“Andwhat ofAvlyn?”
Thecorner of her mouth twitched up. “Perhapsthat is closer to unmitigated desires.”
Ihuffed a laugh, surprised.Theflap of the tent opened like it had been pushed by a ghostly hand, but no one entered.Iheard the rustle of feet andPallasandIpeered around the cot.
“Spinner?”Sherolled onto her knees next to the ever-growing spider. “Hey,I’msorry about the shoe.Itwon’t happen again, ok?”
Hegave a pleased chirp before turning his attention to me and hissing.
“Imissed you as well, spider.”
Hehuffed at me before heading over to the cot,trying to settle himself between the twins like a massive dog.Thetwins grumbled and woke.
PallasandIrose, staring down at them.Tori’seyes opened first, and she rolled over, before freezing when she looked up at us.
“Ohgods, what happened?”
“Whathappened?Whathappened?!”Pallaswas vibrating. “Yousank the entireTorrinto the earth and shot out of it like a comet.That’swhat happened!”
“Pallas, too loud,”Junmoaned, covering his ears.Sheducked down and fussed over him again whileTorisat up.Sheplaced an idle pat onSpinner’shead before looking at me.Igrabbed her hand and gave it a soft kiss. “Andhow are you feeling, myWorldBreaker?”
Shegave me a smile that was all teeth. “Readyto take on theGreatHero.”
Chapter 55
Pallas
“Y
oucan’t be serious.”
“‘Fraidso, my lady,”Avlynsaid with a massive grin on their face.
“Thenstop looking so pleased with yourself,”Igrumbled.
“Nocan do!Alright, let’s load in.”Theywrapped an arm around my shoulders and dragged me towards the monstrosity.
Wehad returned toXyrfor a brief respite, but everyone was eager to find the next node in theRiverKingdom.Everyonebut me.Itwould be weeks by horse and carriage.Wedidn’t have time for that, even if the entire continent wasn’t crawling with soldiers trying to press into theGoldenKingdom.So, we had to find another way.
Thatother way was a carriage with its wheels removed and replaced by long planks of wood.Theentire thing was caged in a huge iron frame that had two massive rings on the top.Theprincess stood beside it, grinning nearly as broadly asAvlyn.
“Whatdo you think,Pallas?”Sheslapped the wooden side of the carriage. “Wecould fit a dozenWorldBreakersin here.”
“Ithink there is no chance in the hells thatIam getting in that thing.”
“Why,Pallas,I’mhurt.Doyou not trust me?”Abraxashad come around the side of the “carriage” and his look was positively predatory.
“Noteven a little,”Iadmitted.
Helaughed and slid his arm around the princess’s waist. “Itwas either this or all of you on my back, andIdidn’t wantTorito get jealous.”Torishoved him playfully, andIrolled my eyes.
Avlynsqueezed my shoulders again reassuringly as the royals squabbled.Juncame up on my other side and grabbed my hand.
“It’sthis or a much longer version of our journey to theTorr,” he said with a gentle smile. “You’rewilling to face down a dragon but not fly with one?”
Igrumbled again, but really,Ididn’t have a choice.Ilet them both push me towards our vehicle.Avlynopened the door, careful to avoid the iron frame.Iclimbed inside, and the normal benches had been removed.Thewhole thing was filled with thick fur rugs, blankets, and pillows.Theglass of the carriage windows had been taken out and covered, except for two small slits on either side.
“We’vegot a day’s journey ahead of us.Ifigured it would be better to be comfortable and able to spread out.”Avlynsaid, before jumping into the pile of pillows and stretching out to occupy half the cabin.Junclimbed in next, seating himself delicately against the back wall.Icouldn’t quite force myself inside yet, soIturned to seeTorigivingAbraxasa gentle kiss asIfelt the pull of mana.Heshifted beforeIcould even blink.Bothhe and the princess were getting very good at this.Sheplaced one more kiss on his snout before turning and joining me at the carriage door.
