“Go!” Lorian roared.
We hurtled past the line of people, stretching hundreds deep. Past the thicket of trees on the right, where beggars held out their tins and enterprising merchants sold fruit and water. Past the guards, who’d surrounded an unkept man with blond hair, their hands on their weapons.
My power wanted to slip from my grip. I held tighter, refusing to panic.
Lorian’s words ran through my head as he pushed his horse faster.
“It’s up to you to coax it out. To make it do what you need. Your problem isn’t a lack of power. It’s a lack of control. You’re terrified of your power, and a part of you doesn’t truly believe you have what I’m saying you have.”
I loosened my grip on my power. And then I reached for more.
You’re mine, I told it.
It was heady. All these people, the birds in the trees, the horses, all of them were frozen because I willed it.
Wait.
Not everyone was frozen.
The blond man who was surrounded by guards had turned his head. I jolted, almost losing my grip on the thread of time.
I’d never seen that before. Lorian had occasionally managed to shake off my power earlier than most, but even he had been caught when I’d aimed that power at him.
The man was watching us. Likely, he would be able to give an excellent description to the guards. My heart attempted to thump right out of my chest.
“Who is that man?”
Lorian said nothing. Likely, he couldn’t hear me over the sound of hooves on stone. “Hold on!” he yelled.
I looked over my shoulder. The man winked at me. And then we were in the city.
“Who was that man?” I gasped out as we rounded a corner, and time resumed.
I wasn’t bleeding from my nose this time. And I wasn’t blind. Progress.
“Who?” Lorian slowed the horse.
“The man at the gates. Time stopped for everyone but him. He winked at me.”
Rythos must’ve overheard, because he smiled. “Sounds like you have some relatives in the city.”
“What do you mean?”
“Time magic is in the blood.”
My heart pounded in my chest. My mother had said I had family here. Was that man truly related to me?
Tibris gave me a look that said this would be yet another thing we would discuss later, but he was already eyeing the mercenaries. “Time to say goodbye,” he said.
Something twisted in my chest.
“We’ll escort you to the docks.” Galon’s voice was gruff.
“No need.” Tibris shook his head. “We need to sell my horse and buy supplies. Thank you for everything you did for Prisca.”
That was my brother. Unfailingly polite, even when he’d likely been daydreaming about stabbing Lorian since the moment he’d met him. Fondness made me beam at him. I’d thought I’d never see him again. And now, he’d help me save Asinia, and then we’d find a new life in a new land.
What about the others like you? Will you leave them here to die?
I buried that thought beneath the reality I was actually living. I was just a village girl with a bounty on her head. One who could stop time for mere moments.
We all dismounted, and I reached for Marth. We couldn’t afford to spend too much time here. But I needed to say goodbye. “Good luck,” I told him. He wrapped me in a hug, one hand a little too low on my back. I’d miss this lech.
“To you also.” For the first time since I’d met him, Marth’s expression was grave. He pulled away and nodded at me, moving over for Cavis.
“Wherever you go, I know you’ll have a good life,” the quiet man said.
“Thank you. I hope you get to see your wife and daughter soon.”
“So do I.” He gave me a faint smile, and then it was Rythos’s turn.
“Get over here.”
My eyes burned as he embraced me. A sob left my throat.
“None of that, darlin’. My people believe there are those we are meant to have in our lives. We’ll see each other again.”
“P-promise?”
“I promise.”
Galon cleared his throat. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and laughed at his pained expression. I’d seen men with broken limbs look more comfortable.
Surprisingly, Galon’s discomfort with my tears helped. I gave him a shaky smile, and he reached out and ruffled my hair.
I brushed more tears off my face. “You want your cloak back?”
We both looked at the cloak, which was filthy. Since it was far too long for me, the hem had been dragged across the ground all this time, and it was riddled with holes.
Galon’s mouth twitched. “You keep it,” he said.
“Thanks.” More tears welled.
Fresh discomfort darted over his face. “You’re welcome.” He stepped back and gestured rather desperately for Lorian to take his place.
It was strange, given that a large part of me knew I couldn’t trust this group of mercenaries, but they’d still kept me safe. They’d taught me to use my magic, trained me to better defend myself, and—in their own ways—kept me from falling apart.
Despite their closed-mouthed insistence on secrets, I’d miss them.
Even Lorian.
He’d taken Galon’s place. And he was staring down at me like he was memorizing my features.
“In another life,” he said, his eyes dark. It sounded like a promise. I sucked in a shaky breath. I felt it too. That maybe in another life, we were meant to be different people. And we would have been those people together.
“In another life.” I forced a smile.
His gaze dropped to my lips.
And then he buried his hand in my hair and crushed his mouth to mine.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Lorian’s lips were firm, warm, tender. They caressed mine like we had all the time in the world. Like this kiss could last forever. I sighed against his mouth, and his tongue slipped between my lips to tangle with mine.
His body was so hard. So large. Warmth spread from my stomach into my core. My knees went weak.
This was not at all like kissing the village boys. Lorian’s huge hand held me in place for him while he kissed me expertly. Thoroughly. He slipped his other hand to my lower back, pressing me close to him, and I shivered with want.
Tibris’s voice reached my ears. My usually mild-mannered brother was yelling all kinds of threats, Rythos and Marth holding him back.
Lorian pulled away and tucked my hair behind my ear.
“Goodbye, Prisca.”
“Goodbye, Lorian.”
Tibris reached for my arm, practically dragging me away. Which was a good thing since I was still a little dazed.
“Are you crazy?” he hissed at me, leading his horse with his other hand. “The mercenary? Really?”
“He kissed me,” I snarled back. And that argument was weak. The moment Lorian’s mouth met mine, I’d participated wholeheartedly.
Tibris’s lips trembled in an almost-smile before he ruthlessly firmed them. “Fine. For now, how about you put your hood up and attempt to walk in a straight line?”
My cheeks flamed. Yes, I was walking unsteadily, as if I were drunk. After a single kiss. I was glad Lorian couldn’t see me now. His ego didn’t need the stroking.
What had he been thinking?