Page 68 of Winds of Destiny

“Let go of me!” I snap under my breath.

“No! Are you a madman? Do you want to die?” She pointed at the water. “Look at the vipers! One bite and they’llendyou!”

“I don’t care!” I’m almost as frantic now as I was when I saw Turo about to be killed. They’re coming, I can feel them—I have to get to them! I have to make it so they can find me!

“Yououghtto care!” She lowers her voice and puts her mouth beside mine. “As long as you’re alive, you can fight back. Once you’re dead, you’re done. Do you want to let him win so easily?”

“But…”

“There’s movement, my king,” a man on one of the other boats calls out, pointing back toward the edge of the sea.

“So there is.” Embros leaves the front of the boat and returns to my side. “Impressive. These two would follow you to the ends of the earth, Camrael.” He looks at me, and I see intense satisfaction in his face. “But unfortunately for them, no farther, even though they might try.”

He turns back toward his men. “Set javelins!”

“No!” I lurch forward, almost heaving myself out of Dian’s grasp before she tightens her grip around me. “No, don’t hurt them! They can’t come any farther. It’s too late!” The truth is painful, but not nearly as painful as the thought of losing Turo and Kai when I can save them. “Just let them go!”

“Oh, Camrael.” Embros sets a cold hand on my face. “For all your supposed cleverness, there’s so much you still don’t understand. Inarime is just the beginning. I’m confident that Eleas will spur one of his ridiculous sheep until it drowns to follow us, but I can’t have your bodyguard do the same. He’s not needed from here on out. The prince’s fire magic will protect him from our attack, but your man…well. Maybe he’s very good at dodging.” He shrugs and lets go of me, turning back to look at Turo and Kai. I can see them in the water now, on the backs of what look like the biggest rams I’ve ever seen. They’re floundering, but they’re not quitting.

Go back! You have to retreat!

“If it makes you feel any better, you don’t have to watch,” Embros finishes. “Loose!”

Almost a score of javelins flies into the air, hissing as they seek their targets.My lovers. They’re mine, they’re mine, they’re mine!

Something inside of me breaks.

My wind whips across the water, nearly strong enough to upend the boat. Spray drenches all of us, but I don’t even feel it—all my focus is on the javelins. The wind catches up to them in the nick of time. They clatter against each other in the air before falling, harmless, into the water less than a dozen feet away from Kai and Turo. A wave follows the wind, and I lose sight of them for a moment.

No, please, please!I summon another wind, this one carving like a blade through the water straight to them. It parts the sea, and as I watch, Kai takes hold of both sets of reins and backs the ram up until they’ve got solid ground beneath their hooves again. Colorful vipers writhe in the mud left behind, red and green and coral-colored, and I know without a doubt that Kai and Turo can go no farther.

I can’t ask them to. I won’t be the reason they die.

Fog seems to float in front of my eyes, obscuring my view of them. My lungs ache and my face is wet and hot, and Embros is speaking, but I will be damned if I’m going to give him any attention right now.

Passing out seems like a much better option, so I take it.

Chapter Thirty-One

Kai

The first thing I do once I know Turo’s not going to throw himself into the water after Camrael again is let the rams go. We’ve held onto them for long enough, almost too long. They can do no more for us except take us away from here, and Turo isn’t going to allow that.

“You’ve been so good,” I tell mine, stroking its shaggy nose with my hand and following it up with a scratch right in front of its horns. “So good. You’ve carried us well. It’s time for you to go home.” I give Turo’s the same treatment, then step back. My ram turns around immediately and starts trotting across the Plains, but Turo’s doesn’t move.

I sigh. Stubborn beast. “Turo,” I call out to him. “Come here.”

He’s crouched by the edge of the water, holding on to a javelin he fished out of it just before we lost sight of Camrael. He’s not as out of it as he was last time, but there’s a stillness to him I dislike. It feels like he’s on the verge of doing something drastic, and I don’t want to have to fish him out of these venomous waters if I don’t have to.

“Why?” he finally asks.

“Because you need to tell your ram it’s all right for him to leave.”

That gets his attention, and I’m relieved to see a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. “But he’s not mine,” he says.

“Well, he’s definitely notmine. You’ve been riding him for the past week, not me.”

It doesn’t take any more coaxing than that. Turo gets up and walks over. He stares at the sodden, smelly, oversize beast for a moment, then leans in and winds his arms around its neck. “Thank you,” he says thickly. “Thank you for everything. You can go now.” He lets go and steps back. The ram slowly backs away, not taking its eyes off Turo until it’s a good ten feet distant before finally turning and breaking into a run to catch up with its brother.

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