by Anya Bast
“Has the time come, Lord Rue? Will the Nordanese take Sudhra and free us, finally?” she asked.
“The war has not been won yet, Ana, but the Sudhraians know well they are unmatched here. They’ve sent most of the troops away from this Priestdom, thinking they wouldn’t have to defend it. I cannot promise anything, but I would make a guess you’ll be flying free very soon.”
A smile spread across her mouth as she danced away down the hall. The rapturous figure she struck was much in contrast to the worry around her. It was a striking symbolism. Soon his people, after generations of fear and extermination, would once again be able to be themselves.
He could not rejoice, however. Not now. Not when so many lives would be lost this day—had already been lost to pride and the power of warfare.
Catching glimpses of the windows on the opposite side of the corridor showed that the rain had slowed to a drizzle. The sound of a cannon ripped through the air, women screamed and ran for cover within the corridor.
The siege had begun.
Where was Lilane?
* * * * *
Lilane’s sopping gown slapped against her legs and clung to her skin as she climbed the winding tower stairway, following Jad. She shivered uncontrollably. The storm had brought with it a mass of cold air and the temperature had dropped considerably. It seemed to get colder every step she took, or maybe she only imagined it in her worry over Rue.
Outside cannons rolled like thunder, mixing with the shouts of men and the terrified screams of women. The battle had just started. It shook the tower they mounted—the very steps she climbed.
Jad had remained silent. His labored breathing had been audible at first, but now only the sounds from outside filled her ears.
Finally, they reached the top of the tower and Jad pushed it open. Lilane rushed through the doorway and searched the area for some sign of Rue, but found none.
The door behind her slammed shut and Lilane whirled. “What do you mean by bringing me up here? Where is Rue?”
Jad’s normally sunny expression darkened.
Her heart crashed to her toes. It had all been a ruse. Jad wanted her up here alone with him, but why?
He took a step toward her and she backed up. “Simple. There are no swords up here, my lady Lilane. Rue has told me of your skill with those, and I take no chances. There is nothing at all up here, in fact, and no one to hear you scream.”
“Why would I want to scream, Jad?” she asked carefully. He’d begun to circle her like a wolf circling prey.
“I scented something strange on Rue when he first showed up here after years of avoiding this place. Especially since he had you in tow, a Nordanese woman he claimed was a new slave. But I know Rue, my lady, better than probably anyone, and he has never, ever kept a slave exclusively for himself. So I began to suspect maybe you weren’t truly meant for slavery at all, maybe you never were, maybe Rue was lying to his old friend, Jad.”
“What?” she shouted. “Do you think me aligned with a Sudhraian pig of my own free will?” She spat on his shoe. “I hate you and all you stand for.”
He ignored her outburst and continued to circle her. That reaction had her even more nervous than the anger she’d been expecting. His gaze was steady and intent. There was murder in his eyes, and it was no easy death for her that shone in that heavy gaze.
He raised an eyebrow and dangled a key in one hand. “To the door, my lady.” He glanced at the door that opened to the only exit from the very, very high tower. He slipped the key down the front of his trews to settle, she assumed, securely in his braies. “You’re not leaving this tower alive.”
“Why are you doing this? Why does it matter that Rue should care for me?”
He motioned to the battle raging around them. “Rue shows up with a Nordanese woman he seems to care for. He insinuates himself back into the good graces, and confidence, of the Supreme. Rue leaves the Priestdom, and by the time he returns, the Nordanese have inexplicably changed their course. By all accounts that’s what they must’ve done, and bypassed every single clever snare we’d set for them.”
He shook his head. “Do you think me simple, my lady? Rue betrayed his homeland to the enemy because he’s besotted with a Nordanese witch.” He shrugged. “His actions might well take something very dear to me, so I will take a thing dear to him.”
Jad had guessed nearly all of it right on. He simply didn’t know Rue’s true motive.
Jad took a step toward her and she stepped back. Wariness and weariness warred within her body. She was so sick of fighting, of having to defend herself. She glanced around, hoping for a weapon to use, a rock, perhaps, anything. Only uneven weather-beaten granite met her gaze, no loose stones that she could see.
He cocked his head to the side. “But, you don’t deny it, my pet?”
“I have nothing to do with any of this,” she answered honestly. “I am Rue’s prisoner. You’re about to kill an innocent.”
He snorted. “Innocent? I think not, my lady. I remember how you moaned against my body that first day you arrived. Innocent. Hardly.”
“So I deserve to die for that?”
“No, Lilane.” His voice hardened. “You deserve to die merely because I say you do.”
He moved, faster and more agile than she’d believed such a large man could. He nigh pounced on her, grabbed her by her hair and forced her to her knees. Lilane cried out in pain and surprise. With incredible force, he kept her there. She was unable to move her head, unable to move at all—completely unable to fight him.
One meaty hand closed around her throat and squeezed.
Chapter Ten
Rue searched the castle, exploring first the areas she’d most likely be and then the areas that were less likely. Every place he searched and did not find her made his heart grow heavier.
The battle raged hard and the Sudhraian forces fought with all they had. Still, Rue knew it would not be long before the Nordanese overtook the Priestdom. The Supreme, in his misplaced confidence had ordered most the troops gone from the castle, on the strategic errand meant to trap the Nordanese—the plan Rue had foiled. The move had left the Priestdom not guarded with a full force and vulnerable to attack.
Rue’s only worry was that word would reach the far-flung Sudhraian forces and they would return, coming up behind the Nordanese. That was not a thought worth considering. The results would be disastrous.
Something tightened around his throat and Rue reached a hand to pull it away. He groped air. Something tightened again, hard, cutting off his air supply.
Lilane.
Was this an empathic reaction to something that was happening to her right now? Rue concentrated on the choking sensation and eased the phantom fingers away from his throat. He couldn’t help her this way. He had to remain calm, extricate the tightening around his throat and find her, now.
Using the force of his will, he eased the worst of the pressure. He knew that since Lilane was not a full-blooded Aviat, he would not be able to get specific mental imagery of her location within the castle. Instead, he focused on the empathic response and Lilane’s fear behind it. Shutting out the noise and tumult surrounding him, he honed into that shared mental link.
The fear she felt flooded through him, threatened to overwhelm him. She believed she was going to die. Rue suppressed the desperation he felt. He had to stay calm. To be anything other than that right now condemned Lilane to death.
It didn’t take long to begin to feel all of what Lilane was feeling. He felt a sharp stiff breeze, nearly cold. He heard the sound of the battle, but the sounds were not engulfing and surrounding Lilane wherever she was, they came from…below.
The tower.
Rue ran into the courtyard. He vaguely noted that the Nordanese forces had successfully breached the battlements and were fighting the Sudhraians atop it.
In the tumult and panic, Rue unfurled his wings and drew not one glance. With a powerful flap, he lifted himself into the air. Furious emotion tight
ened in his stomach like a fist and exploded through him. Whoever was trying to kill Lilane right now wouldn’t see the morning light.
* * * * *
Lilane clawed at Jad’s hands, but couldn’t pull them away. Panic gripped her as her windpipe closed and cold reality slapped her in the face. She was going to die. Her vision blackened and dimmed, and her hands slipped away from Jad’s. All she could think of was Rue. Out of all the people in her life, he was the one that made intense emotion tighten around her heart.
Goddess, she didn’t want to leave him. They still had so much to share.
Suddenly Jad released her. She fell to her hands and knees gasping and coughing, drawing air into her starved lungs. She bowed her head, forcing herself to stay conscious.
“Lilane, are you all right?”
She looked up and saw Rue landing on the roof of the tower with his wings outspread. Concern and rage hardened his handsome face. Relief and joy flooded through her at the sight of him. She nodded. He snapped his wings shut and stalked toward Jad with single-minded purpose.
Jad stood, apparently stunned at the sight of Rue and his wings. “What manner of creature from the Underworld are you?” he breathed.
Lilane narrowed her eyes. She struggled to her feet and walked toward Jad, propelled by sheer rage and nothing more. “Bastard!” she rasped from her sore throat and brought the fist hard into his jaw. Pain exploded in her hand at the force of her blow.
Taken by surprise Jad stumbled back and would’ve fallen if Rue hadn’t grabbed him by his shirt and slammed him into the wall behind him. Blood dripped from Jad’s nose and he gasped for breath in the face of Rue’s rage.
Lilane found the ledge running around the edges of the tower and braced herself against it, drawing air into her lungs to calm herself.
“Why, Jad?” Rue bit off angrily, throwing Jad up against the wall with a force that looked as though could’ve broken bones.
Jad closed his eyes and grimaced. “You betrayed your country, didn’t you, Rue? You gained the Supreme’s trust, took what you needed from him and used it to gain Nordan an advantage.” Jad sounded anguished.
Rue released Jad and pushed away from him. He ran a hand through his hair in gesture that screamed weariness. His shirt was ripped in the back, where his wings had erupted and pushed through the material. Blood had trickled down and soaked it. “I didn’t do it for myself, Jad. I did it for my people. The Nordanese will allow them to live free while the Sudhraians never would. I had no choice but to do what I did, and I’m not sorry I did it.”
Rue went silent and below them they could hear the battle, mixed with cries of exaltation from the Nordanese.
Relief flooded Lilane. The siege had been exceptionally swift and decisive.
“The Nordanese will not dominate Sudhra as Sudhra would do to Nordan,” continued Rue. “This outcome will only be painful for Sudhra because the country’s pride will be piqued. Perhaps this may even be the start of a reconciliation between our two nations.”
Jad’s face contorted into a mask of pain and anger. He stepped forward and drew his sword. “Lying, betraying bastard,” he said in a low voice. Impending violence strung like a taut bowstring between the two men.
Rue drew his sword. The length of steel scraped against the scabbard with a ringing hiss.
Jad rushed him and they engaged. Metal against metal, a sound heard often of late, tattered Lilane’s heart anew. She knew well, firsthand, just how skilled a swordfighter Rue was. Still, she feared for him.
Rue’s blade met Jad’s with a satisfying clash, instantly pushing Jad into the defensive. Rue laid a gash right away to Jad’s shoulder and his blood welled, staining his white shirt. Determination shone on Jad’s features as his swordplay grew more confident. Jad pushed back with vengeance.
Lilane watched Jad look for an opening in Rue’s tight offensive strategy. He found it. Lashing out quickly, risking the bite of Rue’s blade, Jad aimed for his throat.
Cold fear washed over Lilane. She couldn’t scream, couldn’t move. Rue darted to the side at the last moment and Jad laid a stroke high on his chest instead. Blood washed out from the cut on Rue’s chest.
Lilane gasped. She hoped it was shallow.
“Been practicing, Jad,” Rue bit off.
Jad answered by lunging forward, undoubtedly emboldened by his recent success. Rue sidestepped him and Jad went past him. Rue swung around and caught Jad as he turned, taking him by surprise.
It was enough.
That action turned the tide in Rue’s favor. Jad stumbled back under the onslaught of Rue’s sword. He staggered back, closer and closer to where Lilane stood. She watched in horror and awe, wanting Rue to be victorious, but at the same time not eager to see him have to kill his friend.
As if in slow motion, Jad turned toward Lilane and narrowed his eyes. Blood streamed from the deep gash on his shoulder, staining his white shirt nearly black. Jad hefted his sword and ran at her.
She whirled away, feeling the tip of the blade graze her upper chest. It sliced through her dress and drew blood. White-hot pain flooded her body. She tripped and fell to the ground. Hot blood rushed over her skin and pain blossomed.
The sight of the blood on her seemed to make Rue go insane. Jad turned to Rue and raised his sword, but he never had a chance. Rue lunged toward Jad and ran him through. No hesitation. No mercy. No surrender allowed.
Eyes wide with surprise, Jad slumped to his knees and Rue pulled his sword from his body. Sorrow overtook Rue’s expression as Jad collapsed and stilled.
Everything on top of the tower went silent. Below, the sounds of victorious cheers echoed—all in Nordanese.
Rue looked down at her where she still lay sprawled. His chest heaved with exertion. He was wet from the rain and undoubtedly sweat. “He almost killed you,” he rasped.
Lilane stood with a hand pressed to her chest. Blood soaked through her rain-saturated dress and seeped between her fingers. She nodded. She wanted to say ‘he almost killed you, too,’ but she couldn’t get her vocal cords to function.
Rue let his sword fall to the ground where it hit the stone with a clatter. He staggered toward her and crushed her to him, careful of both their wounds.
His hands fisted in her hair and he brushed his lips back and forth over the crown of her head. “I love you. I love you,” he whispered over and over.
She encircled his waist and held him against her. The tears came hot and heavy—the first she could remember shedding in a long time. Cathartic grief welled up, scraped from the very depths of her soul. The tears came in a torrent…not for herself, but for her lost family, her lost friend, and the near loss of the man she’d grown to love so very, very much.
Rue held her as the sobs racked her. Together they sank to the stone floor beneath them. The action pained her wound, but it didn’t matter. She clung to Rue as though he alone held her life in his hands.
And maybe he did.
He stroked her hair and murmured to her until finally she calmed. She pulled away from him. “I almost lost you.”
“But you didn’t. I’m not going anywhere, Lilane. I promise.”
She sniffled and peeled back the edge of his shirt, exposing the nasty gash high on the left side of his chest. He very gently touched hers, near as high as her collarbone on her left side. “We’ll have matching scars,” he said.
All Lilane could do was sigh in relief that it was over and they were both still alive. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his right shoulder, grimacing at the pain of her wound. Her shock was wearing off and the impact of her injury was making itself known.
The sound of fluttering wings filled the air.
Lilane lifted her head to see hundreds of Aviat soaring up over the top of the tower, headed for the sky. A hush fell over the entire Priestdom—all that could be heard was the sound of wings beating the open air. Lilane watched in absolute awe as all kinds of different Aviat soared above them—darting through the air currents
and swooping through low-hanging clouds.
“Oh, my Goddess,” Lilane murmured.
“Yes,” breathed Rue. “Finally.”
A small woman with the wings of what Lilane suspected to be sparrow hovered in the air in front of them. “Thank you, Rue,” she said with tears shining in eyes. “Thank you so much.”
“You and your family be careful making your way to Nordan, Ana.”
“We will. See you there!” she exclaimed with a smile and swooped away.
“That reminds me,” said Rue.
“What?”
“We should also leave. Time to go back to Nordan. Are you able to travel a short distance with your wound that way? I don’t want you here, Lilane. Even though the Nordanese have taken the Priestdom, it’s still volatile here.”
“Will Anaisse be all right?” Lilane felt concern for the woman. After her own fashion, Lady Anaisse had tried to help her.
“The Nordanese will treat the captives with care, Lilane. You know that. Especially the daughter of the Supreme.”
“Yes.”
“Ready to fly?”
“Ready to go home,” she said in a heartfelt whisper.
A shadow moved in Rue’s eyes. She wondered if he thought the same thing she did—what would happen at the Nordanese border? She wasn’t sure she knew herself.
She looked away, deep in thought. The pain of her wound had traded itself for another kind of pain.
Rue gathered her into his arms and stood. Blood flowed anew from his wound, but he didn’t so much as grimace. Two running steps and a launch off the top of the tower had them in the air and headed north.
Home.
Chapter Eleven
They stopped at small cottage in the forest near the border of Nordan and Sudhra. Rue set Lilane to her feet in the now drying leaves scattered by the storm. The thunderstorm had been a harbinger of autumn by shedding the leaves from the trees prematurely and bringing cold air in behind it.
Lilane shivered and Rue felt regret at having to push her so hard. They were cold, tired, and needed their wounds tended. All the same, it had been necessary they put as much distance between themselves and the Supreme Priestdom as possible.
