Jesus, how had I survived our first trip through the canyon pass on the way up to Pinsky without having a complete panic attack?
Indigo nervously edged his horse closer to mine, making me slice him with a warning glance. He was supposed to be a prisoner here. Small suspicious movements weren’t smart. I widened my eyes, silently asking him what he was doing.
But he only whispered from the side of his mouth, “Breathe, empress. No one here will attack you without going through me first.”
I scowled, irritated that he was reading my emotions. And as sweet as it might be for him to try to calm me, it was even more dangerous. He should be keeping his damn mouth shut right now, not worrying about—
“What do we have here?” a guard asked suddenly, making me jump and veer my attention to the man peering up at us questionably.
Shit.
Here we go.
“A Graykey prisoner,” Melaina announced, keeping her voice low and as masculine as she could. Roughly grabbing Indigo’s shackles, she twisted his arm, exposing the fake mark she’d put on him. The guards reared back immediately. A woman in line behind us gasped. A child waiting even further back began to cry.
“We’re taking him in to the king. Hopefully to get this damned curse ended once and for all.”
“Amen to that,” the guard answered, yawning as he waved us through. “Just get him out of here.”
“Will do.”
I dropped three tokens into the bucket and stepped past the guards. Behind me, I heard Holly’s hoofbeats as she followed. Someone belched. Another muttered something snide. I didn’t dare glance back when I heard someone spit, but I figured it had landed on Indigo since he cursed directly afterward.
I just kept walking forward, my head faint with worry as we started between the heavily shadowed, cool rock walls of the dried-out canyon base. Every mile or so, a guard station illuminated with torches hugged the ground, helping to light the path and keep the passage safe and crime-free.
A person could travel through the mountains without paying a fee, I supposed. But the pass cut the travel time down to half a day when it’d probably take weeks through the treacherous hilly terrain above, plus this was safer with the armed guards that staved off more than most thieves from trying to rob anyone and chased off wild animals that may attack. Even taking the river ferry down to Moore and then heading back up to Tyler would be faster than attempting a perilous mountain trip.
Our only obstacle here was getting past the guards and into the pass. And we’d just made it.
The air hissed from my lungs as we left the knight’s station behind, and the parties traveling in front of and behind us spread further apart.
Melaina and Indigo appeared at my sides so we could ride abreast of each other.
“Well, that…” Melaina finally spoke up in a melodramatic voice. “Was so scary. I mean, the moment the guard yawned and his companion belched before scratching his balls was…” She blew out a shivering breath. “Why, I was sure that was it. We were all going to die a most violent and painful death.”
“Shut up,” Indigo muttered irritably.
Melaina started to laugh at him. “You worried for nothing, boy.”
“No, I didn’t.” He sighed impatiently. “Because it could’ve been dangerous. If those two hadn’t been the laziest pair of guards I’d ever met, all three of us could be dead right now.”
“But we’re not,” she sang merrily.
“Fine,” he snapped. “You were right. I was wrong. You had a fail-safe plan to get us into the pass. Are you happy now? Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Yes, actually. It was.”
He sniffed moodily and rolled his eyes toward the sky.
Humming a cheerful tune to herself, Melaina rode ahead, calling a greeting to a handful of men she passed going in the opposite direction.
Indigo swung his attention to me. “And you’ve put up with her for eight years now?”
Since it was fairly dark in the canyon and he couldn’t see my expression, I grinned. It was kind of nice to have someone else around who shared my aggravations about Melaina.
“I’ve put up with Melaina my entire life,” I corrected.
“Christ Almighty,” he murmured in sympathy, shaking his head slowly. “You deserve an award.”
Chapter 22
Quilla
We made it through the canyon and out the other side with no hiccups. I mean, aside from the physical brawl that nearly broke out between Indigo and Melaina due to the fact that my aunt couldn’t stop heckling him about how flawlessly her plan to disguise ourselves to get into the canyon had worked.
At one point, after we were already through the pass—and Melaina was still harping on about how ridiculous his concern had been—he pointedly turned to me and asked, “Just how important is she to you again?”
Before I could answer, however, Melaina snorted. “Oh, that’s rich. You’re thinking of harming me now, are you, High Clifter? Just because we had a little difference of opinion? That’s so open-minded of you.” She rolled her eyes before lifting a finger. “Now, let me tell you something. You should kiss the ground I walk on. Because I was the sole caretaker of your one true love since she was eight years old. I hid her in her own home for nearly four years, disguising her as my servant so the rest of the family wouldn’t find her and try to kill her for her powers. And when she was discovered, I sent her to a girl’s academy with my own funds I’d accumulated over the years, because it was the safest place I could think to hide her. My husband tortured me for six years, trying to get me to tell him where she was. But did I ever break? No. The only reason Quilla is alive today—”
“Okay!” Indigo cut in harshly, lifting his bound hands in surrender. “Fine. I’ll stop imagining how nice the silence after your murder might be. And I thank you for everything you did for her.”
“No,” Melaina snarked back, not ready to forgive him. “You know what would be really nice?” she demanded. “Your face not being around here anymore. The girl and I had a fine system going before you came along and disturbed our peace with your unwanted, intruding, and super annoying presence.”
Indigo glanced at me, making an exaggerated expression. Not for one second did he believe there’d been any peace between me and her before he’d come along. And he was right. It amused me how well he already knew that.
And that look on his face. So comical.
I blurted out a laugh without meaning to.
“Yes, it was so peaceful,” I stressed sarcastically, lifting one hand to my heart as if swearing by the lie.
Grinning, he watched me with such avid fascination that I became self-conscious.
Tucking a piece of hair behind my ear, I muttered, “What?”
He shook his head slowly. “Nothing,” he mumbled before immediately glancing away as if self-conscious. “It’s just nice when you smile. That’s all.”
My brow furrowed as I continued to watch him, wondering what he was thinking. Wondering what he was feeling. I was so curious about the inner workings of him that I began to wish I could get one of his marks, so I’d know right now exactly what his heart wanted. And that was such a surreal realization for me. This man right here could be my entire future. If I’d just allow it. All I had to do was accept him. That was all.