They stood in awkward silence, and then Ahnna said, “I don’t feel right about this.”
“Right about what?” he asked, still glaring at Aster’s retreating form.
“Lara convinced Aren to leave without you. I can hear the gate being lifted, so they are underway.”
Ahnna shot a sideways look at him. “If you run, you might catch them.”
words. “For a very long time, Harendell was something of an obsession for me, so I made an effort to Without hesitation, Keris broke into a sprint.
Puddles splashed with every impact of his boots, rain lashing him in the face and the humid air burning in his lungs as he circled the lake. Ithicanians stopped what they were doing to watch him
pass, but Keris ignored them, his eyes only for the opening in the rock face that led down to the water.
Faster.
Thunder rumbled, the wind rising, and he knew in his gut that Aren wouldn’t wait for him. Or, more
“She didn’t choose you,” Keris continued, because the Princess had the right to know what she was accurately, that Lara wouldn’t.
Reaching the opening in the rock, he hissed in anger as he saw only a pair of Ithicanians waiting on the platform and no sign of Aren or Lara. Not checking his speed, he jumped down the stairs, landing
“Her feelings are irrelevant,” Ahnna muttered. “Edward rules Harendell, not Alexandra. He signed between them. “Where are they?”
Both men started, one blurting out, “Her Grace said that this task would be easier without you.”
Keris snorted softly. “Alexandra is Harendellian to her core. She’ll kiss both your cheeks and pour
“She can kiss my ass,” he snapped, and shoved past them.
Ledges were carved into the sides of the tunnel, the rock wet and slick, and his boots slid as he raced down them. The slightest misstep would send him toppling into the water, which surged in and out with each roll of waves battering the island. Trust your momentum, he told himself. It will keep you on your feet.
Ahead, he heard the rattle of the portcullis. As he rounded the bend, it was to find the thick steel slowly lowering. A small vessel had just passed beneath it, those armed with paddles fighting hard
“When you weren’t up at the crack of dawn, Lara suggested you’d lost your nerve and would leave against the surf.
Keris eyed the distance between the last ledge and the bottom bars of the portcullis, and a wave of
“Slept late.” Keris kept his eyes on the ground before him. “Too much of your brother’s shitty wine vertigo slammed into him, the world seeming to twist. This should be nothing to you, he silently screamed at himself. Just do it.
Water roared, punctuated by thunder from the rising storm, the noise deafening. None of which was loud enough to drown out the memory of Otis hitting the ground, the heavy, wet crunch that haunted him, infecting him with fear that tried to paralyze him.
But not today.
but because he was afraid the storm would cage him on this island. That his sleeping late would mean Keris jumped, momentum carrying him through the air. His hands closed around the lowest
crossbar of the portcullis, one of the spikes at the base grazing his cheek as he swung beneath it and let go.
Wind slammed against him, the water beneath him deadly, but he kept his eyes fixed on the vessel.
And landed with a thud in the boat.
Falling to his knees, he gripped the sides as it bucked and plunged, water spraying him in the face.
Then he turned his head to find Aren grinning. “I told you he’d make it, Lara,” Aren shouted at his wife over the roar of the surf. “You owe me three pieces of gold!”
“I had the pleasure of coming to know her,” Keris said. “When the attack began, she had the chance Without having to reach into her pocket, Lara held out a hand holding three glittering circles. They were Maridrinian marks, the faces stamped with their father’s image. She dropped them into Aren’s Aster’s jaw tightened. “Idiot girl should have run. She might have brought the warning that stopped hand. “No more secrets, Keris. We need to know the man at our backs.”
He gave a tight nod, adrenaline still flooding his veins and his heart a riot in his chest as his eyes fixed on the waiting ship rising and falling in the waves.
We’re coming. He willed the words into the wind. Please just hang on.
“Lara convinced Aren to leave without you. I can hear the gate being lifted, so they are underway.”
pass, but Keris ignored them, his eyes only for the opening in the rock face that led down to the water.
Faster.
Thunder rumbled, the wind rising, and he knew in his gut that Aren wouldn’t wait for him. Or, more accurately, that Lara wouldn’t.
Reaching the opening in the rock, he hissed in anger as he saw only a pair of Ithicanians waiting on the platform and no sign of Aren or Lara. Not checking his speed, he jumped down the stairs, landing between them. “Where are they?”
Both men started, one blurting out, “Her Grace said that this task would be easier without you.”
“She can kiss my ass,” he snapped, and shoved past them.
Ledges were carved into the sides of the tunnel, the rock wet and slick, and his boots slid as he raced down them. The slightest misstep would send him toppling into the water, which surged in and out with each roll of waves battering the island. Trust your momentum, he told himself. It will keep you on your feet.
Ahead, he heard the rattle of the portcullis. As he rounded the bend, it was to find the thick steel slowly lowering. A small vessel had just passed beneath it, those armed with paddles fighting hard against the surf.
Keris eyed the distance between the last ledge and the bottom bars of the portcullis, and a wave of vertigo slammed into him, the world seeming to twist. This should be nothing to you, he silently screamed at himself. Just do it.
Water roared, punctuated by thunder from the rising storm, the noise deafening. None of which was loud enough to drown out the memory of Otis hitting the ground, the heavy, wet crunch that haunted him, infecting him with fear that tried to paralyze him.
But not today.
Keris jumped, momentum carrying him through the air. His hands closed around the lowest
crossbar of the portcullis, one of the spikes at the base grazing his cheek as he swung beneath it and let go.
Wind slammed against him, the water beneath him deadly, but he kept his eyes fixed on the vessel.
And landed with a thud in the boat.
Falling to his knees, he gripped the sides as it bucked and plunged, water spraying him in the face.
Then he turned his head to find Aren grinning. “I told you he’d make it, Lara,” Aren shouted at his wife over the roar of the surf. “You owe me three pieces of gold!”
Without having to reach into her pocket, Lara held out a hand holding three glittering circles. They were Maridrinian marks, the faces stamped with their father’s image. She dropped them into Aren’s hand. “No more secrets, Keris. We need to know the man at our backs.”
He gave a tight nod, adrenaline still flooding his veins and his heart a riot in his chest as his eyes fixed on the waiting ship rising and falling in the waves.
We’re coming. He willed the words into the wind. Please just hang on.
SHE’D STAYED UP until the wee hours, picking Daria’s brain about the rebels in the south, who were led by someone called the commander whose identity was apparently a secret that Zarrah had yet to earn the right to know. Their stronghold was in the city of Arakis, which was close to the border between Valcotta and Teraford. The Queen of the Ters kept the rebels supplied with weapons and armor, for she was keen to maintain the buffer between her small kingdom and the empire.