The walls crawled with men firing arrows that the azi avoided with ease. Already we were attracting attention; soldiers crept toward us with swords and bows at the ready. Zoya flung out an arm, and weapons flew from their hands. Another gesture sent them stumbling back. Likh and Altaecia flanked her, but Kalen remained where he was.
Tea. It was Fox, gently bringing me back to the present. Now is not the time.
I forced myself to speak. “I’m going to do something unusual. Fox, tell them not to panic.”
“I will help you,” Zoya said warily, “if you tell me what we shouldn’t be panicking over first.”
But I had closed my eyes, all my strength directed at the beast above us, eager to let the daeva in and chase away my guilt. The azi dipped down, close enough to send many of the men and women scrambling for cover or sprawling away.
There were a few asha and Deathseekers manning parts of the gates, but I knew none of them would risk fire or lightning at this range. Zoya was already weaving the air with her fingers, prepared to attack the daeva. Fox grabbed her arm. “Don’t hurt it!”
“Grab my arm like that again, and you’ll lose yours,” the asha said ominously. “And why shouldn’t I?”
“Because Tea’s in its head right now,” Althy said quietly. “Isn’t she?”
I couldn’t answer; the strain of keeping the daeva under control when it was so close to the city was too tasking.
Ram the gates? Fox suggested.
My mind recoiled at the potential casualties from his suggestion. Absolutely not! The azi could kill everyone on those walls.
I didn’t mean with the azi, idiot.
I felt arms encircle me; my brother lifted me off Chief and transferred me to Likh’s mount. “I’ll need to borrow that!” he yelled at an approaching soldier, swiftly slamming his fist into the man’s face to knock him out and promptly retrieving the latter’s shield. Then he goaded Chief into a dead run toward the gates.
“Fox!” Princess Inessa shrieked behind me, and then both man and horse hit the barrier. There was the frightening sound of bone snapping and wood splintering.
Rise up! I screamed, and the azi flew so quickly that it became a speck in the sky within seconds. What were you thinking?! I screamed at my brother.
Were you expecting them to open the gates for us?
The rest of the group stared at the large, gaping hole Fox and Chief had left in their wake. “Ride hard!” Althy yelled.
A few asha struggled to block our way. Zoya whipped out a series of Shield runes that repelled arrows and sword thrusts. Althy was rougher; Fire and Mountain burst from the ground at times, surrounding attackers in either a ring of flames or stony obstacles. Likh maintained a Shield of his own, hovering it over the now-sleeping Mykaela and the barely conscious Polaire. I had stopped compelling him long before we reached the gates, but Kalen no longer showed signs of wanting to remain with us; his own runes of Rot and Shake sent fissures opening and walls crumbling behind us, preventing more soldiers from following.
Once our last horse was past the gates, I took hold of the azi’s mind again. The daeva landed, blocking the army’s way and crowing belligerently. We kept riding, not stopping until we had reached the first copse of trees several miles from the city. From a small hill, we watched the daeva rise again, ringing the city but no longer attacking.
Fox and Chief waited calmly for us. Large splinters jutted out from my horse’s legs, but that was the extent of his injuries.
Oh, but Fox… He was riddled with arrows, many protruding from his back. A painful-looking wooden stake was shoved through his chest, another through his neck. He had used the shield to bear the brunt of the damage, but the shoulder he had braced it against was nearly stripped of flesh, his bones sticking out.
And his face. I could barely recognize him underneath all the blood, and though I was reassured by the calmness of his mind, it was hard to reconcile that knowledge with what I saw standing before me.
Likh threw up. Princess Inessa slid off her horse and sank to the ground.
“Fox?” Even the normally sardonic Zoya was shaken. Khalad was a mixture of terror and curiosity.
Kalen slowly climbed down from his stallion, staring at my brother. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“Never been better.” Fox’s voice was brisk. “Chief can run for weeks if he has to, but the others can’t do the same. We’ll need to change horses frequently or at least find a cart to lessen the load, and that might pose a problem.”
“Your arm is about to fall off, Fox,” Althy said gently. “I think horses are the last thing on everyone’s minds right now.”
My brother glanced down at the arm hanging on to his shoulder by a few strips of flesh. He grabbed at the offending appendage and, with a quick twist, ripped it away from the rest of him. “Tea will patch me up later. Let’s keep riding, people.”
“I think I am going to be ill,” Zoya said as Princess Inessa fainted.
The private chamber Lord Kalen provided for me belonged to one of Emperor Shifang’s many concubines. She, along with many of her other consort-sisters, had long since fled the capital, leaving only traces of her scent behind: lavender and jasmine, oiled perfume, and incense. But I was no longer accustomed to soft beds and thick pillows and thus spent a listless night with the fires from the approaching legions as my only source of light. The sight of those soldiers terrified me, but I did not fear for the inhabitants of Daanoris nor the fascinating, terrible asha who had seized power here. Instead, I feared the time the asha would summon her daeva, for I knew not even the most powerful armies of all the kingdoms would be enough. I feared for the advancing soldiers, who did not know they were approaching to die.
When I rose the next morning, the Heartforger remained in the throne room, and I wondered if he had moved from his spot after I had retired. The asha was sitting at the window near the throne again; she had changed her hua to suit the Daanorian style, with several layers of wispy cloth over rich purple silk and a waist wrap that began underneath her breasts and ended halfway down her hips. She watched the emperor dozing at a corner nearby. His hands and feet were still bound, but I suspected he would be in no shape to resist even without his restraints.
“You’re up early,” she observed.
“I couldn’t sleep.” My voice sounded rough to my own ears. My gaze dropped to the pile of papers in her lap.
“I have been writing. I sleep little nowadays, and my mind requires distraction.” She gestured at herself. “I do not think they will appreciate me wearing a hua—after all, I have long since been stripped of my title as an asha. I shall enjoy their discomfiture.”
“Where is Lord Kalen?”
“Still in our bedchamber.” I blushed at her candidness, but she paid no attention. “Use the next hour to prepare yourself.”
“For what?”
“They will want to make contact first, of course. They must have a lot of questions about me.” Her smile was mischievous. “Would you like another story while we wait? I imagine it’ll take at least an hour for them to draw lots and decide on the unfortunate messenger, and Khalad is too engrossed in his work at the moment to hear us, much less be of use in conversation.”
“To be a perfectionist is not the same as being deaf,” Khalad said without looking up, and the bone witch laughed.
13
When I opened my eyes, I became aware of three things: the gleaming waters of Lake Strypnyk before me, the savory smell of food, and Chief nudging affectionately at me with his head. I had drawn Bloodletting on him before I’d fallen asleep, and the Gorvekan stallion bore no traces of injury from the night before.
I reached out and felt the familiar touch of the azi on my mind. It was still at Kneave, discouraging any attempts at pursuit. I probed further but couldn’t detect Aenah’s presence beyond a faint hint that she was still in Odalia.