Chapter Twenty-Six
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
Ilaria had never worn armor before.
She stood stiffly, trying not to show how the weight dragged at her shoulders.
The breastplate was too broad, and the leather beneath creaked with each breath.
She felt ridiculous from the way her fingers disappeared into the gauntlets, like a child playing dress-up.
Ilaria was waifish and bookish, far better suited for quills than longswords.
All this armor felt more like a cage than it did protection.
“Is this truly necessary?” She grunted as a helm was shoved onto her head.
“Better to be overprepared than under.” Edevane twisted the helm to ensure that Ilaria was secure. “You’re safe if you blend in.”
The knight-commander guided her toward a waiting mare, dark-eyed and placid. Ilaria mounted, clumsily throwing one leg over either side. The position was foreign after years of riding sidesaddle, though she was relieved to find it far more comfortable as she settled in.
“And what am I to do if a fight breaks out? I can hardly lift the blade strapped to my hip, let alone swing it.”
“Then use your bow,” Solange said as though it were obvious.
Edevane offered a wry smile. “She’s right, but try not to worry. We’ll step in if anything happens, though it’s a rare day that we find something truly dangerous in these woods. Your father just wants to scare you a little.”
Unfortunately, it was working.
How could it not? Whatever opinions Ilaria had of this war, the last thing she wanted was to be attacked in the middle of the forest as she was surrounded by knights who’d sooner maim than have a civilized conversation.
The weekly hunts had always seemed so performative.
Her father claimed it brought hope to the people—that each hunt was a step toward reclaiming what had been lost and in keeping their home secure.
At first, they had scoured the woods for signs of demon hordes, seeking the glamoured villages in which they hid.
Occasionally, they’d catch a stray. At first, the knights had tried to trail them, only to routinely report that the demons would disappear as if swallowed by the forest. Now they’d moved on to trying to capture and torture the demons to extract information. But demons never betrayed their own.
Still, the knights of Rhovar hunted, ensuring their border remained safe and searching for any clue that would bring them closer to the enemy camp.
Ilaria gathered alongside the others at the edge of the tree line.
It wasn’t only Edevane’s company out for today’s hunt; Aurelie’s had joined, too.
Marcel was adjusting his mount’s reins while Solange settled beside Ilaria, a bow resting in one hand.
Edevane fell in at the rear, scanning their formation.
“Everyone ready?”
A few muttered affirmatives rose from the ranks, and with that, they rode into the forest.
The wind surged through the branches overhead, rattling the leaves. It sounded like the trees were laughing at them, mocking the knights for this routine effort.
Ilaria curled her fists as best as she could in the gauntlets and tried to calm the storm inside her. Twenty-four knights surrounded her, and yet her heart pounded a drumbeat against the armor.
What are you so afraid of? You’re going to be fine.
This fear was what the king wanted, just as he’d wanted her to witness an attack firsthand.
And why shouldn’t you? All her life, Ilaria had been ushered into safe rooms at the first sign of trouble, locked behind the protection of stone while others bled for her. If there was something out here that would make sense of this awful war, then perhaps she should see it.
“I would have expected you’d be more worried,” Solange muttered, eyes sharp on their surroundings.
Ilaria blinked, pulled from her thoughts. “About the hunt?”
The knight’s tone shifted, her expression hardening. “About Aurelie.”
Ilaria’s chest went cold. “Aurelie is strong,” she said quickly. “She’ll be fine.”
She has to be.
She clutched the reins tighter and willed the tremor from her voice. It seemed Solange had more to say, though she froze at the snap of a twig overhead.
Her bow was drawn before Ilaria could track the sound, an arrow nocked as her eyes flicked to the branches above.
But it was only a vesper—red, small, and bug-eyed, peering down at them with a lazy smile.
“Oh yes,” the Nyxaris purred at them. “Strike me down, human. Send that arrow through my chest and make me bleed. I’m certain the others will love that.”
Solange blinked several times before she hissed and lowered the bow. “Infernal creatures. Shoo! Be gone with you!”
The vesper grinned as it rolled onto its back, staring upside down at them.
“Ignore it,” Ilaria said. “It’s only a vesper.”
Solange curled her lip. “They make my skin crawl.”
They had that tendency. Even then, the wretched creature was still smiling at them. There was something knowing about its expression. A danger that Ilaria didn’t recognize until it was too late.
“Solange!” she cried out, just as the world turned to chaos.
Flames erupted from the trees, setting the branches aflame. Screams tore through the forest as fire incinerated two knights riding near the front of the formation.
“Cecily!” Marcel shouted, rushing toward his comrade when Edevane blocked his path.
“Stay back!” she demanded, head swiveling fast toward her daughter. “Solange, get her out of here!”
Solange didn’t hesitate. She seized Ilaria’s reins, jerking her horse back. “Ride!”
Ilaria dug her heels into the mare’s sides, turning hard. But before they’d gone ten strides, another explosion split the air. This one was aimed directly at them.
Ilaria lost her grip as the horses reared. The world tilted, and then she was on the ground, breath torn from her lungs as the weight of the armor slammed into her ribs.
“Bows ready!” cried the knight-commander.
Through her bleary vision, Ilaria spotted the faint shimmer of movement. Black eyes turned toward her, a forked tongue flicking out to scent the air.
“It’s an envyborn!” Solange called. “Aim for the—” Her words cut off as the demon burst into the air, two massive black wings flaring from his back.
By the Light …
Silver swirls appeared along the demon’s skin as he inhaled, then breathed another giant plume of fire. Ilaria pressed herself to the ground as Solange fell over her, shielding her. The knight cried out as the fire caught her boots, and for a horrible moment it seemed that this was the end.
She pressed her hands to the earth, steadying her racing heart.
Cold dregs of terror slipped down her spine. She had to do something. Had to let herself—
An arrow flew through the air, landing squarely in the demon’s shoulder. He reared back, the fire halted.
“Envyborn don’t have wings!” Marcel choked as he readied a second arrow. Edevane, too, was glaring at the demon, clueless about what to make of him.
Ilaria scrambled back onto her feet, shaking away the fear she’d nearly succumbed to as Solange hauled her onto the saddle. Arrows loosed, but as they flew, darkness began to pour through the trees.
Ilaria’s heart went still.
The shadows surrounding them thickened, moving like smoke as they curled around the demon and obscured him from view.
And then a second demon burst from the gloom, her skin a dark, rich blue.
She was faster than the winged beast, not bothering to try to blend in with her surroundings. Ilaria’s fingers froze around the reins, too numb to move.
The blue-skinned demon surged forward, straight for the knight-commander, and Ilaria had to act fast.
She cursed as she yanked the helm from her head, drew an arrow with trembling hands, and nocked it.
Fly true, she commanded it, then released her hold.
The arrow flew wide. It grazed the demon’s neck, leaving a thin line of blood in its path.
Ilaria winced as the demon turned to find her attacker, red eyes widening with recognition.
“Its tail,” Solange hissed, the sound low and brittle. “By the Light, look at its tail.”
Her breath caught, the air turning to glass in her lungs. “I can’t see it,” she lied, hoping with everything in her that these demons would hurry and leave.
Edevane wielded her sword among over a dozen flying arrows, her eyes set on the shadow wielder.
To everyone’s surprise, this second demon lunged on the first, her claws sinking into the body of the winged beast. He cried out, but a second later there was only silence as, in the blink of an eye, both demons vanished into shadows that doused all traces of fire.
The knights stood still, dumbfounded, with their weapons in hand.
“Everyone, with me!” Edevane barked, already turning her mount. “We’re going after them. Solange, Marcel—get Ilaria back to Rhovar and report this to the king immediately.”
“But Cecily—” Marcel started, his voice breaking.
Edevane turned on him. Her eyes were flint, her voice like ice. “Ilaria is your priority.”
He swallowed his protest.
Ilaria opened her mouth to argue, her heart pounding with guilt, but Solange seized her by the arm before she could speak. The knight gave no room to argue as she wrapped a firm hand around Ilaria’s waist, steadying her on their shared mount.
Hooves thundered as Edevane’s riders vanished deeper into the forest, but Ilaria knew even then that they would find nothing.
Ilaria didn’t look back to see Cecily’s writhing body or the charred corpse lying still beside her. She couldn’t.
“Its tail,” Solange said again, and Ilaria noticed with surprise that her hands trembled as they fisted the reins. “You both saw it, didn’t you?”
Marcel’s jaw flexed as he avoided her stare. “Come on. We need to get word to the king.”
There was no stalling on the way back to Rhovar. No quiet conversations or detours.
They rode fast and hard, Marcel flanking them as their horses’ heavy breaths plumed in the air.
The city guards didn’t hesitate upon their arrival. They took one look at the riders’ faces and hurried aside to let them through the gates.
“Where are the others?” one knight demanded as Marcel slowed.