Chapter 28 #2
Duke Ovenno dragged her away, shouting orders at his men as they continued to fight off Melanos and the others. Sonah’s face throbbed, and tears flowed freely as she trudged behind him, senseless.
When she regained her faculties, Sonah screamed, swinging her free arm, clawing at the duke’s hand, her nails sinking in deep. The gouges were long and jagged, and she smiled like a maniac when he roared, letting her go.
Sonah fell with a grunt. Scrambling to her feet, she slipped and crawled along the ground, panting as she tried to scream, hoping the power would be strong enough to level every man there.
It didn’t work. Her scream was only a scream and she whimpered as she staggered toward Leander.
Duke Ovenno caught up easily, grabbing her scalp and yanking her back.
Sonah cried out when her butt hit the ground, the collision sending razor-sharp pain shooting up her spine.
The duke rounded to her front, glaring down at her.
Sonah’s pulse hammered in her ears so she could not hear whatever he was shouting at her, spittle forming at the corners of his lips.
She could do nothing but stare up at him, terrified.
Before she could register the sword in his hand, he raised it and stabbed it toward her belly.
As before with the other soldier, the sword bounced back, and Duke Ovenno grunted in surprise. Sonah snatched her dagger from its sheath and sprang to her feet. The duke tried stepping back, but Sonah screamed and swung her arm, slamming the blade into the base of his neck.
Duke Ovenno’s eyes widened, blinking twice as he brought his hand to his neck to clutch at the wound.
Sonah watched in horrified awe as blood poured through the duke’s fingers. Her breath swirled in the air as he dropped to his knees, dead at her feet.
“You should eat, Sonah,” Bethana said softly, pushing the bowl of stew a few inches closer to Sonah.
They sat inside a tavern after riding away from Duke Ovenno’s ambush. They’d lost Triodos in the fight, and Fane had taken turns with Leventis and Yianni leading his horse with his body draped across the animal’s back.
Sonah had been numb, staring vacantly at the horizon while leaving her mount to navigate behind the others. Hours later, Melanos had called a halt when they spotted a small village, and they found their way to the tavern for food and rest.
The place was loud, with laughter punching through the conversations around them, making Sonah hunch further into herself. The others remained quiet and she was thankful for it.
“Maybe she just needs some air,” Melanos murmured, pulling Bethana’s seat closer to his side. Sonah lifted her eyes, watching as the nymph laid her head on the god’s shoulder, her eyes trained on Sonah.
“That’s a good idea,” Sonah mumbled. Pushing her chair out, she made to stand when Leander rose beside her.
“Let her be,” Bethana said. Sonah did not look at Leander to see if he’d listen, but she hoped he would.
She wanted to be alone.
After Melanos and the others dispatched the rest of Duke Ovenno’s men, Bethana had helped Sonah to her feet, although she recalled little after the nymph dragged her away from the duke’s body.
Sonah didn’t know how long they’d ridden before she’d vomited on her cloak and tunic, her body shaking and her hands unable to hold the reins.
It wasn’t until much later at the inn while she was in the bath with Bethana stroking a washcloth across her back that she broke down and cried.
The air outside the tavern felt wonderful after the stifling heat within. Sighing, Sonah went to the railing, placing her hands on the worn wood and tilted her head up. Closing her eyes, she savored the bite of the winter air.
The building had been built at the edge of a cliff with the back of the tavern overlooking the valley below. She imagined the view during the day must be magnificent. The night, however, cloaked everything in black with only the stars and the full moon breaking up the void.
After several deep breaths, she opened her eyes and stared at the star-studded sky, idly picking out constellations, her mind blessedly blank despite the day’s events.
The smell of smoke reached her, the aroma of bossena leaves tantalizing, and she turned, scanning her surroundings.
Stiffening when she spied the dark figure of someone over her right shoulder, Sonah turned back as if she cared not a wit she was not alone.
Whoever it was also decided not to break the silence.
Long moments stretched before Sonah turned back to the shadowed figure.
“May I have one?” she asked, motioning with her hand.
The figure did not respond.
Frowning, Sonah asked again, this time in Greek, her words stilted.
She knew the language—albeit poorly, and only so much as to appease her matron.
Lady Maranou loved to wax on about how a lady should know all the languages of the continent, even though Sonah reminded the woman the lessons were useless for someone who never ventured outside of Metilai.
The stranger remained silent.
“I can pay you,” Sonah said, reverting back to the common tongue. Fumbling through her pockets until she found some coins, Sonah held them out to the person hidden in the shadows.
When that failed to get a response as well, she sighed and stuffed the coins back in her pocket as she turned away.
Not very friendly in these parts, she decided as she closed her eyes.
Rustling behind her made Sonah snap her eyes open.
She turned to see the figure lean forward before a long, lean arm reached out through the folds of a cloak, slender fingers holding a cheroot.
Sonah’s eyes widened, and she lifted her gaze from the smoke to the man whose dark gaze was steadily watching her.
A moment passed before Sonah reached out, her fingers brushing his as she took the offering and nodded in thanks.
The man stood and took a step forward. Sonah tensed. A scratch sounded, and the smell of sulfur hit her nostrils as he held out a small flame, the fire highlighting his sharp features. Dropping her gaze, Sonah leaned forward, unsure of how to light the cheroot as she’d never had one before.
“Put it between your lips and breathe in as I light it,” his rough voice commanded softly, the sound like the soft scrape of fingernails across her nape.
Sonah shivered, her hand shaking slightly as she lifted the cheroot to her lips. He brought the firelight closer, and she closed her eyes as she breathed the smoke deep into her lungs.
The man stepped back into the shadows. A second later, Sonah coughed, her throat spasming against the harsh smoke, tightening and making her eyes water. She coughed more, heat rising to her cheeks at the man’s soft chuckle.
A long time passed before Sonah’s breathing returned to normal, and she calmed enough to take a long, steadying breath as she wiped at the tears trailing down her face.
“First time?”
Sonah flicked a glance at him before dropping her gaze to the cheroot.
“Aye.”
Silence stretched, filling the space between them and Sonah was about to turn away when he spoke again.
“Are you all right?”
Heat rose once more beneath her skin at the sound of his velvety voice. Nodding, she whispered, “Aye.”
Turning back to the railing, Sonah looked out over the valley, hidden beneath night’s embrace. The quiet settled around them, the occasional chirp of an adderton bird in the distance the only interruption.
After a while, Sonah sighed and hung her head. In a low voice she said, “I killed someone today.”
He did not respond, and she wondered if she’d even spoken her thoughts aloud. Glancing over her shoulder, she caught his regard as he brought his cheroot to his lips and the small ember at the tip dispelled the shadows over his glittering eyes.
“That was also a first for me,” she added.
He chuckled, the sound rumbling over her pleasantly.
A long time passed before he shifted, the sound of his movements making her stiffen.
“Did they deserve it?”
Blinking, Sonah considered for a moment before she gave an abrupt nod. Dropping her gaze to her feet as she toed the dirt beneath her boot, she whispered, “Aye.”
He said nothing as he stared back at her, the silence stretching as he took another drag on his cheroot. He shifted closer, leaning his large frame against the worn wood of the tavern.
“Doesn’t make it easier,” he said in that sinful voice.
She lifted her startled gaze to his. From where she stood, with him still mostly in shadows, Sonah could not see the color of the glittering eyes that seemed to look into her soul.
Sonah turned away, lifting her cheroot for another drag, this time a much smaller one. Settling her hands on the cool railing, she looked back up at the stars.
The silence this time was too thick for her to feel comfortable, so she glanced back at him and asked, “Have you taken a life?”
A beat of silence and then he answered. “Aye.”
Sonah twisted to look at him, narrowing her gaze. “Many?”
Seconds ticked by before he grunted. “Aye.”
Fear and a strange curiosity compelled Sonah to turn fully, her eyes searching through the darkness for what she could see of his features.
“Are you a soldier?”
When the man failed to answer, she dropped her gaze and turned away, self-conscious as if she’d crossed a line.
Unsure of what to do or say, Sonah decided the best course of action was to leave the man to his peace. She lurched forward, intent on returning to the relative safety of the tavern and her companions.
His voice cut through her as she moved past him, his words slicing into her soul.
“Ovenno was always going to die by your hand. It was his fate.”
Cold flashed through her, followed by a heat so searing it scorched a path from her chest down to her belly.
Pulse pounding in her eardrums, Sonah froze, her eyes locked on her fingers gripping the door handle as the heat of his gaze burned her.
“What does that mean?”
The man leaned closer and Sonah flinched back, her eyes wide as she caught his gaze. She could have sworn she saw silver race over the irises. He took another long drag of his cheroot, letting the smoke curl out of his mouth in a very suggestive manner, even to someone as inexperienced as Sonah.
“I know all about death.”
Nothing about this conversation was normal, Sonah decided, chiding herself for instigating in the first place. She was sorely out of her depth with this man, and she felt like a child for the first time in years, the events of the last year and her still fresh first kill notwithstanding.
“Sonah.”
At the sound of her name, Sonah started, her eyes widening as they locked onto the man, still embraced by the shadows.
“When you get to Lethe, stay there until your eudaemon comes for you. Otherwise, I’ll have to kill a god, and I’d rather not.”
Not only did this stranger know who she was, but he knew about eudaemons. How could he know so much?
Wrangling her fear, Sonah stepped closer to the stranger, intent on getting answers.
Light from the moon made him visible at last, and she swallowed against the harsh beauty of his face. He was viciously handsome, his features rugged as if cut from granite, his eyes not black but a pewter grey sparkling like jewels.
Before she could speak, the man’s eyes widened a fraction of a second before they narrowed and his hand snapped out, gripping her chin.
“Até?”
Startled, Sonah pushed him away, his hand falling from her face as a river roared in her head and her heart thrashed.
Dread slid icy fingers down her spine, and she bolted, snatching open the door of the tavern and hustling inside.
As she made her way back to her friends, Sonah cursed herself for being too cowardly to even find out who the man was.
When she finally settled her head upon the thin pillow in her room many hours later, Sonah’s last thought before sleep overtook her was she knew without a doubt she’d see the man again.