Chapter 36
Talon
Even with Altair howling in the background, and knowing he’d soon turn that rage on me, I couldn’t tear my eyes from the place where Zara had disappeared.
Even still trapped in a net with Neo, I let my breath out in a rush of relief that she had escaped.
No matter what happened to me now, Tempest would get her to her people.
They could ally themselves with Mistral, and they could mount a defense against the Devourer.
At the same time, darkness swallowed me whole. I would likely never see her again. It felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest.
A guard cut the netting off me and jerked me roughly to my feet. He grabbed hold of my right arm, while another grabbed my left.
His wings still bound, Neo shrieked a warning as guards approached him.
The second you can, fly out of here, I told him.
I won’t abandon you to your fate, Neo said.
There’s nothing you can do for me now, I said. One of us needs to be free. I knew what would happen now. Altair would unleash all that fury on me, and I would likely be executed for treason.
Altair stalked over to me, and I had to restrain myself from recoiling at the sight of him. His tunic was ripped from the collar to his chest, as though he’d taken hold of it and pulled, and his hair was standing in several different directions. “You knew about the eagle and kept it from me.”
“It happened after we tried to confront Ozul,” I said in as calm a tone as I could. He was listening to something I couldn’t see, and the thought of that made my flesh crawl.
“You wanted her to escape,” Altair said, his eyes narrowing at me while he pointed aggressively. It took all my discipline and training to stand impassively in the face of his increasing hostility. “You want her for yourself.”
I hesitated, disturbed by how much he had figured out. I made the mistake of looking him in the eyes, and something shifted there. What looked back at me wasn’t my cousin. I jerked back.
“You always wanted what was mine,” Altair said in a snarl.
“Father was all too happy to give it to you, too. He wished you were his son and not me. He tried to have me killed.” His last word ended in a strangled sob, and I held out my hand to him instinctually, reacting to my cousin’s pain.
Maybe there was some way I could reach him, pull him back from the brink.
He slapped my hand away, his face shadowed again. “Your father is gone now, Altair,” I said. “He can’t hurt you anymore.” Something swam in the depths of his eyes, something dark and unfathomable.
“Altair—”
“Guards,” Altair said, and instantly, the guards holding me stood at attention. “Take Talon to the dungeon.”
Before they could, I let my body go slack, and then while they were off their center of balance, I spun out of their hold with a jerk and ran to Neo. The guards came after me, but I grabbed hold of the net and pulled.
Five guards tackled me, knocking me to the ground with a gut punch that pushed all the air out of my lungs. I fought wildly, gasping for breath.
Neo spread his wings as guards threatened him with spears.
Go, I told Neo.
Talon, he pleaded.
Go—they’ll kill us both! If you’re alive, there’s a chance I can escape.
He wavered. He didn’t want to abandon me. He would rather stay and fight, die beside me as my brother, but he knew I had a point. If there was any chance at all that I could escape, I would need him alive and free to do it.
I’ll come back for you, he promised.
Someone slammed the hilt of his sword into my head as another kicked my ribs. Ears ringing, I could still make out a beautiful sound. The heavy beat of wings.
Altair stood over me as they hauled me to my feet. “You had designs on the future empress. You committed treason against your emperor by helping her to escape.”
I spat out blood. “You allowed Lord Heron to have free rein of the palace and try to have her killed—twice.”
“I will make an example of you, Talon,” Altair said, his expression calm but his eyes full of darkness. “Anyone who dares betray the throne will be punished—kin or not. Throw him in the dungeon to await his sentence,” he told my guards.
“You need me,” I said to Altair, trying one last time to secure my freedom. “There’s a war coming. Who will lead your army?”
“I have a new army commander,” Altair said, and then, from out of the shadows, it emerged.
Ozul. The Devourer.
And as it made its way to stand beside my cousin the emperor, I knew that all hope was lost.