Page 94 of Heart of the Desert

Erix dived into the fray alone, and the skirmishing of the other set of clans spread out behind him. I might have been frustrated that he too would be separated from his forces if I wasn’t so relieved to see him.

We were more powerful together, and perhaps even an army of this size would not be able to stop us once we united. My attention was drawn away from his approach though as Aderyn shouted beside me. Despite her speed and skill, she could not dodge an arrow she didn’t see coming. One whizzed by her, slicing into her bicep and causing her to yelp. Even as she slashed out and cut down her next opponent, I knew it would slow her down after the initial rush of adrenaline.

Erix had to get here before that happened.

I looked up just in time to see a man jump off his horse and try to land behind Erix on Alza. For some reason, this soldier of Viltov wasn’t armored like the rest, and it made him nimbler. He managed to wrap his arms around Erix from behind, but Alza reacted instantly.

Her front hooves lashed out, taking down two more soldiers as she tried to buck the new weight from her back. Erix stayed firmly seated atop her, as if he had been born there, but the soldier from Viltov slid backward.

His fists in Erix’s clothing tightened, threatening to drag them both down. Then Erix’s sash ripped, and the soldier plummeted to the ground. Erix ignored him, not even turning back to dispatch him. Instead, he drove forward with single minded focus.

“Aderyn!” I shouted for her attention. “Fight toward the oasis… Erix is coming!”

She had no breath to spare for words, but she nodded sharply.

With her back still pressed to Daiti’s flank, we began sidling toward Erix, ready to meet him in the middle. The soldiers between us melted away at the strength of our fury until Alza and Daiti were once again side by side, black coat against gold.

The circle around us widened, as if the soldiers were hesitant to approach now that a second mounted warrior stood beside us. I panted heavily in the moment of respite, meeting Erix’s molten eyes.

We had met on the field of battle, and now victory was within our grasp.

Even above the din of an already raging battle, a growing surge of pounding hooves could be heard. I twisted on Daiti’s back and saw a wave—just as powerful as I had seen at the ocean—barreling toward us. A second charge, led by four lords at the front.

They had regrouped for another advance, and the weakened lines of Viltov crumpled beneath their onslaught. They crashed around us, enveloping the three of us in the safety of allies. Aderyn slumped against Daiti, exhausted but safe as our opponents were pushed back.

“Retreat!”

The cry went up from the direction of Viltov’s decimated camp, spreading as more and more commanders echoed the order.

The forces began to melt around us, all nearly tripping over each other in their efforts to get away from the deadly horsemen of the clans.

“Make the oasis secure!” I ordered, pointing my saber toward the water. Then I froze. There, on the far side of the oasis, was a tight knot of Viltov’s cavalry. They all seemed to be surrounding a single rider on a dull chestnut horse I recognized from rides around the city a lifetime ago.

Stump was not a warhorse, but Calix himself commanded the battle from his back, nonetheless. He was here. And we had one opportunity to end him before he disappeared back behind the walls of his city.

Oddly, though, he did not seem to be retreating yet. He and his guard hesitated as if waiting for something.

“Erix! We have to give chase.”

I looked at him as I gestured wildly in the direction of Calix. But his eyes were wide and unseeing, with the hand that was not holding his sword in a white knuckled grip pressed to his abdomen.

Chapter thirty-three

Erix

Keera’s relieved face was gone. My vision was pure white. My entire world was an extended scream. It was Kelvar’s voice, but the desert’s as well.

The Heart. My Heart is gone. You let them take it.

It was barely words, but I understood their terrible meaning, nonetheless. With the tiny fraction of my consciousness that remained in my body, I reached for my sash, where I carried the Heart.

But it was gone. The comfortable squeeze of the fabric around my ribs I was used to had loosened when Alza threw off our assailant. I had thought of nothing in the moment but ridding myself of an obstacle keeping me from Keera.

But now the Heart had fallen somewhere on this field of battle.

No. You let them take it.

Fingers clawed at my wrist, as if trying to pull it away from the empty fabric where the Heart had been tucked. I gasped, feeling the air filling my lungs in a desperate rush as my mind snapped back into my skull with a violent crack.