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“Because it isn’t Demechnef that has been chasing us,” Niklaus responds with a higher level of confidence. “They’re called the Vexamen Breed.”
Dessin’s brows rise slightly. “I see.” His dark eyes search the snow as if there were more answers buried there.
“Who are the Vexamen Breed?” I cut in.
Dessin’s eyes flicker over to me like he forgot I was here.
“They’re children, well, teenagers that the leaders of Vexamen trained to be vicious soldiers from birth. The same men that slaughter that village.” He looks away, unraveling more questions. “But wait, that doesn’t explain why they tied you up and buried her alive.”
“Maybe they were trying to draw us out?” I say.
Dessin’s eyes fill with panic, an alarm going off in warning red lights and loud claps of thunder. “Where’s DaiSzek?!”
We all look around the area. He was out before us. He took off toward the screams.
“What, the animal? The black wolf?” Niklaus asks. “It took off after the Breed left us here.”
Dessin moves like his body is going up in flames. He yells back at me to stay put. I don’t dare to go against his wishes this time. He has to put all of his focus and energy into making sure DaiSzek is going to be okay.
I usher the group into the cave. The only thing I can do now is restart the fire. The thought crosses my mind that this is a trap for me, that these two strangers are here to kill us. But Dessin wouldn’t have left me with them if he didn’t think they were telling the truth. I feed the couple leftovers from last night and let them get some sleep. Meanwhile, I wait at the edge of the cave with Dessin’s machete and Warrose standing guard.
After what feels like a couple of hours, I watch Dessin trudge through the snow. Fury painted over his face like a warrior coming home from a battle lost. I stand, unable to breathe, unable to feel anything but hopelessness.
“They have him,” Dessin says, completing his last steps to me. “It was a trap to capture him all along. They must have injected him with the saphriness oil.”
“Wait, the country we’re at war with has DaiSzek? Why do they want him?”
Dessin stares down at me with anger boiling under his surface, then shares a quick glance with Warrose.
“Demechnef isn’t the only one after me, Skylenna. It’s been a race for who can get me first.”
Oh my god.
He takes a deep breath, blows it out through his mouth. His eyes might as well be glowing red, cold isolation and a thirst for enemy mutilation.
“It’s time to turn ourselves in. We’re going to need Demechnef’s help.”
“No.” The firm response comes out with a cold bite to it. “There’s no way I’ll go back there. We can get him back ourselves. We can ask the Stormsages for help. Or the Nightamous Horde, right? They all seem built for battle.”
Dessin watches me with a patient, remorseful expression. “If there were any other way, I’d take it. But Demechnef is the most suited for a fight with the Vexamen Breed. Their soldiers have been trained from birth, and I, alone, won’t be able to infiltrate. But Demechnef has the resources, the spies, the manpower, and years of learning the war strategies of their enemy.”
“Dessin… I won’t go back to that cage.” My hands shake with determination. A white-hot flash of uneasiness drapes over me. “And I can’t believe you’d try and make me.”
His furrowed brow softens, and he’s reaching for my hands, stopping them from balling into fists. “You will never go back to that cage. Ever,” he promises. “I have a plan. Something to trade for our immunity. A treaty that will keep us safe while we work with them.”
My stomach rolls. “What if you’re wrong?”
“I swear to God, Skylenna. I won’t ever let them put you in that goddamned cage again.”
I drop my head, still feeling the darkness around my cage. Still stewing in the hopelessness of never getting rescued. Of believing I am all alone.
“I’ve got to save him, baby. Please trust me.”
DaiSzek. My boy. What is he going through? Would they have him in a cage now? I take a deep breath, nodding. I won’t let my fears of stepping foot in that place again stop me from freeing the beautiful animal that has never failed to save me. To protect me.
“I’m in.”
47. The Family Pact
