Page 39 of Oathborn
Opening the door to the next car, Zari asked, “What is it about Rhydonia that fascinates you?”
“Oh everything! Everyone I know has traveled here at least once. Even Daeden, and he’siyladesilike me.”
Tivre’s spell hadn’t translated that word. Strange. Zari didn’t understand much of how magic worked, but she was certain the rest of the sentence had been perfectly turned into something that sounded like Rhydonian, except for that one word. “What’s that? Does it have to do with being Oathborn?”
“No. I’m not Oathborn. Only those born with the mark have the magic and the destiny of being Oathborn. As foriyladesi, perhaps you might say it is someone who did not fight in the war.” Hazelle’s brow furrowed. “Perhaps there is no equivalent word? But yes, he and I are among those who never saw combat. I was too young, and Daeden had not finished training.”
In Rhydonia, the word veteran included all those who fought. Zari was struck with a sobering realization such a thing might be the opposite on the isles. “The war has certainly left its long shadows.”
“Yes. Daeden is my only surviving relative. The war took my mother, and my two sisters.”
Female fae must have fought in the war. Zari had only heard rumors before. Then again, it made sense that Rhydonia political leaders didn’t want to admit their adversaries included women. If that had been public knowledge, how many women would have used it as further proof to demand women’s suffrage? She could easily picture the signs one might carry, mocking Rhydonian men for dying to the swords of female warriors, all while refusing to let women at home vote.
“I’m sorry,” she said, thinking of her own grief, imagining it magnified to include the loss of siblings as well. “I lost many I loved in the war as well. A dear friend and my father both fell to Blood Ember.”
Hazelle’s lip curled into a snarl. Though the glamour hid her fangs, it didn’t disguise her fury. Zari’s heart hammered. Stupid, stupid, she should have remembered that Blood Ember was the Queen’s pet.
The train rattled on, the walls faintly shaking with its speed. Hazelle stepped forward to look out the small window closest to them. Her gaze seemed distant, as if imagining a far-off time or place. “I, too, have reason tohate Blood Ember. We are not all the same on the isles; some are loyal to the Queen, some are forced to be so, and some,” she smiled, those small fangs flashing, “believe she is the greatest threat to peace.”
“But she signed the Accords.” Surely, that was the only reason the document was ratified. From her father’s letters, Zari knew the fae were the first to suggest the concept of a peace treaty with him. He’d wanted peace for a long time, but struggled to convince the other leaders, including Lockwood, to agree to the terms. It was only after General Ankmetta’s death that the Rhydonian government had voted to agree to the Accords. A bitter irony, that her father hadn’t lived to see his greatest achievement.
“The Accords were signed,” Hazelle corrected, “in a way that forced the Queen’s hand. She plots her revenge, of that I am certain.”
“And Tivre?” Zari asked, amazed at Hazelle’s candor. To think a fae would be so openly dismissive of her ruler. “Is he loyal to the Queen?”
Hazelle rested her hand atop Zari’s. “He makes his own choices, but for whose gain, that I am never sure.”
A rather sobering assessment of the fae who had dragged her into this mess.
Chapter fourteen
Tobias
The motorbike’s wheels thudded against the hard dirt trail, jostling Tobias’s sore muscles. It had been an hour since the last bit of paved road faded away, as they’d journeyed north. First the city, then the more rustic outskirts flew past them. Though his body ached from the long, brutal ride, Tobias couldn’t stop grinning.
He was finally on a mission. For once, Captain Javen hadn’t abandoned him. Granted, Tobias wasn’t exactly sure of the objective of the mission, but still. “Sir!” he shouted, to Javen’s back. “How long will we be off-road?”
“As long as it takes.”
Tobias nodded, having figured that would be the answer. He gritted his teeth at the pain, as stubborn as he’d been on the first day of his military academy enrollment. That day had been filled with exercises and drills designed to weed out those without the fortitude to handle the military. He’d been far from the best shot, and nearly broken a rib on the obstacle course, he’d stubbornly made his way through.
If Tobias had hoped Javen might share more details of the mission, that hope had been thoroughly crushed during their awkward breakfast together. The meal had been a one-sided conversation where Tobias had chatted nervously about his studies, his family, and why he’d gone to the military academy. He’d never quite figured out how to shut up when he started getting nervous. Javen had provided no details, no words at all beyond his usualselection ofoh?andmmand worst of all, theahthat conveyed how idiotic he found Tobias in less than a full syllable.
Still, Tobias wondered about the massive glass paperweight—for it had to be glass, surely—he’d found, alongside the drawing and the bracelet. He knew better to ask.
Instead, he’d checked the address on that strange, anonymous man’s card and shivered when he realized it belonged to the grand building currently occupied by the Prime Minister. Whoever had been asking about Javen was high up in the ranks, indeed.
Still, Tobias’s loyalty to Javen remained, though he’d tucked the card in his packed bag. Perhaps he’d send a message later, once the situation was more clear to him.
After he’d run the other errands, Tobias had returned. There, he found Javen with two gleaming new motorbikes, already packed with gear and guns. Which led to these past few hours of riding. Were they going after Zari? When he’d told Javen the nurses hadn’t seen Zari since her last shift, Javen had been displeased, though he hadn’t alerted anyone else to the disappearance.
Finally, Javen jerked his head, a signal to dismount. Tobias did so, staggering on unsteady legs. “Sir?” Tobias asked. “What exactly are we in pursuit of?”
“What do you think?”
“Miss Ankmetta? To rescue her?” His voice nearly broke with boyish hope at the idea. He’d be a hero, if she’d been abducted and…
Javen sent a particularly withering stare Tobias’s way. “To stop her from making a mess of things.”
