Page 59 of Fateless

Halek craned his neck back, staring at the strip of sky above the pass. We had left the temple while it was still full dark, but now the heavens had turned pink, and the stars were fading.

“Solasti is coming,” he said. “And I don’t suppose the pass is any cooler during Demon Hour than the rest of the world.”

“Actually, it’s worse,” Kysa said. She turned toward Halek with a small smile and gestured at the red-tinted cliffs on either side. “When Demon Hour comes, those walls radiate heat. It’s like being inside a brick oven. Not something you want to experience.”

“Ah no,” Halek corrected her with a raised finger. “Again.It’s not something I want to experienceagain.I’ve already been broiled once by the twins on this journey—twice would turn me into a piece of shriveled jerky.” He shook his head, a pained look crossing his face. “I have never wanted to die so much before my time, and that’s coming from a Fatechaser who once fell into a nest of fire centipedes.” He grimaced and shot a glance at Raithe. “If that happens again, iylvahn, I just might have to take you up on your previous offer. If we get caught in Demon Hour again, to clarify. Not the fire centipedes. Though getting bitten by a dozen fire centipedes is not pleasant, either, let me tell you.”

“We’re better supplied this time,” Raithe said, as I shivered with the memory. Lying on the Dust Sea with Raithe and Halek, slowly burning away as we waited to die. “We know what we’re walking into,” he went on. “It won’t be like Kovass.” His gaze went to me, and the look in those pale blue eyes made my breath catch. “I won’t let us be caught like that again, I promise.”

“Can your... lizards move any faster?” Kysa inquired, as if she was trying hard to be diplomatic. “I know most landbound creatures cannot match a rock beetle’s flight speed, but can they at least trot?”

Halek’s laugh rose into the air and echoed off the rising peaks. “I think our good insect rider has just disparaged our mounts,” he said, as his own dragon snorted and rolled its eyes back at him. “Shall we see how fast these lizards can run?” He grinned at us, eager and challenging. “Race you both to the bend in the road. Loser takes care of the other dragons for the whole trip.”

I grinned back, but Raithe nudged his dragon forward with a sigh, making us pause. “I think you’re both forgetting something,”he said, casting a serious look over his shoulder. Halek frowned, expecting to be chastised.

“And what’s that, iylvahn?”

The shadow of a grin went through those pale eyes. “Never bet against a kahjai,” he said, and kicked his dragon hard in the ribs. The black lizard leaped forward with a snarl, leaving behind a cloud of dust as it skittered into the pass.

“Hey!” I yelled.

“That’s a dirty trick, iylvahn!” Halek called at the same time, kicking his mount forward. Our dragons sprang after him, moving with a swaying, scuttling crawl over the dust and the stones. Moments later, there was the buzz of wings, and Kysa flew overhead, proving that the sand dragons could not, in fact, keep up with Rhyne. But this race was between the three sand dragons and their riders. The wind whipped at me, pushing my hood back and tugging at my hair, but with the hissing dragons, the shouts from Halek, and the rising adrenaline as we sped down the path, it didn’t bother me. Rising in my seat, I lifted my head and let out a whoop that bounced off the canyon walls and echoed over the peaks.

Raithe won, of course. But only because he cheated.

Solasti stood directly overhead by the time we reached the first shelter Kysa had mentioned, a large cave that had been carved into the side of the cliff wall. It was spacious enough for all our dragons and Rhyne to fit inside, with pens and individual stalls to safely house our mounts while we waited for Demon Hour to pass.

“Here you go, Fatechaser,” Raithe said, handing his dragon’s reins to Halek as we stepped into the cave. “Make sure you remove their saddles so they can cool off through Demon Hour. An uncomfortable sand dragon is highly irritable, and more likely to take a finger when you’re not expecting it.”

“Oh, come on.” Halek sighed, unhappily taking the reins. “I wasn’t really serious about that bet, you know. This doesn’t seem fair.”

Kysa, already unbuckling the straps around Rhyne’s massive bulk, smiled. “And yet a wager was definitely spoken,” she said, not looking up from her task. “The last one to reach the bend in the pass was to care for the other mounts for the rest of the journey. The last to reach the bend was you. Or is it common for city dwellers to back out of promises that are inconvenient?”

Halek groaned. “Sparrow, help me out here,” he said, giving me a pleading look. “I don’t think a wager won by cheating is a fair wager, do you?”

“Oh, Halek.” I smiled. “You’re forgetting who you’re talking to. I’m from the Thieves Guild. Wealwayscheat to win.”

And handing him my reins, I walked away, Raithe’s laughter and Halek’s sputtering protests echoing behind me.

A little deeper in the cavern, I found a pair of tables surrounded by stools, a stone bench next to a barrel that held a lantern, and a trio of rough cots against the far wall. Whoever had built this shelter for Demon Hour hadn’t done so half-heartedly. Perching on the bench, I leaned back with a sigh, relieved to not be sitting in a bouncing, jostling saddle. I pulled out my waterskin and took a sip, hoping the relatively cool temperatures ofthe cave would hold through Demon Hour.

“Sparrow.”

I looked up and saw Raithe’s lean form hovering near the table’s edge, watching me. As usual, I hadn’t heard him approach at all.

“May I join you?” he asked, sounding strangely formal. Still calm and unruffled, but overly polite. I shifted on the bench and retreated farther into my hood.

“You don’t have to ask, Raithe,” I told him. “You’re always welcome, no matter where we are.”

“I would not presume,” he replied, and I sensed, rather than heard, him move closer. Then there was a soft rustle of clothes as he sat beside me on the bench. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to be around me.”

I swallowed as my heart began an erratic thumping in my chest. I wanted to fade away and hide, to remove myself from danger, but there was nowhere to go in this cave. Besides, this was Raithe. He wasn’t going to turn around and stab me, even if I didn’t know what being near him was doing to my heart.

“I apologize for last night,” Raithe continued, and his voice had gone very soft. “I admit, I am not adept at reading human emotion, but I thought...” He hesitated, gazing down at his hands as if they were covered in something foul. “Was I wrong?” he murmured.

I bit my lip, and the frantic beating of my heart intensified.Say yes, Sparrow, I told myself.Tell him he was wrong, that there is nothing between us.

“No,” I whispered. “You weren’t wrong, Raithe, it’s just...” Iclenched my fists on my knees and stared at them. “It’s hard for me to get close to anyone,” I finally admitted. “The last person I tried with was Jeran and, well, you saw how that turned out.”

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