.”
“Where did you go?”
“I had some things to look into.”
I thought back to the other conversation we had about the shadowy creature. “Did you find out what happened to the missing staff members?”
“All I know is they’ve completely disappeared—no family members have seen them, and they haven’t reported to their stations in many days. But I haven’t gathered more information than that. I was on another mission.”
“What mission was this?”
He hesitated for only a moment. “I discovered that both my riders and their eagles were known to be attacking your people and horses off the battlefield.”
“Yes. Including innocent civilians.”
“Yes.”
I took a deep breath. “And who was it that confirmed this for you—since my word was apparently not good enough?”
“I encountered several scouts who witnessed the war crimes firsthand.”
I shook my head. “So it had to be your own people telling you before you’d believe. Well, at least you know now. What will you do about it?”
“The offenders are to be exiled immediately,” he said. “Though the few who participated in these crimes the most are already dead.”
He caught me by surprise with that. “What do you mean?”
“You killed them, First Daughter. With your wind power.”
Emotions flitted through me: surprise, the remnants of fear from that day, cold satisfaction.
“I have to admit, Commander, I’m surprised you did anything at all about what I told you,” I said, and I couldn’t hide the admiration in my voice.
“We have a strict code of honor we’re supposed to uphold at all costs,” he said. “Killing off the battlefield is a breach of that honor.”
“Even the horses?”
Something like regret flashed across his face. “We didn’t know about your horses being intelligent until you yourself told me, so the greater crime in our eyes was the killing of innocent civilians.”
I winced at the callousness of that statement. “I can’t fault you for that when I didn’t know about your eagles, either.”
“Maybe now that the war is at an end, we can find out more about each other,” he said. When I glanced quickly at him, he amended, “About each other’s people, I mean.”
“Yes, of course,” I said, lowering my gaze to my hands. “Thank you, Commander. For telling me.”
Raven returned with steaming cups of lightly spiced tea, which I took gratefully. When she offered it to Talon, though, he shook his head.
“Have additional guards arrived outside the First Daughter’s room?”
“Yes, Commander,” she said.
“Then I should go change and report the attack to the emperor,” he said to me with a bow. “I will return soon.”
I nodded, but my stomach twisted into knots, bringing on a wave of nausea as I watched him walk out the door.
Of all the people I had met, Talon seemed to be the most honorable—if I could trust that everything he had told me was true.
The longer I stayed here, though, the more I realized there was not only great evil, but it could evidently infect anyone.
A sudden chill spread throughout my body despite finally being warm in front of the fire as another thought grabbed hold of my mind. Whatever goal this creature had, this most recent attack proved that it had set its sights on me.
But hell if I was going to come this far only to be assassinated.