Page 144 of Promise of Darkness
It’s empty.
“Where are they?” I breathe.
Eris points to a tree, and I catch sight of an arrow embedded in the trunk. The second I see it, my eyes start to make sense of what I’m seeing. Hoofmarks churn the dark loam, and there’s a wink of silver across the clearing, as if someone lost an epaulet.
My heart drops. “What happened?”
Eris slips through the treeline, and I follow as she skirts the clearing and finds a trail stomping through the underbrush.
She slowly straightens, looking furious.
“Blaedwyn happened. She’s taken them. Nobody else could have countered Thiago and survived. And with that fucking sword at her side, she’s invincible.”
“What now?”
Eris turns on me, and for a moment, I swear she’s going to use her sword on me. “Now we discover just how far you’ll go to prove yourself worthy. Thiago instructed me to see you back through the Hallow if things went wrong. I swore an oath to do so, on my obedience to the crown, but technically, as his wife, youarethe crown.”
My eyes narrow. “What are you trying to say?”
“Do I obey my orders and whisk you back to safety while your husband loses his head?” she asks coolly. “Or doesthe crownhave other orders?”
“You seem awfully interested in his survival.”
“Thiago gave me a home when others would have burned me at the stake,” she snaps. “I would die for him. The question is: Would you?”
I eye the trail leading toward Malagath, the ancient seat of Blaedwyn the Merciless. A sigh escapes me. “How angry do you think he’s going to be?”
Her shoulders ease as she realizes what I intend. “With me? Furious. With you?” Her eyes light up. “Beyond.”
“Think positively,” I chide as I start along the trail. “We might all die and never have to look him in the eye again.”
* * *
Erisand I track the hunting party back to Malagath.
The castle ruins perch on the edge of a cliff like a vulture, hump-necked and crumbling. Vines snake their way toward the keep, forming a dangerous labyrinth. The only safe way in is the main road, which snakes up the hillside, but anyone coming would be seen for miles. Sunset is starting to bleed across the skies, but the fae can see in the dark, and the Unseelie consider themselves at home there.
I eye the labyrinth.
There’s got to be a thousand wrong turns in there and numerous dangerous beasties, but what are our options?
Eris paces, wearing her frustration like a shroud that darkens her face. Of all the people to be stuck with on a rescue mission….
“I don’t suppose you can fly?” I ask.
“I don’t suppose you can fight?” she returns.
My fingers curl into my palms. I’m better with a bow than a sword, but I can hold my own. Any daughter of Adaia must be able to, though Andraste could beat me nine times out of ten. “I’m competent. We need to get closer.”
The pair of us slip back into the forest, creeping toward the road.
A slow, steady ringing of bells has been echoing for minutes now, and I don’t know what it means, but hopefully it will mask any sounds we make.
It might also mask any sounds someone following us might make.
The thought makes me nervous, but then, I do have someone at my side that the Morai were afraid of.
“What do you think is happening?” Lights beckon through the trees as we parallel the road, staying a safe distance away from it.
