Page 47 of Oathborn
“No, I was alone.” Zari pointed to the doorframe. “You hit your head as you came in. I’m ready to go, if you are.”
Tobias motioned for her to stand. His hand hovered by the cuffs in his belt, but he hesitated. “I can trust you, right?”
When she’d met Tobias, she’d found him sweet but a little naive, and this interaction did nothing to change her perception. “Nurse’s honor.” She wore the same smile she’d use when she had to coax a patient to take their medicine.
Nodding, Tobias escorted her toward the train car door. The handcuffs remained at his side, and the fae blade hidden underneath her coat.
The night air hit her in a chilling rush. Wesburg’s climate was cooler than that of the capital, with a damp fogginess that drifted down from nearby lakes. It was an ideal area for game hunters, Zari recalled, as the reason for the town’s familiarity came back to her. Now, she shivered more as the grief of the past washed over her.
As Tobias exited the metal platform outside the train car, he offered his hand to help her down. She let him. The weaker he thought her, the safer she’d be.
Her plan, however, came to a crashing halt with the pounding of hooves.
Together, she and Tobias turned to see an officer astride a massive bay gelding. The rider was tall, with dark hair, and a dark military-issued overcoat billowing out behind him. He was also the last person Zari wished to see.
“C-Captain Javen! You… you’re here!” Tobias’s sloppy salute earned him a derisive scoff from Javen.
“With your keen observation skills, I’m amazed you have succeeded in the task so far,” Javen drawled. Dismounting, he passed the reins to Tobias. “Return this horse to the stables. We will be doing a full sweep of this miserable town.”
“But Miss Ankmetta is right here.” Tobias said. “I located her, like you asked.”
“And now I am requesting another task, Lieutenant, as is the nature of work.”
Tobias paled and saluted once more before clucking at the horse. It didn’t move. “Come on, buddy, time to go.” Tobias pulled a bit on the reins. Still the horse remained frozen in place.
Javen rolled his eyes. He stepped forward, stroked the horse along its neck and whispered something to it. His tone was gentle, far more than any time she’d ever heard him speak before. As if agreeing with him, the horse let out a gentle huff, then started walking, nearly bumping into Tobias.
Wordlessly, Javen stepped back to Zari’s side and ground out his now finished cigarette on the dirt road beneath them. “You will follow me,” he told Zari as Tobias and the horse disappeared from view.
Lacking other options, she did as commanded.
The wind picked up, carrying the scent of peat and shaking the shingles of the cobblestone houses they passed. Javen moved silently, his dark uniform a match to the night sky. Only now did she notice how the sword he wore was a twin to the elegant fae blade that remained hidden between her shoulder blades.
Just who was Captain Javen?
Chapter seventeen
Tivre
Tivre was halfway through making sure Daeden knew just how much he appreciated him when Hazelle burst in, and all manner of chaos began. Hasty explanations were given, first about clothing—or lack thereof—then Hazelle informed them about the soldiers.
Hurriedly, Hazelle tried to convey whatever had happened, but her Rhydonian was far worse than either of her sisters’, and she’d missed many of the details. It didn’t matter. She’d said enough, soldiers searching for someone, on this train, could only mean Javen was behind them.
Not just any soldiers, either. When she’d mentioned the second soldier, the one who Zari hadn’t left with, had red bands around the cuffs of his uniform coat, Tivre’s blood chilled.
Not the ordinary Cobalt soldiers that Javen had aligned himself with in the capital. No, that red cuff could only mean he’d called for reinforcements from the Crimsons, the only human soldiers capable of taking down Oathborn warriors. They’d been deadly enough in the last years of the war. If Javen was aiding them, providing additional information and training, no doubt they’d be twice as brutally efficient by now.
Because if anyone knew how to kill an Oathborn, it would be Javen.
While Hazelle rambled on about how handsome the one human soldier was, Tivre reached for his magic, calling the north to him, the cold wind and unknowable ocean, the brilliant stars and fickle moon. Green light mixed withsilver as he worked a cloaking spell. With a flick of his wrist, he wrapped the magic around them all.
“There,” he said, only a little out of breath from the pull on his magic. “Better than a glamour, for now.”
“What about Zari?” Hazelle said. “She was so stubborn, insisting she should stay behind.”
And smart, Tivre thought. Unlike them, Zari was neither a fae nor truly Oathborn. He was sure she could talk her way out of any dire consequences. “We’ll find her. For now, we go.”
If Tivre had been alone, if the plan had gone the way he’d meticulously plotted, they’d be safe. He could have kept Zari out of danger, away from Javen and the military but now there was Daeden and Hazelle to consider. However powerful they were, he couldn’t guarantee their safety. Hazelle had magic, and Daeden might be one of the strongest Oathborn left on the isles, but even his strength would be no match for Javen.
