Page 51 of Winds of Destiny

I come to with a start, groan, and reach for my aching head—only to realize a second later that my arms are tied behind my back.Shit, what…I can’t remember anything between watching Turo and Kai disappear and now. I must have passed out. At least the gag is gone.

Bronze-scaled boots settle on the ground right in front of my face, and a flood of memories unfurls like a flag. I can picture them so clearly: the attack outside the Gate, the Kamorans, my escort dying one by one, then climbing up onto Lulu and—

The flare of green. Lu’s sudden stillness in midair, and her collapse as soon as we hit the ground. Falling.

“Awake at last,” a dark, velvety voice purrs right over my head. Before I can say anything, someone grabs me by my bound arms and hoists me to my feet. My shoulders are screaming in pain—how long have I been tied up like this? Where the fuck are we?

What happened to Turo and Kai?

“Prince Camrael,” the voice continues. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to meeting you again.”

My neck is killing me and I taste blood in my mouth, but I hate not being able to see the man blathering at me. I steady myself on my feet, then turn to look at the murderer still holding my arms.

His thick, dark brown hair is mussed from being under his helmet, and he’s not wearing the delicate eyeliner that I remember from seeing him at my father’s court. But the expression of smug satisfaction is exactly the same. Even when my father refused to marry me to him and told him to leave, Embros had looked like this—like he knew something you didn’t.

Well, that turned out to be true.

He smiles at me. His incisors are so slender and sharp they could almost be fangs. “How’s your head?” he asks solicitously.

“Where are we?”

“Mm, as mannerless as the barbarian you were engaged to, I see. Or perhaps he just encouraged this kind of behavior in you.” Before I can duck, before I even see it coming, Embros hits me across the face with the palm of his hand. Agony surges through my head, and I would have hit the ground if it weren’t for his iron grip holding me upright. “Let’s try again. How is your head feeling?”

“Awful,” I croak.

“What a shame. You did take a nasty fall off that bird of yours. Here.” He lifts a canteen to my lips. “Water will help ease the pain.”

I keep my lips firmly closed, even when it results in water running down my chin and over my chest.

“Oh, come now. Why would I bother drugging you at this point?” Embros asks. “I’ve got you exactly where I want you already, Camrael, and you’re no good to me weakened by self-inflicted thirst. Now drink, or I’ll have one of my men come hold your nose while I pour this down your throat.”

Apart from the indignity he’s promising, I reallyamthirsty. I won’t be good to anyone, much less myself, if I make myself sick from neglect. When he tilts the canteen next, I drink deeply.

“Very good, very good. Excellent,” he coos. “I knew you had it in you to behave.”

See how you feel about my behavior when I knee you so hard in the balls you collapse.But now isn’t the time for lashing out. “Where are we?” I ask again after he lowers the canteen.

“The Plains, as you can see.” He smiles like he’s being cute. “You passed out very early into our journey away from the Gate. Don’t you want to know whether your two remaining warriors are alive?”

Turo and Kai…They’re not dead. I know they’re not. They aren’t stupid enough to come after me outnumbered like they were. Right?

It takes me a moment to remember that I can check for myself whether Kai, at least—or rather, Prince Eleas, thatjackass—is well. I feign a sob and drop to my knees, taking my chance and forcing my aching mind to focus and feel for the pearl I gave to Kai. I haven’t reached for it much before, not beyond registering a general sensation of warmth and something uniquely Kai. If I can’t feel it anymore, if it’s cold and still… But it’s there, pulsing with life. I can tell Kai’s the one wearing it, that he still has it.

More than that, though… I can feel theotherpearl as well. I thought I’d lost it, thought it was gone, but it’s there, and the energy I sense through it is so familiar. Did Turo find it? He must have.So itwasalways meant for him. Now he has it, even if the handover didn’t go the way I wanted it to.

Above me, Embros is laughing. He’s enjoying trying to hurt me with this. Fucking sadist. I’m not going to give in to tears in front of him.

“Oh, sweet prince.” He reaches down and scuffs his thumb against a tear track. “So pretty and delicate. If I didn’t already know Eleas was going to come after you, I might just let him go on living. But…” He heaves a dramatic sigh. “I promised his father I’d get rid of him, and the prince is as determined as that bodyguard of yours.”

“What… You’re working with his father?” So Turo’s grim guess was correct. Kai was betrayed by his own.

“I’m a great king, but there are only so many things I can accomplish on my own. I needed allies, and since your father wasn’t willing…” He strokes my cheek again, and I can’t stop my shudder. Embros either doesn’t notice it or doesn’t care. “But Dian and Anarx have made up for the loss, which is just as well. I’d rather keep you alive, pretty boy. Your future is going to be incredible if you manage to behave. I’ll tell you all about it once we’re farther from the mountains.” He smiles. “I don’t want to make ittooeasy to be found, after all. There’s still a long way to go.

“I’m going to free your arms. If you try to attack me at any point, I’ll cut one of them off.” His devilish grin is worth another shudder. “Do you believe me?”

I absolutely do. I nod.

“Good. You need to clean yourself up. You’re a wreck.”

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