Page 77 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
Once they were halfway across the field, Domitius stepped out of the shadows at last. His white pants were impeccably clean for having traveled from Ardentol, and Kallie wondered when he had arrived. A day ago? Several? Had he simply been sitting in some posh inn, drinking whiskey while they waited?
At the thought, anger boiled inside her, and she tamped it down the best she could.
The two guards stepped out of the shadows, and a collective gasp whipped through the air.
Large wings spanned out from behind the guards. One man bore a set of webbed wings as black as night, while the other had feathered wings that were made of molten ash, each feather a different shade of gray.
"Myra wasn’t lying," Kallie whispered, voice haunted.
While she hadn’t doubted Myra, seeing the winged men was entirely different from hearing about them. Suddenly, Kallie was regretting leaving Nyrri behind with the horses deep in the woods. Would the drakonis be able to hear them if they needed her? How long would it take Nyrri to get here?
"We agreed no armies, yet he brought two of his pets?" Graeson spat, a low rumble vibrating in his throat.
Kallie inhaled. "We knew he might try to pull something like this. The odds are still manageable." But she wasn’t sure if she was trying to reassure the others or herself more.
Ellie tilted her head, her braid falling to her back. "How do you think they put on that armor?" she asked, eyeing the winged guards decked head-to-toe in armor.
"Now is not the time," Graeson retorted.
While Ellie observed the guards, Kallie’s attention was fixed on Domitius. Unlike the guards, Domitius wore no armor. Kallie wondered what it felt like to be so sure of one’s survival, to be so confident in one’s ability to win, that one didn’t even find it necessary to wear a chest plate.
A small smile graced Domitius’ lips, but there was nothing gentle or warm about it. There never had been.
He had no power over her, not anymore, she reminded herself.
Her fingers twitched at the dagger strapped to her thigh. She hadn’t bothered to hide the weapon. There was no point. He knew her well enough to know she would not come unarmed. He had trained her, after all.
"Where is she?" Kallie called out as both parties stopped fifty yards away from each other.
Domitius clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Have you fallen so far that you have forgotten how to greet those stationed above you, let alone your father?"
"You arenotmy father," she spat, hands curling into fists at her sides.
Domitius laughed, and the sound grated on her skin.
"I’d rather not waste time rehashing things we have already discussed. We have more important matters, do we not?" He looked past her, as if searching for something or someone behind her. "Is Myra not with you? I had assumed she would have wanted to be here for this."
"She is not part of this deal," Kallie said.
An amused smirk curled at the edge of Domitius’ lip. "Ah, but is she not? We have her to thank, after all."
"Enough of this," Graeson said, stepping in line with Kallie. "Stop delaying. Where is my mother?"
Domitius’ attention turned to Graeson, and he tilted his head, assessing. "I must say, I’m glad to see you didn’t die when the tunnel collapsed. It would have been a pity to have lost someone so..." He paused, rubbing his jaw with his hand before smiling and saying, "Special."
Kallie’s brows twisted together, but before she could question it, Domitius waved his hand. Twigs snapped in the distance, forcing her attention away and toward the figure stumbling through the brush.
"Mother?" Graeson jerked forward, but Kallie quickly grabbed him by the wrist, yanking him back.
The woman lifted her hands to block out the sun. The chains on her wrists rattled.
"Ah, ah. Be a good little guard dog and stay put," Domitius ordered as another winged guard led Lysanthia. "If you move before I say, she dies. Got it?"
As if to prove his point, the guard unsheathed his short sword, and the steel glinted in the sunlight. Without a sound, Lysanthia lifted her chin and kept marching forward.
Graeson went rigid beside Kallie, his chest rising and falling hard with every uneven breath. But he didn’t move.
Domitius smiled at his obedience.
