I meet her eyes. “You said I would be.”
She told me that Nathaniel would hurt me more than she ever could, that whatever remained of my heart would be torn apart before the beginning of the third day. Nathaniel’s near-death destroyed me. Even now, my chest feels empty, a painful void. Until he’s healed, my heart won’t be healed, either.
Mathilda gives me a cold nod. At the same time, her magic washes around my left side, icy fingers of power tugging my left arm open and prying Nathaniel from my grip. I shudder to feel her dark magic against my skin, the same sensation as Cyrian’s magic even if Mathilda isn’t causing me pain.
I struggle to release Nathaniel into her hold. Not only because of the darkness in her eyes. I’ve forced my arm to clamp so tightly around him that I have trouble straightening my limb.
Letting Nathaniel go makes me feel powerless again.
Whether he lives or dies is no longer within my control.
Now it’s all up to Mathilda, a dark witch who wants me dead.
Chapter 5
Nathaniel’s unconscious body tips and straightens until he lies parallel with the ground. Finally relaxing, I allow my left arm to slide to my side, a dead weight. I sense the rush of blood into my hand, but it’s a distant pain, my muscles too stretched to feel much of anything.
On my other side, Hagan’s weight also lifts, his torn shirt fully exposing his scar. His chest rises and falls evenly, his breathing more regular than Nathaniel’s.
As he rises up beside Treble, Christiana takes a step back. Last night, Hagan forced her to marry him so that he could take control of her fate, for the sole purpose of freeing her. She fought him every step of the way, even when he told her to leave.
Now, she presses her lips together in a hard line, but she doesn’t fight Mathilda as the witch slowly guides both men ahead of her and begins the careful walk back to the Bitter Patch. The plant life around Mathilda’s feet dies with every step she takes as she drains the environment to fuel her magic.
Carefully testing the range of movement of my right arm, I draw it slowly up to my chest, nursing it. My dislocated shoulder bone protrudes at a nasty angle and the pain refuses to ease. Treble turns his head to see me, his brilliant eyes casting rapid glances across my face and torso.
He bounces his head at me while making a low keening sound. I want to reassure him, but I can’t lie and tell him I’m okay. I also can’t get off his back until I’m sure he won’t be fired upon.
“Get everyone back inside the Bitter Patch,” Mathilda says to Christiana as she passes her. “Quickly now. Cyrian will soon sense the magical disturbance here. I won’t be able to mask our presence out here for long. We’ll be safe inside.”
“Lower your weapons,” Christiana calls to the trainees still standing guard around us. “Do everything Mathilda tells you to do. Esther and Geordie, you remain with me. We will escort Aura Lucidia inside.”
The trainees quickly disengage their crossbows, pulling the bolts off them and slipping the projectiles into pouches attached to belts around their waists. They each carry at least twenty bolts, enough to take down many thunderbirds if shot accurately.
As soon as the trainees turn their backs, I hoist my right foot over to the left, managing to extend both of my legs along Treble’s outstretched wing so I can slide to the ground. I stumble awkwardly before I reach the bottom and fall the remaining distance onto my backside with a quiet thud.
It’s hard to care about my pride right now. Treble quickly drops his belly to the ground and folds his wing around me to hide me in a protective cocoon for a moment. He turns his head into the gap at the edge of his wing, keening at me again.
“You have to fly,” I whisper. “Ascend above the haze, where you’ll be safe. Don’t show yourself unless I whistle for you. They don’t trust me, Treble. They will kill you if they have the chance.”
My heart already hurts for him. My people tried to burn him out of the sky. Now the humans will target him too. All because he’s loyal to me.
I lean against his side, unable to raise my hands to stroke his feathers as he nudges me gently.
“You can’t stay with me,” I say. “The situation here is too volatile. I can’t lose you, Treble. You’re my only friend.”
Treble’s glare tells me he would rather risk death than leave me on my own, but the sharp light in his eyes fades. He nudges me again, soft and gentle this time. He appears resigned now.
I close my eyes, a small part of my heart healing because of his friendship. “Go now. Be safe.”
A savage tug pulls me to my feet. It’s the same tug that left me with a bruised nose two days ago. Nathaniel must be on the verge of traveling too far away from me.
Treble immediately opens his wing and I stumble away from him, coming face to face with Esther and Geordie, who both hold their crossbows ready. Christiana stands between them. She has put away her bow, but it’s not far from her reach, along with the dagger at her waist.
“You lied to us about who you are,” Esther says, the cold light of betrayal in her eyes hurting my heart. Esther was betrayed by her sister, Ethel, and left for dead. Nathaniel rescued her and brought her here. Nathaniel told me that Esther finds it difficult to trust people. She’s also very protective of the trainees.
When Christiana returned here last night, she would have told everyone who I really am, including that the Law of Champions has been invoked.
“You’re Aura Lucidia,” Esther says. “Our mortal enemy. Only Nathaniel can explain what you’re really doing here. Until then, we can’t believe anything you say.”
Nathaniel asked me to come to Null with him. He wanted me to meet his people, to fight with them. But he warned me that they would try to kill me if they found out who I am. Esther may be wrong about my motivations, but she’s correct that I deliberately deceived her. When I chose to reveal my identity to save Nathaniel’s life yesterday, I knew the consequences.
I draw myself upright, trying to mask the screaming pain in my right arm. I won’t get any sympathy from the humans and I need to reassert my defenses. “The Law of Champions forces me to go where Nathaniel goes. I need to follow him now or Mathilda won’t be able to move him any farther.”
Christiana steps right up to me. “My brother is the least vengeful, most forgiving person I know. He believes there is good in nearly everyone.” Her voice lowers to a quiet threat. “Do not confuse me with him. I have none of his virtues. I will do whatever it takes to protect my brother and my people from you.”
She spins on her heel. “Bring Aura Lucidia inside.”
Esther and Geordie incline their weapons sharply toward the Bitter Patch. I don’t need any prompting. My entire body tugs fiercely in Nathaniel’s direction. Mathilda won’t be able to take him into the Bitter Patch without me.
I force myself to move as fast as I can, nursing my injured right arm with my wounded left arm. Neither limb is entirely functional. Sharp pain jars through me with every step. I spent the last few hours at Cyrian’s mercy. My ability to compartmentalize the pain now is stretched to its breaking point.
I can’t stop the tears falling down my cheeks, a necessary release. It might make me look weak, but I have to deal with the pain somehow. Focusing on my exhalations and inhalations, on the rush of air in and out of my mouth, I block out the threat of the crossbows held by Geordie and Esther, who keep pace with me on either side.