As soon as he says it, there’s a loudcrackfrom the north, a deafening thunderclap, though there has been no lightning.
Minta hunches her wings and gives a soft, fearful cry. I feel as though something terrible has happened, and a cold shiver passes through me.
“Then I must find Prince Zabriel and join him.” With the king and queen both dead, the capital may have fallen, and Zabriel could be dead as well. The whole family wiped out by the former prince. “Was the dragonmaster and his white dragon part of the army that went into the mountains?”
Oren shakes his head. “I don’t know. I would imagine that Prince Zabriel would have wanted the most experienced riders with him.”
Yes, he would have. I start breathing faster, and panic claws at my chest. I told Stesha that his heart is made from ice. I told him that I’d never forgive him, and those could be the last words he ever hears from me.
“I must go north,” I gasp, and run for Minta.
But the air shimmers between me and my dragon, and though it should be impossible, a familiar figure in the robes of a mage, instead of the expensive attire of a prince, steps out of nowhere.
Emmeric smiles a crafty, pointed smile as he sees me. “There you are. I wondered where you could have got to when I didn’t see you among the dragon army.”
That thunderclap a moment ago echoes in my ears, and I feel a horrible premonition. “What have you done to the dragon army?”
His gaze flicks up and down my body, taking in all the signs that I’ve been ravaged by lavish sickness. Then he laughs. “Look at what he’s done to you. Tell me, are you regretting giving him your heart instead of me?”
“After what you did to Mirelle? Not for a moment.”
Behind me, I hear the sound of a sword being unsheathed. Oren steps protectively in front of me, his expression thunderous.
Emmeric takes in Oren’s white hair and his height and breadth. He gives me a pitying look. “Really, Zenevieve? You have whored yourself out to this pale imitation of the dragonmaster? You are sopathetic.”
“You will not speak to her in this manner. I’m warning you only once. Surrender, or I will cut you down whether you are armed or not.”
“Oren, be careful. I think he’s dangerous.”
Emmeric smiles wider, and I wonder if it’s my imagination, but for a moment I see green flames flicker in his eyes. “Turn andwalk away, soldier. Maledin is mine now, and things are going to be very different from now on. I’m taking the lady with me.”
Ice water floods my veins as I remember what he did to Mirelle. I’m not carrying my sword. I’ve been unable to lift it since I’ve been sick.
“You will not,” Oren says through his teeth, pointing the tip of his sword at Emmeric. He reaches out and grasps me tightly by the hand. He must be able to smell the panic in my scent. “It’s all right, I won’t let him hurt—”
Oren breaks off with a sharp intake of breath. Emmeric has lifted his hand. There is a strange flash of light, and when I turn to Oren, I see that a bloody, dripping hole has been punched right through his chest, and I can see daylight on the other side.
Oren’s hand on mine tightens and then goes limp. He stares at me in bewilderment, trying to speak but unable to, and then he crumples to the ground. Dead.
I know he must be dead because no one can survive with a hole in their chest, but I can’t comprehend what is happening.
Minta screams and lunges at Emmeric, teeth first. The former prince waves his hand, and a lightning bolt hits her, paralyzing her body. I scream as the pain she’s feeling slams into me. My dragon can’t move, can’t fight, and neither can I.
Emmeric draws a long knife out of nowhere, raises the blade, and thrusts it into Minta’s chest. With supernatural strength, he pulls the knife downward, ripping her open. With blood-covered hands, he reaches in and tugs something out. Something glowing. Her soul core. The part of Minta that makes her a dragon. Her jaws are parted in a silent scream. I feel her die, but the lightning keeps her aloft, like a puppet on strings.
Emmeric has ripped her soul from her body, and what feels like mine along with it. I fall to my knees, and the world goes black.
PART II
New Maledin
21
Stesha
I’m dreaming that the world has ended, a painful, dragonless nightmare that never ceases. I’m lost in a timeless white void, unable to move or think or breathe. All the while I’m pierced by a terrible sense of dread that I’ve lost something important. Turned my back on it and let it slip through my fingers.
I open my eyes, and white light pierces my skull. I fling an arm up before my face as cold wind slices through my body. Nilak. Where’s Nilak? I sense around me with my mind, and relief washes over me as I sense her nearby, though her mind feels as sluggish and confused as my own.
