Chapter 49 #2
In frenzied movements spurned by the sounds of battle outside and fearful cries of littles inside, I dipped my fingers in my blood and began to draw as many runes as I could in the time remaining.
“Move,” a female voice barked to Torin and Talamh when she realized I needed to inscribe the ground beneath their boots.
Their magical defense stopped momentarily, enough for Solace to fly across the chasm and toward the cave’s entrance.
“Bondsmith,” Talamh growled in panicked warning. “Are you nearly—”
“Finished,” I breathed, shaking in exhaustion as I collapsed to my knees, blood still freely flowing down my arm.
Seconds later, a gust of air blew through the cave’s entrance as a loud thump outside indicated Solace’s arrival.
Itanya was still clutched in my sister’s arms, though there were significant angry red scratch marks on her exposed skin and more than one imprint of teeth. A wave of pride washed over me at Itanya’s savagery.
“I heard there’s a little cult in the Far North missing a blood bag,” Solace hissed as she wrestled with a squirming Itanya. The boys frowned, their postures stiffening with clenched hands as they imperceptibly shifted their weight as if poised to strike at any moment.
“Stand down,” I muttered, pushing myself up to a kneel. “The wards will hold.”
Solace’s laugh was high and pitchy, sending tremors of fear down not just my spine.
“Lead your people through the caves, Torin,” I said, my voice tired and weak from our trek from Imena and the emotional turbulence of the last hour. “There is nothing you can do here.”
Torin whirled to face me, honey eyes flashing dangerously as he opened his mouth, gesturing violently toward Solace. Whatever caustic remark he was about to say, Ellowyn’s firm hand on his chest stayed his actions, the fight physically deflating him as she whispered in his ear.
Talamh turned with a grunt, sending Solace one last scathing look before he retreated into the darkness of the caves.
“Please, Torin,” I croaked, rising shakily to my feet, using the wall to support my weight.
Torin looked at Itanya once more, his eyes welling with heartache before he shot a glare at Solace, the promise of unspeakable pain clear as day.
“Your days are numbered, Goddess,” Torin declared, his voice a prophetic rumble. “If we don’t end you, then surely the girl in your arms will”—he gazed at Itanya once more—“stay strong, little one.”
Itanya gazed fiercely back at Torin, fire and brimstone flaring in her chocolate irises. She nodded at her uncle once before he turned and practically ran down the tunnel, Ellowyn’s hand clutched tightly in his.
So many unspoken words hung between Solace and me as we stood on opposite sides of my wards, glaring proverbial daggers at each other. If a look of hate could smite, we would both be joining the ether tonight.
Tentative footsteps and crunching rock preceded another’s arrival. The reasoning for the attack tonight became clearer as Razia came shuffling into view, sweat beading on his brow as he brushed twigs, dirt, and dust from his ostentatious tunic.
My lips curled as recognition flared and old hatred burned bright. “Taking my daughter wasn’t enough, Razia? You had to take my granddaughter, too?”
His thin lips curled into a semblance of a smile, but all I saw was a snake. One that, in time, would strike at Solace’s hand if she handled him too roughly.
Good.
“Of course you would adopt the mutt who looks like your daughter, Ragana,” Razia purred, his voice raspy from exertion. I froze at the use of my true name, one I hadn’t heard in decades and never outside the Far North. Even Solace’s eyebrows rose a fraction in surprise.
“How do you—”
“Know your name?” he asked, all smooth confidence and smoke once more. Razia shrugged his thin shoulders, the gold in his doublet shining in the moonlight, even despite the smears of blood that marred it.
“There are many things we study in the Far North, now, Ragana. The old texts are important, don’t you agree?”
I bit my lip at the inadvertent admission; if he knew of the old texts, then he knew of Dagaal.
And now I knew where he would take her.
A slow smile spread across my face, its appearance causing Razia to frown slightly and Solace to cock her head.
“Indeed, Razia. The old texts are important. I should know . . . considering I wrote them.”
My mother and I, but those were semantics.
Razia’s mouth flopped open like a fish before Solace pushed him aside, shoving Itanya into his arms with a muttered “Don’t release her, you imbecile.”
“Bondsmith!” My name floated down the tunnel, the sound of Lex’s footsteps growing closer. I took a step back from the edge of the cave, then another, eyes trained on my half sister the entire time.
I couldn’t let Lex see Itanya; there was no telling what he would do when he discovered his daughter in Solace’s clutches, nor what Solace would do in response.
The rebellion needed Lex. So did Folami—even more so now.
A larger second step followed the first, the warmer, humid air from the caves sending goosebumps up my exposed legs and fluttering the ripped hem of my shortened dress.
“Fleeing, sister? Typical. Even when we clutch something your heart desires most of all, you are impotent. I will look forward to when your little . . . parlor tricks run out. Perhaps then, Fate will truly see who the strongest daughter is.”
Solace’s thin white lips curled into a sinister smile, one that would have set my teeth on edge if it didn’t make me so sad.
“Be strong, Itanya. Listen to the wind,” I advised cryptically, retreating further down the canyon. The little girl stilled, nodding her head even as her eyebrows creased in thought. It wouldn’t make sense to her now, but soon, it would be invaluable.
I walked backward, keeping my eyes on my granddaughter until I couldn’t any longer, the tunnel curving to the right.
The last thing I saw before I turned was the evil smile that stretched across Solace’s face, disfiguring her completely until I no longer saw my half sister, but rather a scourge that needed to be ended before her wickedness consumed everything good left in this world.
She might have taken Itanya, but she wouldn’t break her spirit.
Of that I was certain.
My conviction did nothing to stop the tears that ran freely down my face to splatter on the neckline of my dress, nor the sobs that wracked my body.
So intent on keeping my emotions locked away and out of sight from Itanya, they came in forceful, heaving gasps that sent me to my knees as soon as I was out of sight.
With a heavy heart and wet eyes, I turned my back on Solace for the final time, knowing deep in my soul that the last time we saw each other would truly be the last.
And it would end with one of our deaths.