Page 48 of Winds of Destiny

“Clearly, your father doesn’t give a shit about you,” I snap. “But why does he want you dead?”

Kai growls under his breath, stabbing the needle in hard enough that I can’t stop flinching. “Sorry,” he mutters. “I think he might want me dead because once I’m married, I’ll have fulfilled the last requirement of kingship. I’m in the direct line through my mother, while he married in. He’s called ‘king,’ but really he’s been acting as my regent ever since my mother died. I inherited her power, I’m a trained warrior, I’m making alliances that will benefit our people… It’s time for him to step down, and he knows it.”

“Yet you gave him the space to plot against you?”You idiot, I don’t say, but I’m sure he can hear it anyway.

“I never thought he would go this far.” There’s genuine pain in his voice, the pain of a son confronting the fact that the flawed man he nevertheless honors as his father not only has no intention of giving up the throne, but he’s also plotting his son’s death. “I would never have risked Cam if I suspected Father to be capable of this.” The stabbing stops, and the little tugs indicate he’s tying off the thread.

Good. I have places to be.

“So you need to fight Anarx for control of your city now,” I muse as I flex my hip, testing the damage.

Kai smacks my ass, the contact jolting me out of all thoughts for a second. “Stop it, you’ll pull the stitches. And yes, eventually I’ll have to fight him for control in Huridell, although I don’t expect that to be very hard. The people and the elders favor me.”

“And look what your expectations have gotten you so far,” I say, managing to keep any mockery out of my voice. It’s hard, though.

Kai moves his hands, and I push onto my knees, wincing at how the wound burns. It’s going to slow me down, but there’s nothingelse for it. “Well,” I say. “I wish you the best of luck with your civil war.”

Kai looks at me with one eyebrow raised. “And where do you think you’re going?”

“After Cam.”

“Turo, you’re in no shape to go after him like this.”

I frown. “I’ve had worse.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re not badly wounded.” Kai shakes his head. “Get down before you fall.”

“Fuck you, yourhighness.” There’s no way I’m not going after Cam.

“No, fuckyoufor letting your feelings get the better of your intellect,” Kai shoots back. “What exactly do you think is going to happen if you go after Cam right now? Our supplies are wrecked, we’ve no mounts to ride, we can’t seek assistance in Huridell, and I have no doubt that Embros is keeping a close watch for us. Do you want to risk him hurting or killing Cam because you lack the ability to be patient?”

“Shut up,” I snap. “You’ve been traveling with me for two weeks. How often did you see me before I wanted to be seen?”

“You didn’t have a five-inch gash in your back while you were stalking bent over through the grasses before,” he replies. “Go on, touch your toes. See how many stitches you pop.”

“I—” It pains me, truly pains me, to concede this particular point, but he’s right. There’s no way I’m bending over right now.

“If you’re seen,” Kai says, a bit more gently now that he’s got me dead to rights, “and captured, what do you think it would do to Camrael when Embros tortures you in front of him? You’re a strong man, Turo.” He steps forward and grabs my forearm, and it’s only then that I realize I’m swaying on my feet. “Strong enough that you made Embros think twice about spending the rest of his men on killing us. Don’t throw that gain away by letting him ruin you in front of Camrael.”

“There’s no gain!” I shout—or try to shout. I’m feeling the fatigue now, and the dreadful thirst that comes from fighting and fear. “You said it yourself: we havenothinghere! No support, few supplies, nothing but each other, and we weren’t enough to keep Cam safe even with all your men alive to help us!” I’m pressing on an open wound and I know it, but I can’t seem to stop. “So why shouldn’t I try to save him now, when our chances are only going to get worse and worse the farther away he gets?”

Kai lets go of me. “Stick around for a few more minutes and find out.” His voice is as hard as the black rock of the Gate. “Or make me chase you down and don’t be surprised when I bind your wrists to your ankles to keep you from doing something rash.”

He’s not joking around. My back aches horribly, and I’m trembling like a hatchling. The way I am right now, Kai could handle me without breaking a sweat. “Fuck,” I swear, because it’s all I can do.

“That’s what I thought.” He turns away from me and heads for the nearest body—Rusen’s. He starts collecting the dead, and… Truly, it’s the least they deserve. I should help him. Iwantto, but there’s someone else I need to tend to first. I stumble toward Lu’s body, sprawled out across the trampled grass like a broken toy. Her feathers have gone from white to dark pink; it would almost be beautiful if it wasn’t so horrifying.

Lu. I worked with her when she was just a chick. I trained her for Cam for over five years. She died defending him, and I wish I could do her more honor for that than leaving her body to be consumed by creatures of the grass and sky while she desiccates in the sun.

I start to bend over right beside her head, then think better of it and get down on my knees instead. There are still some white feathers left, up here around the ridges protecting her once-radiant eyes. I stroke through those feathers with my fingertips, and the softness is almost enough to break me. A tear slides down my bruised and bloody cheek and lands on the ground next to her.

“You deserve so much better,” I whisper to her. “You did your duty and did it well. Rest now, darling.” Another tear threatens to fall. I swipe at it and turn away from Lulu for a moment. I can’t let myself fall apart, not now. Not when there’s so much left to do. Kai can make all the promises he wants, but until he comes up with more of a plan than “be a good boy and rest,” I’m not inclined to listen to—

Something shines in the grass a few feet away. It’s not a metallic shine, like the Kamoran corselets or one of my own arrowheads. This is a glistening glimmer, something that has no place on the plains or a battlefield. I crawl over to it and brush the stained, dirty grass off the silver setting as I hold it up to the sun, which it reflects so perfectly.

Cam’s black pearl. He must have lost it when Lulu attacked. I hate thinking of how he’ll feel once he realizes it’s gone, but at the same time, I’m grateful to have this piece of him. Embros would never have let him keep a prize like this once he noticed it.

I know I’m abusing the symbolism of it as I loop the chain around my neck—after all, I’m not betrothed to Cam—but I love him better than any husband ever could. I’ll keep this for him until we’re together again.

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