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"I'll take care of her," he promised. "You look after Zamanya. We'll be back together before you know it."
"You have four weeks," she said, a stunning ultimatum that reminded Azrail that he and Ev were matched in cleverness and grudge-holding. "Four weeks, and then I'm hauling Caliax to the Forest of Skies with the rest of the militia."
"Five," he attempted to bargain.
Ev bared sharp fae teeth. "Four, Kallen."
Ugh. "Alright," he relented. Evrille was deadly serious if she was using his birth name.
He snared her with an arm around her neck, kissing her temple and struggling to let her go. He had to; this was best for everyone. And at leastshewouldn't be anywhere remotely near whatever had eaten its way through a whole village of people.
"You could stay, too," Ev offered, squeezing him around the waist.
"Tempting," he agreed.
"But you're obsessed with doing the right thing?" she guessed. "Damned do-gooder."
Az snorted, releasing her and forcing himself to put distance between them.
Ev cleared her throat, burying her emotions. "I put salves and tonics in Jaro's bag for Maia—make sure she uses them."
"You've already warned me to take care of her," he noted. "I'm not gonna hurt her again, Ev."
She sighed, and he realised what she was doing: stalling for time. So he grabbed his bag and made it easier on both of them. "I've gotta go find Sio," he said, and ignored the tightening of anxiety in his chest.
If this goodbye had been difficult, the next was going to be downright agonising.
* * *
Azrail'sback prickled with sweat as he pushed down his volatile smoke power and called on his familiar, comforting earth magic. They’d gathered in a smaller courtyard off the back of the map room—him, Maia, Jaro, Ark, Kheir, and Bryon—staring at the empty space in front of a tall oak tree.
He didn't understand the crackling atmosphere, especially between Maia and Bryon who seemed to hate each other, but he had to shut out his awareness of the tension as he reached out to the massive tree and begged its branches for help.
Maia let out a low, impressed whistle as the branches lengthened and knotted into a ring in the middle of the yard. Green power filled Az's hands as he lifted them, and immediately the view of the oak tree within the ring flashed to another place: the verdant edge of the Forest of Skies, four hours from the Venhaus border. It was as close as Azrail could get them in a single jump.
"Ready?" he asked, glancing over at his family and jolting a little at the sight of Bryon inconspicuously among them, the ex-military man scowling beside Jaro with his arms crossed over his bulky chest. Az half expected to see Vawn with him, the team that had gone with him into the palace, but of course the courtesan wasn't there.
They'd get him back, and uncover what the chasm was happening in Venhaus—what his parents had known, and been killed to keep secret.
"And this thing won't rip us into tiny pieces?" Maia asked, moving to Azrail’s side and sending a prickle of awareness through him. He managed to hold onto his earth magic, but last night came roaring back at him, making him weak and awed all over again.
"Not a chance, sweetheart," he confirmed, but he caught her wrist as she stepped towards the gateway. "Ark, you go on ahead. Clear the other side."
He expected some pushback, but the guard gave him a stiff nod—reminding Azrail he was as much a soldier as Bryon—and walked confidently through the circle of branches without a glint of hesitation. It seemed Maia wasn't the only one who trusted him, at least to keep them all alive.
Maia stiffened, angling closer to Azrail, and he snaked an arm across her back even as he concentrated on keeping the channel of magic into the gate as steady as possible. It felt damn good to use magic he knew how to control, to have it respond readily instead of tugging at his leash.
A few minutes later, Ark's dark gold head poked through the gateway and he signalled that everything was safe. Maia was off like a shot, and Azrail forced himself to take a breath and stay calm even if having her out of his sight made his stomach tighten into a dozen knots.
She’s okay, Ark’s with her, nothing bad is going to happen while she has us beside her.
"She's fine," Kheir said with a touch of knowing exasperation when he passed. "Ark kept her safe at the palace, she'll be safe with him now."
"Maia was crucified at the palace," Az replied, forcing his tone even.
Kheir winced, not arguing the point.
"Go on." Azrail nodded at the circle of branches, wanting to be on the other side as quickly as possible.
