I was so focused on Rhyne, I didn’t see the worm that rose out of the lava right beneath us until it was almost too late. Looking down, seeing those jaws of death coming for us, I instantly threw my body weight to the side, causing Ratuk to swerve sharply to the left. The worm’s teeth struck Ratuk’s shell as the jaws closed, and the rock beetle plummeted, trying desperately to right himself. I saw the spinning magma pool coming at us and leaned backward as far as I could, hoping to steady the rock beetle’s free fall.
There was a jarring impact as Ratuk landed on one of the boulders harder than we intended, and the jolt threw me halfway over the saddle horn. Only Raithe’s firm grip around my waist kept me from being hurled out of the saddle entirely. Ratuk snorted, shaking his head, dazed by the sudden stop.
Panting, I looked up... into the gaping jaws of a worm.
And then Rhyne flew in from the side, slamming his horninto the worm’s head. The huge creature screamed as it was knocked aside, then whipped around and breathed a stream of magma as Rhyne flew away. My heart seized. The lava arc barely missed the rock beetle, but then Rhyne flew upward, above the worm and the stream of fire.
Three more worms rose out of the lava, splashing magma against the edges of the rock and raining it from the air. They hissed, jaws opening as they stared down at us.
“Human Fateless!”
Meeka sped toward us, bouncing over rock and magma, his tiny body zipping from side to side to avoid the lava rain. With one last leap, he landed on Ratuk’s head, his eyes glowing white as they peered up at me. Above us, the worms screamed and lunged, three sets of open maws descending like an avalanche of teeth and flesh.
The world went black.
Eighteen
I gasped, and the world blinked into focus once more.
Breathing hard, I looked around, trying to see where we were. To our right was a wall of stone with pillars and broken rock scattered about the base. To the left, the magma field stretched far below us, the distant forms of the lava worms still writhing about in futile rage.
“We’re at the temple,” I whispered. Stunned, I glanced at Meeka. The jair’oa still sat on Ratuk’s head, but his eyes were closed, and his small body was hunched over, trembling. “Meeka... how? I thought your magic was gone.”
“Is gone now.” The jair’oa opened his eyes, which had returned to being shiny black, and peered up at me. “No magic left. Meeka used last of magic to blink you here.”
I blew out a shaky breath. “You didn’t have to do that, Meeka.”
“Meeka made promise.” The jair’oa shook himself and ran both paws over his ears. “Meeka will get human Fateless to goddess loom. Lava grub would have eaten Fateless if Meeka didn’t help.”
Behind me, Raithe slid out of the saddle and dropped to the ground. He gave a barely audible grunt of pain as he landed, and I looked down in alarm. A coin-size hole adorned the back of his tunic over his shoulder blade, the edges burned and black.I suddenly felt the pain in my own leg and found a similar hole where a drop of liquid fire had landed, searing through my clothes. Thankfully, the wound was small, though it still throbbed like a knife had been jammed into me.
“Rhyne is coming in,” Raithe muttered, gazing at the sky. His tone was a warning. “Something is wrong, though. I think he might’ve been hit by one of the worms.”
No.
I dropped out of the saddle and gave Ratuk a quick inspection. There were several tiny black spots in his carapace where droplets had hit him but, thankfully, no major injuries.
All of that was forgotten as Rhyne landed on the platform with a frantic buzzing of wings. My stomach curled as I turned toward him. Half the beetle’s carapace was scorched black, with charred bits of shell peeling off, and worse, Kysa was slumped in the saddle, one arm curled into her body.
I hurried toward them, as Halek and Raithe worked together to gently lower the insect rider to the ground. Rhyne was extremely agitated, snorting and tossing his head, as Raithe pulled Kysa from the saddle and sank to the ground with her.
My heart dropped. The insect rider’s entire left arm was burned, smoke curling from melted armor. Kysa’s face was white with agony, her jaw clenched, as Raithe released the armor piece and removed it as carefully as he could. The armor sleeve came away, revealing charred red skin stretching from her wrist to halfway up her shoulder.
Horror filled me. “Kysa...”
“Apologies, Fateless.” Kysa’s voice was stiff, forcing the wordsout around the agony she had to be feeling. “I was careless. The armor took most of the damage but still...” She gritted her teeth, her other fist clenching at her side. “I don’t think I will be fighting anytime soon.”
“Halek,” Raithe said, scanning the terrible wound with a grim, practiced eye. “There are bandages and gauze in Rhyne’s saddlebags. Sparrow,” he added as Halek nodded and immediately began rummaging through the supplies. “We still have several of the pain potions from Irrikah.”
“Do not waste pain potions on me,” Kysa gritted out as I returned with a vial of milky white liquid. “This was my mistake. As a warrior, I must live with the consequences of my actions.”
Raithe put a hand on her noninjured arm, his gaze intense. “It is not a mistake to save the lives of your teammates,” he told her. “Sparrow and I would have died were it not for you and Rhyne. If easing your pain means getting you back on your feet sooner, I would much rather have you at my side in battle than not.”
She glared at him a moment, then sighed. “You make a good point, kahjai,” she admitted. “It almost makes me forget that you are the servant of a Deathless.” Raithe didn’t answer, and Kysa closed her eyes, breathing hard. “I am tired of this,” she whispered at last, opening her eyes. “This wound will not kill me. I will survive, and I will keep fighting to end the threat of the Deathless. But were I to fall, kahjai,” she went on, staring directly at Raithe, “I need to be certain that you will continue our task—to protect the Fateless until she stands before the king.”
“You already know my feelings for Sparrow,” Raithe said in avery soft voice, making my insides turn wildly. “I regret to admit that I have ignored your advice regarding the matter.”
Kysa, even through the pain, managed an exasperated chuckle. “It might shock you to learn this, but that comes as no surprise, iylvahn,” she said. She glanced at me, a half smile curling one corner of her lip. “The two of you are about as subtle as a pair of courting stonebeaks.
