Tenacity (Rise of the Iliri Book 5)

by Auryn Hadley

  "Get up," he demanded.

  "Or what?" she asked, turning her head to see him.

  "Or they'll make you," he sneered.

  "Ok." She lay her head back in the mud and closed her eyes.

  Makiel sighed. "Chain her back to the post. This is disgusting."

  The soldiers hesitated for a moment before they cautiously moved to obey the orders. Two men grabbed her, hauling her forcefully to her feet, trying to ignore the low growl that built as they manhandled her.

  "Leave me alone," Sal warned them.

  They didn't stop, slowly shifting their holds on her body so they could drag her away from her lover. Without warning she moved, wrenching her arms from their grasp, slapping her filth covered hands against one man's neck and the other's face. They froze.

  "I warned you. Leave me alone," she hissed, walking back toward Blaec's body.

  "Chain her up," Makiel called. "We don't have all day."

  The men began to move back to her side, but she made a dismissive gesture at them. Both stopped. Then, one after the other, they slowly crumpled to the ground. Sal continued to Blaec's body, straining to reach him, hoping that if she leaned just a bit more, she'd be able to touch him one last time.

  The soldiers around the Emperor gasped and shifted awkwardly. They looked between them, too scared to ask what each of them wondered. Makiel turned to the man beside him, anger suffusing his features. "Get Narnx," he ordered.

  "Yes, sir," the man snapped, rushing off quickly before he could be ordered to die at the iliri's hand.

  The crowd stood there, shifting aimlessly for almost ten minutes before Narnx walked up. "Eminence," he greeted his sire.

  "Deal with her," Makiel ordered.

  Narnx nodded. "Looks like she got two more? I assume you want the bodies back?"

  "And her chained to the post."

  He nodded again and walked slowly to the girl sprawled in the mud. "Sal?"

  "You going to kill me yet?" she asked.

  "Not today. I need to put you back on the post."

  "No," she said. "Tell your daddy to do it."

  "Doesn't work like that, Sal, and you know it."

  She ignored that and looked up to him. "I just want to touch his skin," she whispered. "I need to, and I don't know why."

  "If I pull him close enough for you to touch, will you let me secure you back to the post?"

  Sal closed her eyes and licked her lips, her teeth catching on the bottom one. "Five minutes?"

  "I can do that."

  Grabbing Blaec's dead hand, Narnx pulled the corpse around so Sal could reach it. With a strangled breath, she leaned into the chain, straining for him. Narnx shifted the body until she could touch it without choking. Her fingers closed on his cold, stiff flesh and she wailed, the sound like a soul that had been wrenched free.

  Narnx glanced down, blinking quickly, her anguish breaking his stoic facade. Behind him, a man sniffed, smelling like sorrow. It proved the iliri was not the only one affected. Sal just held Blaec's dead hand to her face, cradling his arm against her chest, and she rocked slowly.

  "There's nothing there," she managed between dry sobs. "He's just gone. I can't feel his memories. I can't feel anything." She sucked back a broken breath and reached for his face. "I failed you, love. You saved me, and I failed you completely."

  "I don't have all day," Makiel said.

  Narnx nodded. "I understand, Eminence."

  Sal heard, so pulled herself to her feet. "Aussah," she said softly, thanking him before walking to the post.

  Narnx followed. When Sal reached her arms behind her, he re-secured the manacles that she'd slipped off so easily the day before. He also grabbed the end of her chain and hooked it closer, reducing the amount of room she had.

  "She's secure, Eminence," he said, walking to the Emperor's side.

  "Is she going to stay that way?" he asked.

  "No idea. We really don't understand much about her kind."

  Makiel chuckled. "Looks like you have a way with her. How'd you manage that?"

  Narnx looked into his sire's eyes blandly, mimicking the human habit. "Rumor has it that she can't control iliri. So far, seems to be true. I'm also willing to make trades with her to accomplish my goals."

  "Are you suggesting that I use diplomacy with a beast?"

  Narnx held his face still. "I wouldn't dream of suggesting tactics or politics to the Emperor of Terric."

  "Good. I see we did manage to tame you. Don't let the bitch give you any ideas, boy."

  "Of course not," Narnx agreed. "If you have no further need of me, Eminence, I was scheduled for guard duty."

  Makiel gestured for his son to leave, dismissing him without another thought. He strode up to Sal confidently, smiling at the pain on her face. "So, I take it you're willing to give me back my skills now?"

  "No," she said.

  "You know that I'll have you tortured if you don't."

  She turned to him, her eyes vacant. "I don't care."

  Makiel chuckled. "I don't think you understand quite how good my men are at causing pain."

  "Maast." She refused to elaborate.

  "What?"

  Sal said nothing, her eyes returning to Blaec's body. In frustration, Makiel backhanded her, but Sal's head simply rolled with the hit, only the flick of her ear showing she even recognized it happened.

  "Return my abilities or I'll have the dogs feed on your lover's dead body," he whispered cruelly.

  Closing her eyes, she ignored the man completely. Makiel gestured to one of his guards and moved away. With a steadying breath, the soldier moved toward her, a carving knife in his hand. He wore thick gloves.

  "Peel the skin from her arm, let's see if she relents."

  The soldier nodded and set to work, shoving the sleeve to her elbow. With her hands bound tight to the post, he began cutting away the top layer of skin. The knife traveled a handspan, then Sal took a deep breath, opening her eyes and tilting her head just enough to look at him. Her pupils were constricted to mere slits. She held his gaze for what seemed an eternity, then simply closed her eyes again, giving herself to the pain. He carved away the white skin, throwing it to the ground with a sickening plop, but Sal didn't make another move.

  "Eminence?" he asked.

  "She can feel pain," he snapped back.

  The soldier shook his head. "She's not even flinching from the edge, Eminence."

  He groaned and waved the soldier away. "Fine. Let's see how she likes her mate feeding the hounds."

  The dogs were brought in, their handlers carrying whistles, and turned loose on the body. At first, they refused to feed, but one handler sank a dagger deep into Blaec's body, exposing his intestines, and the dogs were convinced. Chained to the post, the display directly before her face, Sal watched without a trace of emotion. Her eyes hung on the distant horizon.

  At some point, the Emperor left.

  The dogs squabbled over her lover's corpse until the sun began to set. Blowing quick blasts, handlers gathered up the hounds and set off across the compound, none of them showing any remorse. Blaec's clothing had been shredded and his body demolished, but they left him there slowly decomposing in the late autumn dampness.

  Sal refused to move until she saw the moons begin to rise over the horizon. Staring at the twin orbs, she pinned her ears, the whimper starting in her throat.

  "Ayati," she hissed in Iliran, unwilling to let the humans hear her anguish any longer. "If this is the way things are meant to be, then I quit! Take the skills. Take my pride! I don't want it. We just throw life after life against this war, gaining nothing. For every advance we get, I lose something. For every gift, there's so much pain. I can't face losing anything else! I never wanted to be your toy."

  She thrashed against her bonds, grief lending her strength, but not enough to free herself. "Over and over they said this is ayati, but this is not how things are meant to be! He was good. He was kind and caring and everything we needed, but you took him f
rom me. I'm only one person. I can't change the world on my own! I will not fight just to get my family killed. I will not do this anymore if it means I will lose anyone else I love! Do you hear me? I will not kill my family for a fate that doesn't care about us!"

  Deep in her heart, she felt her cessivi reaching for her. She knew they'd felt Blaec's loss and hurt as much as she did. She knew they still loved her, and it was the only thing that kept her going. Sal took a long, deep breath, staring at the two moons slowly rising in the sky. They felt like the eyes of the world judging her every move.

  "I don't want to do this anymore," she whined.

  "But you must," Narnx whispered in Glish, moving behind her.

  Sal's ear flicked back to him, and she smelled his loyalty. This time, he wasn't trying to hide it. "You have no link?"

  "None," he agreed, moving to stand before her. "I can't help him," he said, looking at Blaec's body.

  "It doesn't matter, now. He's just meat. I think that's why I needed to feel him, to know he was gone. It's like we're meant to leave the bodies to nature."

  He didn't respond to that, instead, changing the subject. "I brought something. Liver and water. Will you take it?"

  She looked beyond him - at the moons - and sighed. "I guess. Why can't you just let me die?"

  "Because we need you so much that Blaec was willing to give his life for it." He stepped into her line of sight and met her eyes. "Don't give up, Sal. Not yet."

  He held up a large piece of raw liver before her mouth, standing close enough to her that anyone walking by wouldn't be able to see him feeding the prisoner. Sal took it from his fingers and tilted her head back, chewing only twice before swallowing. Next, he offered a cold metal cup, gently tilting it up until the clear water touched her lips.

  "It's not much, but it's what I can do." He watched her gulp the entire glassful.

  Sal took a grateful breath and licked her lips clean. Narnx's eyes flicked to her chin and, with his bare hand, he reached up to wipe a trickle of water away, his thumb trailing across her jaw. Sal focused on the sensation and slid deep into his mind, pleased to see that he was already prepared for a link. With a thought, she secured his mind to hers and heard him gasp as the familiar warmth of the Iliran connection filled him.

  "Fuck," he breathed. "You link, you read, you heal. What else do you do?"

  Her eyes moved to Blaec's body. "I never managed to get prophesy."

  "Sal?" Narnx asked, his voice barely a whisper. "It's a lie, isn't it. The rumor about our people being immune to your abilities?"

  "Yes. It's easier to control my own than the humans."

  "Why haven't you killed me?"

  "Because you dream about freedom," she said. "Because you offered me kindness. It matters, Narnx."

  "I can't leave," he whispered, glancing over his shoulder. "I can't defect."

  "Why not?"

  He smiled sadly and pressed his hand against her face, closing his eyes as he concentrated. Images flashed in her mind through the contact. Every day, they trusted him more and told him their plans, giving him the knowledge that could save so many more of their kind. He would've left - and gladly - only a week before, but now he knew what he had to do. He was safe in his position, and he was willing to share everything with her, if only he could have a home when the war finally ended. He was the perfect spy, and he was trusted by the Emperor. He was third in the line of succession.

  "It's called Arhhawen," Sal whispered. "I promise it to you."

  He nodded and smiled weakly. "I always thought I'd like the snow. I hope I can live to see it."

  The sound of a footstep made him lower his hand, slowly, so as not to draw attention. Sal didn't flick an ear, refusing to show where the noise had started, but Narnx wasn't oblivious. He looked around but seemed to find nothing. With a sigh, he stepped away, catching Sal's eyes only long enough to drop his gaze before leaving.

  The area was silent for nearly an hour before the lurker showed himself, moving casually to sit on one of the stacks of empty crates. Kolton glanced at her only briefly before pulling out a rough wood sculpture and his dagger, passing the time by carving more detail into the piece.

  "It's for my son," he whispered to himself. "Last I heard he's in Anglia, hoping to one day grow up and be an ahnor." Kolton chuckled. "He used to beg me to tell him about the time the Kaisae saved me. He's convinced that she's the most amazing thing in the world." He held up the wood, and Sal saw it was a grauori, her mouth open, ready to fight. "I heard what you said. Don't give up, babe. We still need you. My boy needs you to keep fighting."

  "I can't," she breathed, sinking to her rump in the mud, aware his human ears would never hear her.

  But he turned, his eyes meeting hers, and nodded. "You can do this, Sal."

  Those words made her slump back against the base of the post. In Iliran, unsure if he'd bothered to learn the language when he married an iliri crossbred, she told him, "I'm chained. I'm alone, and I'm useless!"

  Kolton looked at her and shook his head, proving he was fluent, then continued to mutter to himself so softly that only iliri ears would hear. "I have a plan. I'm sorry I took too long." He paused, his eyes going wide as he lifted his head to look behind her.

  Inhaling, she smelled Narnx but couldn't identify the emotions in his scent. The strangest part was that she hadn't even heard his steps over the other sounds in the camp. He moved like a predator.

  "Private?" Narnx called loudly, gesturing for Kolton.

  "Sir?" he asked with an Escean accent, pulling himself from the box.

  Narnx stared at Kolton, waiting until the copper-skinned man was before him. Kolton carefully shifted, feigning nervousness as he positioned himself perfectly downwind. Narnx just smiled.

  "Kolton, isn't it?" he asked.

  "Karington, sir," he replied without flinching, the accent perfect.

  "Star Fall. Sergeant now, I believe?"

  "Sir?" Kolton shook his head as if he were confused.

  Narnx just smiled. "I hear as well as she does and move almost as silently. You can't always stay downwind of me, soldier. Is the rest of your unit here?"

  "I don't understand, sir."

  The iliri growled, stepping closer to the spy. "Today is not the day to play games. I know you listened to my conversation with Salryc. You know I listened to yours. Can we at least agree on that?"

  With a smile, Kolton dropped the act, his Conglomerate accent flowing smoothly once more. "Yeah, we can. You still won't get shit from me."

  "Didn't want to." Narnx smiled. "In two hours, you will come to my tent to collect the winnings from our dice game a week ago. You will call me a scrubber at least once. I will complain that I have no coin and offer you supplies instead. You will accept, do you understand?"

  "Why?" Kolton demanded.

  Narnx just knelt at Sal's side. "I'll let you explain it to the human. Put on the necklace so you don't lose it, and wait for him," he said, pressing a key into the lock beneath her ear. With a turn, she heard it click, but he didn't release the catch. To most eyes, she still appeared to be as secure as she'd been since she arrived.

  "I will remember," she promised. "It matters."

  "Two hours," Narnx repeated before turning away, his eyes catching hers one last time.

  "Fuck," Kolton whispered. "This just got complicated."

  Sal reached into her pocket for the opal she'd stashed there. Struggling to make her grimy fingers work the clasp, she looked up from her place on the ground, exhaustion making everything harder. "He has Blaec's sword and my daggers. Our kids will want them."

  Kolt's eyes flicked over to Blaec's body. "The last time I saw him, he said the Blades would need Star Fall again." Then he sighed deeply. "I think he meant me. I need to let them know. You figure out a way to get past the guards." He paused, and she could smell concern on him. "I'll be back. I have one hell of a debt to repay."

  Sal's closed her eyes and let her head flop against her knees. "I just want him
back. I don't want to do this anymore. I just want Blaec back."

  "And your mates want you." Kneeling before her, he grabbed her arm, forcing her to acknowledge him. "Don't give up, Sal. Not, yet, babe."

  "But there's nothing left to fight for."

  He cocked his head to the side. "I know a wild pack of iliri who don't agree. Your brothers need you, Kaisae, and you owe it to them to hold it together long enough to get out of this camp."

  Her head jiggled just enough for him to see. "It just hurts so bad."

  "I know, babe. This time I'm going to take care of you. I'll be back." When he walked away, the breeze blew his scent to her. It smelled like hope.

  Chapter 30

  Time passed slowly as Sal listened to the wind drift through bare branches and evergreen needles. She could feel her mates reacting to her confusion and tried hard to shape her emotions well enough for them to make sense. She was free. With the collar at her throat unlocked, the Terrans couldn't hold her - but Blaec was gone.

  She just hoped Kolton would be able to get her things since it was all she had left of her Dernor. Nevermind that she'd need his help to make it out of here. She'd used what little energy she had left trying to save Blaec, and it hadn't been enough. Now, she was barely strong enough to stand. She'd find a way to make it happen, but her best chance of escape was with help, and Kolton was her best option.

  By the drift of the moons, it was nearly three hours before she heard the soft scuff of a foot. Kolton walked past her without slowing, heading toward the far side of the camp. He looked over at her once, feigning curiosity and fear before disappearing into the darkness. When he was just out of sight, another man passed, and Sal understood the subterfuge. That one also glanced curiously at the beast on display but never slowed his feet.

  When he was gone, the shadows whispered to her. "One more coming, then we need to move." Evidently, Kolton had circled around and come back.

  Slowly, Sal pulled at her hands, feeling the bruised skin and bones complain they couldn't fit. Struggling to focus, she changed them, elongating her fingers as her wrists slimmed. Before the last soldier passed, her hands were free. He didn't even notice her movement.