Page 196 of Unrivaled
She said nothing, her lips pressed tightly.There were words there, ideas she was scared to speak.I couldn’t let myself wonder on what they could be, turning my gaze away from them.The city stretched out before me.This was my home.I couldn’tleave,but I wasn’t, really.This was merely a brief trip.
We all knew regardless of his plan, I had three choices: fight now, and face repercussions; flee; or go meekly and bide my time.
The only possible outcome Icouldn’treturn from was death, and he wasn’t summoning me simply to kill me.My choice was the safest.
If my death had been his intention, he’d have been in that bailey today.
Mayhap we weren’t so different.
“You’re strong here,” Chay offered.
You’re strong wherever you are.The whispered counter-argument made me feel an uncomfortable sense of pride that warred with the dread and settled strangely in my limbs.Yes, I could carry the strength I had with me.I could carry the weakness, too.
I didn’t know what was harder to face.
The city would be here when I returned.Mayhap I’d see it differently then.My last significant journey had been to Raa’shi to marry Luca.I’d been a child.I’d returned from that trip irrevocably changed—for the better.
The lessons I’d learned had been painful.But I hadn’t learned them alone, and they’d served me well.I was even less alone now, and more capable of learning.
“Are you coming?”I asked, knowing the answer but wanting to see the actions to match it.“Or will it only be Thomas accompanying me?”
Isolde’s jaw tightened.“You’re going to need to pack her bow,” she told Chay, and he nodded.I felt no relief at the end of her resistance.“No one will questionyou.”
“I’ll carry anything for you.”He said it with the dismissive attitude of one stating unnecessary information.“Take the time you need, though, to think on this.Don’t let them force you to make hasty decisions.Your father is an intelligent, terrifying foe.Face him onyourterms.”
I tried to recall the last time someone had referred to my father openly asterrifying.I couldn’t.Our fear was in our actions, and our inactions too.It felt good to acknowledge the fear my father created, and that surprised me.
To repay Chay for his kindness, I conjured up my memory of the pledge he’d made me last winter.“What’s important,” I said, selecting my words with precision, “is whether that fear willstopme.”
The compassion that softened his features made me ache.I moved my gaze from his face to Isolde’s.The gentle bow of his lips was contrasted by the thin line of hers.Love for my stalwart scout warmed me.I didn’t let it show.She needed courage, so I gave her back what I’d borrowed from her, all those years ago.
“There is no rival I’ve yet to meet who cannot be vanquished,” I said.“And I am only conquered when I believe I am.”
EPILOGUE
YLVA
Let their opinions weigh less than your truth.
—Matri’sion proverb
28thDay of Autumn’s Son Moon,
Age of the Locways, Year 272
Ten Pine Village, Stonemouth Mountain Range
The cold wind woke me.Through the fog and the aches, I registered a myriad of information.Door opening with a squeak—that was the lefthand door, then.Booze, mostly cheap.Matched the ache in my head and the state of my mouth.Sweat, sex, magic…not necessarily in that order.I had pussy juices of at least three women on my lips and if I hadn’t been so hung over, I could’ve named them, but right then, all I could recall was the way they’d tasted and the rhythm they’d liked.
Then the new scents.Leather, forest, silver.
Alarm went through me.I struggled to sit up, but my body just jerked and fell back down.
What the fuck?I sucked in air.Mushrooms.That explained the hazy memories of last night.Who’d shared them, I didn’t know.Why I’d partaken, no fucking clue.Did I regret it?Khazari’s mountain-shaking flatulence, I did.
The sweet smell of honey and the creamy, lightly salted notes of good butter reached my nose.Steps came closer.“Earthworker,” a familiar voice crooned.
I tried to move again, peeling open my eyes.“Dmytro?”I asked.
