Our mare picked her way across the dunes without complaint. Dillon was even less vocal unless he was barking orders. Wrap your arms around my waist. Don’t thumb the ridges of my stomach. Stop humming. He expected me to ride in perfect quiet, but my nerves were strung taut.
For whatever reason, he wanted my company. I’d tried convincing him that, as a criminal, I deserved to be locked up at the colony. The look he’d turned on me when I suggested one of the other legionaries could guard me had made me shiver. Was he so possessive of all his prisoners?
I somehow thought not.
Perhaps I was special because of my ties to Emma. I considered he might still believe I had an accomplice and I could bargain with him better than Dillon could. Though if he believed I had been abandoned on purpose, I didn’t see how he thought my presence would help. More than likely, he feared what might become of me if I were left at the mercy of the males I’d taunted with my choice of outfit. I picked at my top and wished for a change of clothes.
Dillon’s voice drifted over his shoulder. “Hold still.”
“Sorry.” I rested my forehead against his back and shut my eyes.
He wiggled in his seat. “Can you not do that?”
“What exactly can I do? I’m not to touch you, talk to you or entertain myself. What’s left?”
“Sit still and keep an eye out,” he groused. “We have a horse to find and two sets of eyes are better than one.” He glanced left. “There’s an oasis a day’s ride from here. I bet she heads there.”
“She’s been out in this heat without water, are you sure we shouldn’t be looking for…?”
“A body?” Laughter rumbled through his back as he assured me. “Tessa is Nisean. She can go three or four days without water even out here. She’ll be fine until we catch up with her.” He paused as if debating before adding, “She was one of Harper’s souvenirs from our trip to Rihos.”
I struggled for what I should say. Because of my involvement with Roland, I had heard his story and Emma’s version of events. I worried I would cross the two and make a worse mess if I spoke with Dillon and heard a third accounting. I knew what I needed to know about those days.
Roland had lied to Emma, used her to lure Harper to the castle. Salt rights had been what he wanted. The Nisean horses Dillon had mentioned were a specialized breed, and they were the signature breed of the Bernhard family. While the progesaline found in salt was a necessary supplement to demon females, mares required no such fortification. Roland had discovered that by dosing them with the false hormone, they would go into heat. Then it was a simple matter of breeding them so they foaled together. He had used the salt to turn a natural cycle into a business solution. He used salt that could have saved countless females’ lives to aid his breeding program.
If not for my familiarity with his excess, I would have been appalled. The safest topic for me to pursue was one avoiding Roland and his horses, not to mention all talk of that particular event.
“I remember Emma mentioning the horses,” I said. “I met the other, a gray one, I think.” I couldn’t recall. After so many months, the details weren’t important. “Aldrich hitched him to the sled he used to deliver you to me, but I didn’t get a good look.” Dillon had been my only concern at the time. “I had other priorities, Emma’s safety and saving the leg of a certain stubborn male.”
Glancing over his shoulder, he asked, “Did I ever thank you for that?”
“It’s my job,” I answered truthfully. “You don’t have to thank me for doing it.”
He grunted. “I figured you’d say something like that.”
“What was I supposed to say? That you were the worst patient I’d ever had? That you tore your stitches four times in the first week because you refused to lay still and heal? Or that you—”
“Emma was right.” I heard amusement in his voice. “You don’t pull punches, do you?”
“You don’t know that I was going to say something negative.”
“Judging by the list you were rattling off, I figured it was a safe assumption.” He lasted a full minute before he cracked. “I’ll probably regret asking you, but what were you going to say?”
I pinched his side for his comment, and he jolted, earning an irritated snort from Diani.
He patted her side awkwardly. To me, he asked, “You were saying?”
“Hmm?” I patted Diani in apology as well. “I forgot.”
“Isabeau…” He warned.
To our left, a dark blur caught my eye. “Did you see that?” I strained for another glimpse.
Dillon twisted so his line of sight merged with mine. “Don’t try to change the subject.”
“I thought I saw…something dark. I’m not sure. It was gone too fast for me to tell.”
“It could have been a mirage.” He bared his teeth. “No such luck. We’ve got company.”
My arms tightened around his waist. “Do you think raiders followed us from the colony?”
“I’m not sure.” He gave the mare a solid pat. “Harper’s going to be pissed, but we’ve got to shake whoever’s on our tail.” He dug his heels into her sides, and she broke into a run. My eyes burned as she kicked up sand that caught on the wind and pelted my face. I managed to pry my eyes open in time to realize that he was right. The blur was back, and this time he wasn’t alone.
Five Evanti glided over the sand heading straight for us. Their dark skin gleamed, and their ruddy wings spanned the horizon. Their V-shaped formation made spotting their leader easy. He lifted his arm and pointed at me as he led their charge. I leaned into Dillon. “What’s happening?”
“If I had to guess,” he said on a growl, “I’d say some of your admirers from the colony decided they wanted to pay you an unsupervised visit. They’re in a perfect formation. That’s not good. It means they have experience hunting together.” He urged Diani harder. “Not good at all.”
“What are we going to do?” I raised my voice to be heard, and he shushed me. Pressing my lips together, I kept my questions to myself. I understood why he didn’t answer, the others might hear, and we had enough problems. No matter how hard Diani ran, she couldn’t match the males’ long wing strokes. We were losing ground, and they were gaining faster than Diani could recover.
My heart sped and my palms tingled. Though I was still drained, useless without the grimoire to borrow from, fear lent me strength. Looking for stronger mooring than his shirt, I grasped Dillon’s belt and held tight. Then I brought my other hand around and watched as sparks ignited in my palm. Dangerous to use magic when I had so little, but a dead priestess had no use for her spells at all. Stealing a quick glance at the leader of the hunt, I decided he was my target.
Twisting in the saddle, I flung my arm toward the male. Energy sizzled, seared my hand but never left it. I gasped as my skin burned and magic fizzled in the breeze. A cruel smile from the leader was my reward. He had seen my attempt—and my failure.
Word of what I’d done to Mason and the other legionnaire must have spread. I saw now he had hung back out of range until my display gave him all the proof he required. Yes, I had power, but my reservoir was tapped. I had been emptied. Now he knew it too and pressed his advantage.
“They’re gaining on us.” My hand stung too much for me to grip Dillon. I settled for wrapping my arm around him and applying pressure. He grunted. I must have squeezed too hard.
“Hold what you’ve got.” He grunted again, this time as he reined in Diani and sent her into a spin. In a flash, we had turned and now we were the aggressors. We raced toward the males and forced them higher. So many wings in so small an air space made for awkward turning. Two of them collided and hit the sand with a groan. While they shook sand from their ears, the other three swooped over our heads. Fingers stroked the ends of my hair, tugging, tangling. I hid my face hard against Dillon to keep from turning and seeing how close we were to losing this race.
Thunderous beats filled my ears. The horse’s hooves, the flap of leather w
ings, the pounding of my crazed heart and the echo of Dillon’s where I burrowed as close to him as I could manage. I let his presence calm me. Everything was fine as long as he was here. He would keep me safe.
The tug at my scalp became more insistent. I yelped as a large hand palmed my skull and my head was ripped from the safety of Dillon’s back to stare into the silver eyes of the group’s leader. With a grin, he used his hold to peel me backwards while the second male clasped my arm and ripped it free of Dillon’s belt. The third grabbed my leg. Together, they heaved upward.
Dillon reached for me, clawed air and caught my necklace. I cried out as the chain snapped.
Air whistled around me. Hands groped and dug into my skin. I screamed when claws pierced my arms and the hooks on their feet dug in, holding me immobile so they could fly without fear I would ground them. Squirming, I struggled until I spotted Dillon. He was a dot on the sand. A dark male sitting upon a pale horse, and both were fast becoming miniatures to me.
I heard him bellow my name. The air surrounding him shimmered, his glamour fading, and I was awed. Enormous crimson wings arched over his shoulders. His pale skin was ebony and his eyes gleamed, reflective. For a moment, I thought I saw…but he was too far away. Kicking and scratching, I landed enough hits my captors exchanged a glance. I read it an instant before they released me. Desert raced at my face. I twisted midair and curled into a ball that broke on impact.
Throaty laughter tugged at my consciousness. My eyes blinked open on a small room lit by the single candle flickering in its holder. My wrists ached, not the dull throb of my slave bands but a more physical pain. I wanted to rub the grit from my face, but when I pulled my arm, chains rattled. Shadows concealed my bonds, but a strong tug rewarded me with a metallic rattle.
I tried my legs next only to realize I was kneeling and had been for so long I couldn’t feel my legs or feet. I was bound to the wall, in the dark, with only a flame’s eerie dance to preoccupy me from the sounds of males conversing outside my cell. Their voices blended into a low murmur, punctuated by glee.
I could guess the source of their happiness.
I tugged my arms again and was rewarded with a fresh slice of discomfort.
Pinprick pain in my limbs made me shuffle in search of a comfortable position. I found none. Funny how I’d been dozing happily, but now that I was awake, all my muscles screamed in protest. I struggled. I couldn’t help it. Chains clanged and a hush settled over the chortling males.
“Now you’ve done it,” a soft voice, feminine, I thought, said to my right.
I started. “Who’s there?”
“It doesn’t matter.” She slipped into silence.
Somewhere ahead of me a doorknob rattled. I made a mental note of its location. “Who’s there?” I shrank from the light flooding the small room and slid a glance toward my companion. Amid a tangle of black hair, dark eyes peered out at me. Delicate wings wrapped around her body but left enough exposed for me to tell she was nude and she was very pregnant. I flinched.
“I wondered when you were going to wake.” A male entered the room. He stared down at me. “Neriah has been reprimanded for allowing his unit to drop you. For that, I do apologize. He overreacted. We had heard you had some skill with glamour, so your fall did serve a purpose. Clearly, your powers are either not what we had been told or you’re too drained to use them.”
“Who are you?” I strained to get a better look at him.
“I am Tobin.” He paused and glanced toward the door where another male blocked the frame. “You met Phineas earlier.” Dread burrowed beneath my skin as my eyes adjusted to the light and his face came into focus. “I owe him thanks for his quick thinking.” Tobin’s gaze slid over me. “You’re seldom unguarded. Only a rarity would garner protection from two halflings.”
Not for the first time, I cursed the reputation I’d cultivated. Of course, when I chose my guise, I knew no Evanti. Their plight was a footnote I capitalized on, but I had underestimated their determination to thrive. By alluding my breed was theirs, I had tempted a desperate people.
“I’m not Evanti.” Disbelief clouded his expression, but I pushed ahead. “I work for Emma, and Lindsay is my charge.” His knowledge of my relationship to both females was easy enough to uncover. Yet in pinpointing them, I feared for them. “Those are their sole connections to me.”
“Perhaps you can explain then why Harper left Dillon with you while Emma was visiting her sister.” He paused and amended, “To clarify, I meant Queen Nesvia, not Princess Madelyn.”
“Dillon was wounded. His leg…” I glanced at Phineas, who appeared too eager for my taste. “His leg wounds were minor. Many of those near the explosion suffered from similar injuries.”
Tobin and Phineas shared a look.
“She’s lying.” Phineas waited for an admission. I gave none. I wouldn’t endanger Dillon any further. “He was limping the last time I saw him, and you’ll notice he didn’t fly after us. He let us go, with his female.” Triumph filled his tone. “His wings must have been injured in the blast.”
“Perhaps you’re right.” Tobin brushed stray hairs from my face. “Is he your mate?”
“No.” The denial was automatic. Too late I realized I might have protested too quickly.
Tobin relaxed visibly. “Good.” His thumb caressed my cheek. “I would regret having to break his will.” He lowered his arm. “Primes have rather singular focus, I’m afraid. Our attempts at convincing them to help repopulate our dwindling race are most often met with aggression. With so few living, they are a rare commodity, and once they mate, they become useless to us.”
“You’re mistaken.” Primes of any breed were lore. Pure bloodlines no longer existed.
“You don’t have to defend him. We know what he is.” His expression shifted. “We assumed it was your arrival at the colony that caused his glamour to fail. It was then we gained proof he was what our sources claimed—an unmated prime. We had hoped since he chose to toil among his brethren rather than hole up in the communes of Daeza that he would be open to persuasion.”
I stared at him, replaying Dillon’s glamour failures twice in as many days. Were both those instances my fault? Emma had made snide remarks about him being a human in disguise. That was how rare glimpses of his natural state were. Was I at fault, or was my arrival merely fortuitous?
Forget Dillon’s anger. I should have examined his neck. Illness would explain his glamour shortages. He’d been gone from Feriana for a hair over a month. If his was a chronic bacterial infection, and I wasn’t nearby monitoring him for signs, then sickness might have set in already.
Zaniah worked in mysterious ways. Perhaps our lives were meant to intersect here and now.
Only if I was here, “Where is Dillon?”
“On his way to us, I imagine.” A smile touched Tobin’s mouth. “You may not be mated, but he won’t abandon you on principle. Primes are territorial. He won’t endure a slight to his honor.”
I hoped I told him the truth when I said, “His honor doesn’t extend to common thieves.”
Tobin’s expression slipped a fraction. “Phineas, what is she talking about?”
Phineas roared with laughter. “That was you? You stole the salt from the colony?”
“Salt?” Tobin perked at the word. “I’d heard the shipment was lost during the storm…”
“That’s what Dillon wants everyone to believe, but I overheard Uriah.” Phineas elaborated with a tight grin, “None was recovered after the storm. Now we know why. She beat them to it.”
“Interesting.” Tobin’s expression warmed by several degrees. “That was ambitious of you.”
In that moment, I piqued his interest. I was sure that was a bad thing.
“Where is the salt?” His appraisal made me regret my outfit yet again. “It’s not on you.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Using me as a lure for Dillon is a mistake.” I basked in Phineas’s dismay. “Dillon wanted me to guide hi
m to my stash, but he forced me to give away its location before we left the colony. He’s on his way there now.” I bluffed my best. “He won’t come for me. If he’s forced to choose, he will pick the colony and its future over my wellbeing.”
“I somehow doubt that. I left the tent seconds before your arrival. I waited outside, actually.” He let me imagine what he’d overheard. “He kissed you.” He smirked. “Among other things.”
Cheeks scalding, I had no trouble believing he had tampered with the tent. No doubt he’d planned a similar theft. He must have circled back while Dillon and I were…otherwise occupied.
“I kissed him.” As much as it hurt, I told him the truth. “Dillon said it was a mistake.”
“Be that as it may, if Dillon doesn’t come, then I will regret the postponement of our plans for him.” Tobin shushed Phineas with a look. “You, on the other hand, have value and can be put to use.” He shrugged. “If you had the salt, I might have considered letting you purchase your freedom. Our cause…” He appeared to weigh his next words. “We expend large amounts of progesaline. Your gift could have saved us our silver or more thieveries. Oh well, it is what it is.”
His tone belied his hope. His bait was tempting, but his methods of persuasion were nothing compared to Roland’s. I hoped Dillon would write my capture off as a loss and continue toward the oasis. My deadline was approaching fast, and Roland forgave no one’s bungled assignments.
Was this it, then? I embraced failure when the stakes were highest? No. With my goal within reach, I would fight. First I needed a plan. I had to know. “What happens if he doesn’t come?”
Phineas’s teeth flashed in a sharp smile. “I’m no prime, but our offspring would have purer blood than most, which is all that matters. This is for reproduction, not a mating.” He jerked his chin toward my cellmate. “Adina can explain how the program works and answer any questions you have. This is her first contribution to our cause, but she’s familiar enough with the system.”
Eversworn: Daughters of Askara, Book 3 Page 10
