“Romeria! Run, or I will carry you,” Jarek warns.
My legs move of their own accord, and we take off in a sprint. Behind us, metal whistles and thuds to the ground, too close for comfort. I reach for Aoife’s thread to form a shield but I can’t seem to grasp it. Either it’s spent or I’m too distraught by the lifeless body ahead.
Another deafening screech from above has me ducking and I sense Caindra sweeping down.
All this just to end up eaten by a dragon.
The ground suddenly trembles and I stumble, falling.
Jarek dives to haul me back to my feet in a heartbeat. He checks over his shoulder. “Fates.”
I dare follow his gaze.
Caindra has landed in the charred strip, her massive body overtaking the royal garden, bending tree branches and hedges on either side. Shouts sound, but I can’t see anything past her.
My fingertips dig into Jarek’s forearms as my legs wobble under the ferocity of that stare. But she remains where she is, the finer details of her form hidden in the dusk.
“Why is she watching us like that?” I whisper.
“She’s blocking their path,” Jarek says. “She’s helping us get away.”
With a roar that makes me wince, as if she can hear and understand our words, Caindra swings her mammoth, spiked head toward the castle and opens her mouth. A stream of fire shoots from it.
“Go. Now!” Jarek has one arm around my waist, practically carrying me as we run the rest of the way to the nymphaeum. We’ve almost reached it when she emits another terrifying sound and launches herself back into the air.
I peer back at the empty space left. The guards who were there before are all gone. Jarek was right—she was helping us escape. If only she had gotten there before Boaz found us.
“Romeria, just a little more to get us home, okay?” Jarek coaxes my attention back to him, nodding toward the stone, his grip tight around me.
I manage to pull enough of my affinities to get us through the door.
Only when I touch Ulysede’s stone floor again do I allow myself to dissolve in tears.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
ZANDER
“The taillok will arrive at dawn with a message from Romeria, confirming all is well,” Elisaf assures me as we stroll through the officers’ quarters. Firelight and soft laughter surround us from all sides as soldiers attempt to shake the anxiety that gnaws at them, knowing this might be their last full night of life.
“I am sure you are right.” And yet I worry.
We pass by Abarrane’s tent, where Aziel and Drakon stand sentry outside, pretending not to listen to the heady sounds of coupling within, their hands gripping their pommels, ready to slay the other should there be any sign of treachery.
“How many gold coins do you owe me?” Elisaf whispers.
“It is you who owes me.” A more predictable commander, I have never met. “She must have low hopes for our success tomorrow.”
Elisaf’s humor vanishes. “She’s not the only one.”
I sigh. “Come. We must be there to greet Radomir before someone mistakes him for the enemy and starts a war too soon.” If they’re not halfway through Soldor, having abandoned their loyalties.
Gaellar and her company of soldiers are already at the watchtower when we arrive, their swords aimed at the twenty saplings. Not one horse is able to stand still, sensing their riders’ apprehension.
Radomir actually kept his word.
“What a warm greeting to the rift by our allies, Your Highness!” he declares with a flourish, flashing his jagged teeth.
“Weapons down,” I order, moving between the two groups, ignoring the way the soldiers wait for Gaellar’s nod before following. “They do not need an escort. They will remain with me until they return to Soldor.”
“As you wish, Your Highness.” Gaellar turns her horse. “With me!” They ride back toward camp as if wanting to get away from the saplings as quickly as possible.
I sigh. “You enjoy antagonizing people, don’t you?”
“When they aim swords at me for no reason other than what I am? I thrive on it.” Radomir is behaving far more like the arrogant sapling we first met outside Ulysede’s gates, but I’ve seen the other side of him now, and I know there is an Islorian hidden deep inside, impatient to come out. His dark gaze scans the countless tents. “What news of the rift? Anything vital?”
“Several attacks by wyverns over the last few days.”
“Given what’s been crawling out lately, I’m not surprised. And the Ybarisans with you? Have they made them feel equally welcome?”