I looked back, expecting them to be upon me, but they only leisurely and smugly advanced forward. They weren’t going to risk their own horses when they knew I was trapped in this godsforsaken wasteland.
For now.
That became my silent invocation.
When they caught up with me, Kaden and I exchanged a severe glance but no more words were spoken.
The ride was endless. The sun disappeared behind us. My backside ached. My neck pinched. My clothes chafed. My cheeks burned. I guessed we had traveled a hundred miles.
The haze finally gave way to brilliant orange as the departing sun set the sky ablaze. Just ahead was a gigantic outcropping of boulders as large as a manor house that looked like they had been dropped straight from the sky into the middle of this wilderness. There was another flurry of words, and Griz did a lot of pointing and bellowing. He was the only one who didn’t speak Morrighese. Malich and Finch both had thick accents, and Eben spoke as flawlessly as Kaden.
The horses seemed to sense that this was to be our camp for the night and picked up their pace. As we got closer, I saw a spring and tiny pool at the base of one boulder. This wasn’t a random stop. They knew their path as well as any vultures of the desert might.
“Here,” Kaden said to me simply as he slid from his horse.
I tried not to wince as I dismounted. I didn’t want to be so very royal. I stretched, testing to see which part was in the most pain. I turned and glared at the group. “I’m going around to the other side of these rocks to take care of some personal business. Do not follow me.”
Eben lifted his chin. “I’ve seen a lady’s bum before.”
“Well, you’re not going to see mine. Stay.”
Malich laughed, the first laugh I had heard from any of them, and Finch rubbed his shoulder and scowled, throwing the dried bloody rag that had been stuffed beneath his shirt to the ground. It was certain I was on his bad side, but it had obviously been a clean wound, or he’d be in much worse shape. I wished I had dipped my knife in poison. I marched to the other side, taking wide berth around Griz, and found a dark private place to pee.
I emerged from the shadows. They would have killed me by now if they intended to. What were their intentions if not to murder me? I sat down on a low rock and looked at the foothills, maybe a mile away. Or three? Distance was deceptive in this shimmering hot flatland. After dark would I be able to see my way well enough to escape there? And then what? I at least needed my canteen and knife to survive.
“Lia?”
Kaden sauntered around a boulder, his eyes searching the rocks in the fading light until he saw me. I stared at him as he walked closer, his duplicity hitting me deeply and sorely, not with the wild anger of this morning but with a gripping ache. I had trusted him.
With each step he took, all of my thoughts about him unfurled into something new, like a tapestry being flipped to its backside, revealing a tangle of knots and ugliness. Only a few weeks ago I had nursed his shoulder. Only a few nights ago, Pauline had said his eyes were kind. Only two nights ago, I had danced with him, and just yesterday, I had kissed his cheek in the meadow. You’re a good person, Kaden. Steadfast and true to your duty.
How little I had known what that meant to Kaden. I looked away. How could he have so completely and utterly duped me? The dry sand crunched under his boots. His steps were slow and measured. He stopped a few feet away.
The ache reached to my throat.
“Tell me this much,” I whispered. “Are you the assassin that Venda sent to kill me?”
“Yes.”
“Then why am I still alive?”
“Lia—”
“Just the truth, Kaden. Please. I kept my word to you and came along without a struggle. You owe me that much.” I feared that something worse than death was still in store for me.
He took another step so he was standing directly in front of me. His face looked more gentle and recognizable. Was it because his comrades weren’t here to see him?
“I decided you’d be more useful to Venda alive than dead,” he said.
He decided. Like a distant god. Today Lia shall live.
“Then you’ve made a strategic error,” I said. “I have no state secrets. No military strategies. And I’m worthless for a ransom.”
“You still have other value. I told the others that you have the gift.”
“You what?” I shook my head. “Then you lied to your—”
He grabbed my wrists and yanked me to my feet, holding me inches from his face. “It’s the only way I could save you,” he hissed, keeping his voice low. “Do you understand? So never deny that you have the gift. Not to them. Not to anyone. It’s all that’s keeping you alive.”
My knees were as thin as water. “If you didn’t want to kill me, why didn’t you just leave Terravin? Tell them the job was finished, and they’d be none the wiser.”
“So you could return to Civica and create an alliance with Dalbreck? Just because I don’t want to kill you doesn’t mean I’m not still loyal to my own kind. Never forget that, Lia. Venda always comes first. Even before you.”
Fire surged through my blood, my bones; my knees became solid again, tendon, muscle, flesh, hot and rigid. I pulled my wrists free from his grasp.
Forget? Never.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
RAFE
I looked everywhere along the highway for any sign of her, circling over to two nearby farmhouses in case she had stopped for water or they had seen her pass by. They hadn’t. By the time I rode down the main street of Terravin, I was certain she still had to be at the inn.
As I rode up, I saw the donkeys, loose and unstabled, wandering around outside the tavern. The front door was open, and I heard commotion inside. I tied off my horse and ran up the porch steps. Pauline sat at a table, trying to catch her breath between sobs. Berdi and Gwyneth stood on either side, attempting to calm her.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Berdi waved her hand at me. “Quiet! She just got here. Let her tell us!”
Gwyneth tried to give her some water, but Pauline pushed it away.
I dropped to my knees in front of Pauline, grabbing her hands. “Where’s Lia, Pauline? What happened?”
“They got her.”
I listened as she told me the details between sobs. There were five of them. One was Kaden. I didn’t have time to get angry. I didn’t have time to be afraid. I just listened, memorized every word, and questioned her for the important details she didn’t mention. What kind of horses, Pauline? Two were dark brown. Three were black. All solid. No markings. The same breed as Kaden’s. Runners built for endurance. But she wasn’t sure. It all happened so fast. One of the men was big. Very big. One was only a boy. They spoke another language. Maybe Vendan. Lia had called them barbarians. How long ago? She wasn’t sure. Maybe three hours. They headed east. Where did they stop you? At the dip in the highway just north of the yellow farmhouse. There’s a small clearing. They came out of the scrub. Anything else I need to know? They said if anyone followed, Lia would die. She won’t die. She won’t.
I gave orders to Berdi. Dried fish, dried anything that was quick. I had to go. She went to the kitchen and was back in seconds.
There were five of them. But I couldn’t wait for Sven and the others. The trail would cool, and every minute counted.