Raihn.
I barely took the time to observe all this before I was throwing myself into the fight.
My sword found one guard’s back, aiming straight for the heart. The blade cut through the flesh so easily, with so little resistance. Raihn flung the body off him, meeting my eyes for only a split second before he had to turn his attention to the other soldier lunging at him.
That moment, though—it was enough to convey so many things, a million shades of relief.
Raihn, injured as he still was, had been struggling against half a dozen guards—more, maybe, before we had gotten there—even with the help of his Asteris.
Now, that changed.
I’d forgotten how good it felt to fight beside Raihn. How intuitively we understood each other. How he watched my body even without watching, anticipating every move, complementing it. It was like slipping back into a comfortable jacket.
Strike after strike blended together, my awareness fading save for the next move, the next opponent. My Nightfire flared at my blade and Raihn’s Asteris surged at his, our light and dark intertwining.
Alone, he had struggled. Together, we were devastatingly efficient.
Minutes and the final body fell.
I pulled my blade from the still-twitching guard and turned to Raihn.
He swept me up in an embrace before I could even open my mouth, his face burying into the space between my neck and shoulder.
And then, just as quickly, he released me, leaving me swaying.
“What was that for?” I said.
“Your endless charms,” he replied.
Then he saw Mische and stilled. His eyes widened at the sight of her blood-covered gown.
“Where were you?” he said.
But she just smiled and shook her head, as if shaking away the vacant look that had been there moments ago. “Later. Good to see you, too.”
She was right. We didn’t have time. We were lucky that Simon’s forces were split in too many directions right now, but it was only a matter of time before either the bloodbath upstairs or down here attracted more attention.
The cells were built into the walls and barred with thick, solid metal doors, with only a small slit looking in. Raihn was already rummaging through the bodies, groping for keys, and when he found them, he tossed them in the air with satisfaction.
Then he went to the first door, swinging it open to reveal a highly disgruntled-looking Vale. He was still wearing his wedding finery, though it looked like he’d put up a hell of a fight, the silk torn and blood-spattered.
“Lilith,” he blurted out, desperately, like the name had been thrashing behind his teeth for hours.
Raihn had been so sure Vale would be the one to betray him. But looking at him now, the possibility seemed incomprehensible.
Raihn’s face went serious, like he was having the same thought. He went to the next door and unlocked it, releasing an equally disheveled-looking Lilith. Vale was on Lilith immediately, cradling her head as if inspecting her for damage, while she muttered “I’m fine, I’m fine,” under her breath.
Meanwhile, Raihn opened the third door, releasing Ketura, who just looked pissed. The first words out of her mouth were, “That fucking prick.”
I wasn’t sure whether she was talking about Simon, Septimus, or Cairis, but in any event, I agreed.
“That fucking prick indeed,” Raihn muttered. “But later. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Vale and Ketura armed themselves with the guards’ discarded swords, and I led us back down the hall to the tunnels, carefully closing the door behind us. I had no doubt that it wouldn’t take long for Simon’s men to piece together who was responsible, going by the Nightfire burns and the evidence of Asteris on the bodies we’d left behind.
We had to get out of Sivrinaj, and fast.
We moved swiftly through the tunnels. When we were nearing the sewers again, the sounds from the castle within grew much louder, footsteps echoing through the stone with renewed urgency, garbled raised voices shouting commands.
“That about us?” Raihn muttered.
“Probably,” I said.
I flung open the passageway to the sewers and held it open for the others, then sealed it behind us. Jumping into the muck wasn’t any less disgusting the second time, but running from imminent danger did have a way of making it a little more tolerable. Still, I couldn’t argue with Mische’s gagged curse as we hit the water.
As the traitors in the castle roused to our presence, ready to tear apart the city to look for us, we swam.
We swam for our damned lives.
50
ORAYA
I wasn’t used to flying for this long. My wings ached. More than ached—they burned. My body was depleted. As the only human—fine, half-human—my stamina wasn’t as strong as the vampires’, and a week of nonstop travel was beginning to get to me, especially since I had never done this much flying at once.
I was grateful, at least, that I didn’t need to carry anyone. Raihn carried Mische, and Vale carried Lilith for the latter half of the trip. As a Turned Nightborn vampire, Lilith did have wings, which were a beautiful speckled amber that matched the color of her hair. But she wasn’t a strong flier yet, and while she did her best to fly for most of the trip, eventually it was just faster for Vale to carry her.
I could see Raihn watching me too closely, looking for signs that I needed the same. But I was the Heir of the Hiaj vampires. I wouldn’t let anyone carry me anywhere if I could help it. I could deal with a little pain, even if it had me cursing silently to myself every time we landed or took off.
When the wall of sandy stone emerged from the darkness, the moonlight illuminating a patchwork of cave structures, I practically wept with relief.
“Is that it?” I asked. “That’s it, right?”
Mother help me, please let that be it.
“That,” Raihn said, sounding as relieved as I felt, “is it.”
My legs felt like jelly when we landed, nearly collapsing beneath me in the soft sand. Goddess, the idea of flopping over in it honestly sounded appealing. We had only rested during the strongest hours of direct sunlight, even traveling—albeit slowly—when the sun was weak enough that the vampires could shelter themselves with layers of protective clothing. I was exhausted.
But I locked my legs and forced myself upright. I’d never seen the cliffs before—they really were an incredible sight, bone-white stone rising from the desert sands, punctured with holes and openings that led into an elaborate cave system. They were taller than I’d imagined, stretching all the way up to the sky like they were reaching for the moon. They looked oddly like bones—a flat expanse of ivory skull and eye sockets.
Most people stayed away from this area. The heat and humidity were brutal out here, and the cliffs a perfect habitat for hellhounds and demons. What’s more, it was highly isolated out in Hiaj territory, a hundred miles from the nearest city.
What reason would anyone have to be out here?