Chapter Eight – Scarlett
Chapter Eight
Scarlett
‘Again,’ Aric barked as he withdrew his sword from my neck.
I shook my head, too exhausted to speak. My breath came in ragged pants, and my vision was so blurred I could barely see the sand in front of me. I only felt its heat as I collapsed to my knees.
‘This is counterproductive,’ I managed to say, reaching for my discarded sword and climbing to my feet. ‘I need to be at my best tomorrow – which I won’t be if you run me into the ground.’
‘You think I’ve been pushing you too hard?’ he challenged. ‘This is the bare minimum , Scarlett, if you want to survive against someone like Cade. Even Mira might struggle against a Warrior–’
My frustration boiled over. It had become an unspoken rule that neither of us mentioned Mira, and I didn’t appreciate Aric breaking that rule at the very moment I needed his support the most.
‘What does Mira have to do with any of this?’ I asked in a dangerous voice.
‘You’re nowhere close to her standard of fighting!’ Aric exploded. ‘I saw you spar against her in the Ravalian Court. She decimated you, and she wasn’t imbued with unnatural strength and reflexes. Do you have any idea how dangerous the senior Warriors can be?’
‘Of course I do. My mother created the Orders.’
‘Then you know Zandri would have worked her magic on Cade, making him as invincible as possible.’ Aric turned away, running a hand through his hair. ‘General Tiran used to hold him in reserve until a mission was dire enough to send him in. Even I would be nervous about facing Cade.’
I touched Aric’s arm gently. He turned to face me, a harsh line between his brows. Fear – for me.
‘I’ll be fine,’ I said, wrestling my emotions back under control. ‘I have other abilities – abilities Cade knows nothing about.’
‘Magic.’ The frown slowly smoothed out between Aric’s brows. ‘We’ve never really discussed what you can do. If I know the strengths and limitations of your abilities, I can help you formulate a plan–’
‘I appreciate that,’ I said, taking his calloused hand in mine. ‘Truly. But I’ve already considered how to use magic in this fight. What I need right now is rest – and to know that you trust me.’
‘I do.’ Aric squeezed my hand. ‘Of course I do.’
I smiled back at him, ignoring the sour taste in my mouth. Trust had been the wrong word to use. It brought back memories of all my lies, just as Mira’s name brought back memories of the way I had betrayed her. Aric’s trust wasn’t earned. It was stolen.
The irony of it wasn’t lost on me. Here he was, worrying about whether I would survive tomorrow’s fight, when he should be the one who wanted to slide a blade into my heart.
‘Are you sure about this?’ Aric asked, drawing me back to reality.
I glanced up, realising that I had led him to my tent. The guards stood watching us, their faces eerie in the reddish glow of the torches. For a second, I could have sworn their eyes were a bottomless black. Then I blinked, and their eyes were normal once more.
‘Yes,’ I said, before I could change my mind. ‘I don’t want to be alone tonight.’
I swept into the tent ahead of Aric, irritated with myself for blurring the boundaries even further.
It wasn’t him I really wanted, I reminded myself.
I wanted the familiarity and comfort that Severin had always provided.
Except Severin had left me, and only now, when it was far too late, was I beginning to realise that perhaps I had loved him all along.
Perhaps I still did.
But I allowed Aric to take me in his arms, because if there was one thing I was good at, it was lying to myself.
And when he kissed me, I kissed him back with everything I had. Embracing the distraction his lips offered.
When Aric was fast asleep, I slipped out of my tent. One of the Warriors frowned at the movement of the tent flap but dismissed it, turning back to his colleague.
I walked past, careful not to touch them. My illusions were optical only – they didn’t extend to the other senses. How useful that would be, I thought as I made my way through the camp.
The stallion nickered at my approach. Riding was a risk – I could make us invisible, but my illusions wouldn’t mask the sound of its hoofbeats. Still, I had absolutely no intention of traversing the desert on foot.
I reached for its bridle–
‘Going somewhere?’ a soft voice asked from behind me.
I whirled on my heel. Lillian was standing in the shadows, an apple in her palm. A palomino mare nibbled at it eagerly, already bridled and saddled.
‘What are you–?’
‘I had a sudden urge to go out riding.’ Lillian wiped her palm on the hem of her dress. ‘And I know that urge wasn’t mine. I’m getting better at recognising the difference.’
I didn’t know which was stranger – the fact that she’d anticipated what I was about to do before I did it, or that she had gone to the effort of sourcing a double saddle.
‘And before you tell me that you’re going alone,’ Lillian continued, ‘let me remind you that whatever you’re doing relies on secrecy. The last thing you want is for me to tell my brother.’
I glared at her. ‘You do realise that your life is literally in my hands. I can snap the tether between us at any time.’
Lillian stepped closer. Under the light of the brazier, her blonde hair was almost as red as mine, and her expression was infinitely more stubborn. ‘Empty threats won’t work, Scarlett. I know you – possibly better than you know yourself.’
With that disconcerting statement, she climbed into the saddle. She even had the nerve to take the front spot, though I doubted she was much of a rider – a suspicion that was confirmed when she slipped and almost tumbled off.
‘Move back,’ I told her, rolling my eyes as I mounted and took the reins, urging the horse into a smooth canter. Lillian’s arms wrapped around my waist, clinging to me so tightly that her nails dug into my skin.
Five minutes passed. Then ten.
‘Do you actually know where you’re going?’
I couldn’t resist calling back, ‘Aren’t you supposed to be the expert in what I’m feeling? Perhaps you should tell me.’
‘ Scarlett –’
‘Relax,’ I interrupted, hearing the nervous edge to her voice. ‘We’re nearly there.’
The presence of death was now so strong that I was surprised Lillian couldn’t smell it.
But she showed no hesitation as I helped her dismount, just led the horse obediently after me.
Moonlight illuminated the shadowed husk of an overturned cart, bodies dumped in a pile next to it.
All Zigilian, I knew, because the Ravalians would have been buried.
‘Is that . . .’ Lillian trailed off, raising a hand to her mouth. She was even flightier than the horse; every step towards the bodies brought her closer to bolting.
‘Why don’t you wait for me in front of the cart?’ I suggested. ‘You don’t have to watch this.’
Lillian didn’t move. I wasn’t entirely sure that she could.
Brushing past her, I approached the mound of bodies. They weren’t all stacked neatly on top of each other – a few had fallen or rolled nearby, saving me the trouble of digging through the morbid pile.
Thank the Gods for small mercies , I thought as I walked towards the closest. But when I turned him over, I didn’t feel thankful at all. I stared down at the youthful face in front of me – then leant over and retched.
Cool fingers pulled my hair back from my face. When I was done, I grasped Lillian’s hand with mine.
‘Did you see him?’
‘Yes.’ Her voice was soft. ‘He doesn’t look much older than fourteen.’
I swallowed past a sudden lump in my throat, thinking of the boy I had watched die in the Ravalian infirmary. The one I had chosen not to save.
‘It’s not your fault,’ Lillian said, even softer.
‘I never said that it was,’ I said sharply, rising to my feet.
‘But you’re thinking it all the same,’ she whispered. ‘You’re wondering whether this war is worth the cost. Whether the Ravalian Empire is worth so much death – and whether you’re any better than your brother or your father.’
‘ Shut up! ’ I snarled, rounding on her. ‘You don’t know what I’m thinking. You have no idea.’
I didn’t give Lillian the chance to respond. Forcing myself to face the boy, I reached for his white arm. It was limp and cold beneath my fingers.
Behind me, Lillian breathed, ‘You’re resurrecting him.’
‘No,’ I replied. ‘I’m not.’
I watched the hope drain from Lillian’s face – the hope that I wasn’t the monster I seemed to be. I almost hated her in that moment. But no more than I hated myself.
If Severin was here, he would look at me like that, too. But I still sliced the boy’s wrist with a sharp fingernail.
Blood answered my call. Not red – black.
I heard Lillian gasp. Black veins wound up my arms as I took death into me, and as I embraced its cold power, I no longer felt hollow or afraid of what was to come.
When I was finished, the boy’s youth no longer bothered me. Neither did the sight of his eyes – nothing more than empty husks, drained of everything that had made them human. Every bit as black and unnatural as mine.
But that was my little secret – for now.
By the time I faced Lillian, my illusion was firmly in place: black veins concealed by smooth skin, my eyes returned to their previous blue. She took my hand with only a slight hesitation, allowing me to pull her to her feet.
I walked with her back to the palomino horse, which reared up at the sight of me but stilled immediately at my touch.
I smiled faintly at its reaction. It knew better than to cross me, and soon others would learn the same lesson.
I had spent my life hiding – my ambitions, my magic, my ruthlessness. But the time for hiding was over. With this power at my disposal, I could make my enemies bow down before me.
I could make the entire world tremble at my feet.