Still recovering from her fall, all Kiva could manage was to raise her arms and protect her head, hearing multiple panicked voices yell her name, the loudest of which was Jaren’s. He was struggling to settle his own spooked mount, his eyes wide and his hand outstretched as if to magic her to safety — but without his power, nothing happened.
And then Zephyr’s hooves began to come down, a thousand pounds of horseflesh falling to the earth, ready to crush Kiva.
She slammed her eyes shut and braced for impact, but then a gust of wind wrapped around her torso, like a giant hand clutching her and sliding her across the hot sand to safety.
Kiva opened her eyes again and stared in amazement at Jaren, but his fingers were now fisted around his reins, and he was looking away from her — straight at Ashlyn.
Her heart fell at the expression he couldn’t hide fast enough, the disappointment, the self-loathing. It was as if, for a moment, he’d forgotten what the Eye of the Gods had taken from him and was now forced to remember all over again.
Kiva ached deep inside at seeing such a look on his face before he blinked it away. But at the same time, a small, hope-starved part of her rejoiced that his first instinct was still to save her. She hadn’t imagined that, not this time.
“Are you all right?” Ashlyn called, using her wind magic to lift Kiva up to her feet. “Sorry I didn’t act quicker — Spirit nearly threw me, so I didn’t see what happened to you until I heard everyone yelling.”
Kiva dusted sand from her leathers and, now able to breathe again, answered, “I’m fine.” She took a step, winced, and rubbed her hip. “A little bruised, but I’ll survive. Thanks, Ashlyn.”
“Are you sure?” Torell asked, dismounting from his skittish horse and looking her over carefully. “You landed hard.”
Her brother wasn’t the only person staring at her in concern, but the worried face that snared Kiva’s attention the most belonged to Tipp. As soon as he realized she’d noticed his alarm, he quickly glanced away. Even so, just like with Jaren’s instinctive reaction, Kiva’s heart felt fuller than it had in a long time.
“I’m fine,” she repeated to her brother, before repeating it for a third time when Caldon asked as well.
“This horse has it in for you,” Cresta said, leading Zephyr over by the reins.
Kiva hobbled forward and remounted before she could yield to fear. “He’s just not used to windfunneling,” she said, unsure why she was defending the creature who could have killed her moments ago.
“I’m so sorry,” Galdric said, looking distraught. “I’ve never used my magic on anything but people before, so I didn’t anticipate that being so —”
“Just give me a chance to dismount first next time,” Kiva cut him off, growing more embarrassed by the second. She waved toward the city rising up before them. “I take it that’s Yirin?”
“It is,” Naari confirmed.
Kiva looked at her, surprised she’d been the one to answer. But as Kiva took in the guard’s dark features lined with tension, she belatedly remembered that this wasn’t Naari’s first visit to Jiirva.
I spent most of my life in a kingdom oppressed by corrupt rulers and full of desolate and hateful citizens, the guard had told Kiva back at the River Palace.
Even Captain Veris had shared a tale about Naari’s journey to Evalon, mentioning how she’d escaped a Jiirvan arena and crossed the Forsaken Lands with nothing but the swords on her back.
Kiva wanted to ask how Naari was handling being back in the kingdom that she’d risked her life to flee from, but the guard shot her a hard look, so she swallowed the words before they could slip out.
Turning her eyes to the city, Kiva looked beyond the impressive outer wall to the sandstone buildings within. The architecture was unlike anything she’d encountered before, with golden towers interspersed between behemoth yellow stone statues of armored men and women throwing spears, raising swords, and drawing bows. Jiirvans were known to the rest of Wenderall as being warriors, but Kiva hadn’t realized their capital would epitomize that in its appearance. Even with the scorching sun overhead, a shiver traveled down her spine at the fierceness emanating from the city. Her trepidation only intensified when she noticed an elevated area inside the wall, right at the center of Yirin, upon which sat a palace — and beside it, what was unmistakably one of Jiirva’s famous arenas.
Kiva glanced at Naari again, concerned, but the guard revealed no hint of what she was feeling.
“What’s the plan?” Caldon asked, shielding his eyes from the glare as he took in the city. “Sarana may have been friendly with Jiirva’s ancient rulers, but Ryuu and Thembi aren’t known for their hospitality. Are we really just expecting them to hand the ring over?”
King Ryuu and King Thembi were Jiirva’s brother-kings, Kiva had learned on their journey. They weren’t as close with Evalon as their ancestors had once been, but they also weren’t enemies. What that meant for the outcome of their mission, no one knew.
All eyes turned to Galdric, and he said, “As I’ve already told you, the rings were only given away for safekeeping. Since you’re Sarana’s heirs, they have no reason not to return what is rightfully yours.”
He sounded confident, but when Kiva looked around, she could see she wasn’t the only one with doubts.
“How far away is the Jiirvan anomaly settlement?” Eidran asked Galdric, perhaps the first words he’d uttered in days.
“From what Navok told me, a few hours’ ride, give or take,” Galdric answered.
Eidran nodded, then said to the group, “I’ll meet you at the palace later.” To Galdric, he added, “You’re with me.”
The ex-rebel leader looked like he wanted to argue, but Ashlyn said, “You’re the only one who knows how to find the anomalies. Go with Eidran. That’s an order.”
Galdric’s face fell, but he murmured his agreement.
Ashlyn turned to Torell and Cresta. “You go with them, too.”
Cresta’s eyes slitted. “You just want us out of the way.”
The princess didn’t deny it, and Cresta harrumphed in response. But Torell didn’t seem to mind being given a task. Or perhaps it was because the task had been given by Ashlyn. Kiva had watched the two generals interact over the last week, and despite Ashlyn’s initial distrust of her brother, something had shifted as Tor had continued to prove respectful and courteous. They sparred together every morning; they even rode beside each other for most of the day, every day, sometimes talking and laughing quietly, sometimes enjoying the silence of each other’s company. Kiva wasn’t sure if she was reading into something that wasn’t there, or whether it was even her business if it was there. Nor did she know if she should warn her brother away from Ashlyn — or warn Ashlyn away from her brother. Despite Caldon’s one-sided lust for Tor, Kiva had assumed her brother and Rhessinda had been on a path for something more than friendship . . . but given the way she sometimes caught Tor looking at Ashlyn, she wasn’t certain about anything anymore.
Since Kiva couldn’t even handle her own romantic life — or lack thereof — she knew better than to get involved in anyone else’s. Right now, she was just grateful that whatever was going on between Torell and Ashlyn meant he followed Eidran without debate as the spy nudged his horse away, with Cresta and Galdric trailing much more reluctantly behind them.