We’re passing through a camp, I think at first, but then I realize as I slowly lift my head that it stretches on forever, all the way to the horizon.
This isn’t a camp. It’s an army.
One of Seth’s armies. They’re taking me to him, or to Adria. It makes no difference which of them they’re taking me to.
They’re taking me to my death.
I close my eyes as the horses stop and someone cuts me from the saddle, letting me slip backwards to the ground. I keep my legs limp, letting them strike and crumple beneath me as if I’m still unconscious.
“Careful with her,” says Larus, coming over to pick me up, handling me gently. “She’s a Verran.”
“She’s a traitor,” says Marina. “She’s why we’re in this mess. We could’ve turned the streets to blood if she didn’t run her big mouth.”
“You don’t know what they might have done to her to make her talk.”
“I don’t need to know. I know what a true Nithyrian would’ve said—nothing. I would have died before giving us up.”
“Don’t worry,” comes a familiar voice from further away. A female voice. “There’s still time for all of that. I’ll kill her myself the moment she stops being of use to us.”
I’m grateful for about half a second before realizing that this situation is really no better than if it were Seth speaking.
It’s Adria.
“Chain her in there,” she tells Larus, gesturing to something I can’t see without letting them know I’m awake. “I’ll deal with her in the morning.”
I hear the barking before I see where they’re taking me—the hounds are caged behind a row of tents on the edge of the camp. There’s not much beyond but the marshy land on the banks of the Mara, land that will soon flood.
Marina has followed Adria off somewhere along with the others, leaving Larus alone to his task. There’s another chance for me here, a chance to get the drop on Larus before I’m at Adria’s mercy, and I’m going to take it.
I glance at the chains before Larus shackles my legs. There’s a gap between the cuffs to allow me to maneuver somewhat, likely so I can avoid soiling myself and making a mess for them to clean up. Only one of each set of shackles is connected to a bar at the back of the large, empty hound cage where they’re planning to keep me.
I know what I have to do.
I keep as still as I can while Larus shackles my arms. The second he cuts the rope that had bound my hands before, I pounce. I throw my shackled hands over his head, shifting my body so that I’m behind him, the chain between my hands cutting into his throat.
He reaches for the chain, fumbling to get his fingers beneath it, but I snap it and pull it tight, suffocating him.
My heart races as I consider what I’m doing. No matter what he’s done to me, could I really kill Larus, the man who raised me? The closest thing I ever had to a parent? The person who taught me everything I know?
Larus pushes backwards against me, freeing him to take in a large gasping breath before I can tighten the chain once more. Gods, this is harder than I thought it would be. My arms feel the strain of exhaustion, and I feel hot streaks running down my face before I realize I’m crying. I’m desperate to get away from here before they can kill me, but I hate every moment of what I’m having to do to leave.
And then the chain snaps.
Larus rushes forward, panting heavily and clutching at his throat. I go for the knife he dropped on the ground and hold it out in front of me.
“Not…bad,” he chokes out. “Almost…got…me.”
“I’ll get you yet,” I say, and I’m just about to launch the knife at him when he laughs, the sound hoarse and strange through his partially crushed throat.
“Wait,” he says. “Godsdammit, wait until…I catch…”
I don’t wait. I fling the knife in his direction, but it doesn’t reach its target. It clatters to the ground harmlessly just a moment before impact.
Fucking hell. “How is your magic so strong?” Larus is earth-born, but while most earth-born are talented with conventional weapons, manipulation of metal is unusual outside of certain families. I’ve seen Larus move his blade with a grace I could barely fathom, but I’ve never seen him knock steel from the air like that. I’ve never seen him shatter an iron chain as he did to free himself.
“Carrying burdens. Standing my ground. Forging alliances.”
He’s listing off some of the actions that strengthen an earth-born, and I see his point. Much as my continuous deception has strengthened my magic, Larus’s actions in readying us for war over the past few months have strengthened his.
