Page 197 of Mother of Death and Dawn

“No,” Caduan said, in an obvious lie that Meajqa did not challenge. “Are you?”

“I’ll survive.”

Caduan turned to the scene around us. Ahead of us, the landscape had been irreparably changed. Blood-streaked white stone blocked us from the Zorokov’s main estate. But behind us, a different kind of carnage unfolded. Ela’Dar’s soldiers had poured into the eastern end of the city, and while they had stopped to gape in confusion at whatever had just happened, it was clear that they were making quick work of the Threllian leadership—the streets were strewn with white-clad Threllian bodies.

Meajqa turned back to the strange wall of stone and let out a long, shaky breath. “What in the seven skieswasthat? I was seconds away from being caught in it.”

“That,” Caduan said, “was the work of a Lejara.”

Meajqa swore.

“We go after them.” My voice was raspy. “Right now. We go get it from them.” Despite myself, I teetered on my feet. Blood soaked my midsection.

I saw Caduan take careful stock of these things, and not answer.

“We cannot justleavethem,” I spat. “We are so close.”

Caduan’s lips thinned, the wrinkle between his brows deepening. He leaned heavily against a pile of stone, though he seemed like he was trying to disguise his weakness. A button of his shirt had fallen open, revealing a glimpse of strange purple bruising before his hand quickly moved to close it.

“We were not without victory,” Meajqa said. “Between the humans and us, there’s not a single one of those Threllian bastards left alive.” He cast a glance down the hill, where Fey opened throat after throat. “Or won’t be, soon. Let the rebels keep what remains. Luia and her men can cut our way north. Leave the south… for now.”

Caduan looked like he did not love this plan either. “And just leave Vytezic?”

“Temporarily. Besides… we have found something else that will lift your spirits, I’m sure.” Meajqa’s eyes glinted with hungry pleasure. He led us down the path and signaled to a soldier.

“What a gift,” he drawled, and motioned to the stones below—and the listless, half-conscious body of the Queen of Ara. Her white jacket was now almost completely crimson, a rod of gold protruding from her stomach. She was alive, but barely. Two of Luia’s soldiers knelt beside her, carefully binding her hands and ankles as she moaned.

Meajqa was right. Seeing her like this, powerless, was almost enough to make me forget that Tisaanah and Maxantarius had slipped away from us.

Meajqa dropped to his knees before her. “My,” he crooned, “we are lucky, aren’t we?” He reached out and stroked her face, like a lover would, as her head rolled back. His touch lingered at her throat. “Let me kill her. Don’t I deserve to be the one to do that?”

I was drunk on death. I wanted him to take her apart the way she had done to him, and I wanted to help.

But Caduan said, “No. We let her live.”

Meajqa whirled around. “Let herlive?” Even I recognized the hurt in his voice.

“For now,” Caduan said. “She has our people in captivity. We need to find out where they are and how to reverse whatever she has done to them. Then we can kill her.”

“But—”

“Are you telling me that your vengeance is more important than saving our people?”

Meajqa’s jaw was tight, as if forcibly keeping his words to himself. “I apologize,” he said, eventually. “As you command, my king.”

Caduan laid a hand on his shoulder. “Your time will come.”

Meajqa gave a silent nod.

“Tell Luia to keep pushing through,” Caduan said. “Head north. Take down the Threllian cities that you pass. It should be easy now. Their leadership is gone.” He looked to the queen. “We have more important battles.”

CHAPTERSEVENTY-NINE

TISAANAH

When I first came back to myself, I thought something was wrong with my eyes—and then I realized that the house justlookedlike this now, the walls rough-hewn stone, the floors broken and slanted.

I stood up. The house had been rearranged like a dollhouse that had been assembled incorrectly. The bodies that remained here were so broken that I couldn’t even identify what they had once looked like—bodies crushed between walls, bodies pinned to the floor, bodies missing arms, legs, heads. Some were rearranged bloodlessly, like someone had jumbled up limbs and glued them back together.

---