Jyn sounded frustrated. “None of us will fail. Simply pick one, and we’ll—”
“I’ll do it.” Kol met Irina’s gaze as his friends erupted into angry protests. He whipped a hand into the air and gave them a look that begged them to listen. “She showed me the ogres. They’re already at Frenellskyre. The town was full of children and the elderly. The ogres . . . no Eldrian left there will survive the night.”
His friends stared at him in horrified silence.
He turned to Irina. “I’ll make the blood oath. I’ll hunt down the princess. And then I want every last ogre inside Eldr obliterated.”
The brilliant light of triumph in the queen’s eyes made something hard knot up in Kol’s chest, but he was out of options, and Eldr was out of time.
Irina cut the center of her palm with a quick slice of her fingernail. Blood welled to the surface. Quickly, she sliced open Kol’s hand as well and then pressed her bloody palm to his. This time there was no mistaking the jolt of power that struck him. It burned against his skin and tingled in his blood. The queen met his eyes and said, “I vow that when you have completed the task I set before you, I will use magic to destroy every ogre inside Eldr’s borders.”
He swallowed hard as the tingle of her magic surged up his arm and flooded his chest like a swarm of bees beneath his skin. “I vow that I will complete that task in exchange for your help in destroying the ogres within Eldr.”
Irina’s smile was hard and bright as she placed the collar around his neck. It lay against his collarbone, cold and rigid. “We will begin today. The coach is waiting. We’re going hunting on the Falkrain Mountains.”
ELEVEN
PANIC WAS FRAYING the edges of Lorelai’s thoughts, chewing away at her minute by minute until she thought she’d go mad if she couldn’t settle on a plan that could save Gabril’s life.
In the four days since Gabril had been stabbed, the wound had festered. His body, wracked with fever and pain, continued to weaken. There were no medicinal plants anywhere near their campsite. There were no villages within a day’s walk except Tranke, and no one would help them there even if they could. And despite Lorelai’s relentless pleas, Gabril refused to allow her to heal him, convinced that any lingering trace of Irina’s magic would immediately report Lorelai’s whereabouts to the queen.
Not to mention that healing Gabril would require her to expend all her energy to force his stubborn heart to yield to hers, leaving her too weak to fight the queen once Irina did find them.
Gabril would die anyway, and Leo with him. It was a chance Lorelai couldn’t take.
Instead, she’d cobbled together a plan out of the only alternative she could think of. Leaving Sasha at the campsite to guard Gabril, Lorelai headed to the huge village of Nordenberg with Leo—who refused to let her go alone since she’d been seen at the garrison—where she hoped the apothecary would have supplies that could save Gabril. The Kiffen lands stretched across much of the eastern Falkrains, but their estate was in Nordenberg. If any village still had the means to buy medical supplies, it would be Nordenberg.
Leo had volunteered to go alone, but she’d argued him into silence. Soldiers would undoubtedly be searching for the garrison robbers. How would his charm and recklessness help him if he got caught? Or if someone recognized him and decided to turn him in to the queen in exchange for enough food to last the winter?
He was her responsibility—he had been since the moment her father had placed Leo’s hand in hers and told her to get him to safety. Nine years later, she was still doing her best to obey her father’s last wish.
The journey took a day and a half. When at last the snug, tidy cottages of Nordenberg appeared in the distance, the sun was approaching its midpoint in the sky. The town was arranged in neat rows and gentle curves at the base of the northernmost Falkrain mountain, its wood and brick buildings following the swell of the land as it began its ascent to the sky above. A wide lane bisected its heart, and most businesses were located either along that lane or one street over.
The apothecary shop was on a side street that was paved in buckled cobblestones with patches of wild grass pushing through the cracks. After stopping behind an outlying barn to change into their peasant outfits, Lorelai and Leo pulled caps low over their foreheads to keep from being recognized and entered the village. Lorelai was so focused on their destination that the heavy silence within the village streets didn’t penetrate her thoughts until they was already past the first block of shops.
A chill brushed her skin as she grabbed Leo’s arm and pulled them both to a halt. She looked around, but the streets were deserted. It was as if every person in Nordenberg had simply disappeared.
Slowly, she spun on her heels and looked for something to tell her what was happening.
“Where is everyone?” Leo whispered.