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“Thrilled to be our guard this day, Ambassador?” I asked, trying to keep the nerves hidden in my voice. My unease would do us no good.
“Always.” Ari smiled. He did not ramble, did not expound. Perhaps he was as uneasy as me.
We did not say much as we trekked into the forest. Occasionally, we’d pick something and place it in our packs. Ari would scan the treetops as we walked.
“Still looking for your raven?” I asked.
“I’ve seen less of the beast,” he admitted. “But it’s an unnerving sensation knowing its beady little eyes are likely out there watching.”
“When this is all over, you should claim it as your pet.”
“I might do that,” Ari said, forcing a laugh through his tension. “Might be a stunning addition to my mystery to have a raven atop my shoulder and have everyone wonder about its true purpose. Does it share wisdom like Huginn and Muninn? Does it steal for me? Is it a companion since I have no lover who warms my bed?”
“Ah, it takes quite a man to admit such things,” Sofia said.
“It is no secret,” Ari said, grinning. “Who has the time to pleasure a woman—and I assure you she would be wholly ruined in the greatest of ways if I had the time—when my bleeding folk keep joining wars from which I must constantly save them?”
I did not have time to finish laughing at his quip before the ground shattered out from beneath us. I screamed from the dip and braced to greet the harsh earth. The three of us landed with a grunt. Dust and debris billowed around our heads.
Sofia cursed and rubbed her head, staggering to her feet.
Ari groaned and rolled on his shoulder. “Three hells, I tire of falling into holes.”
A shadow crept over the edge of the burrow, drawing my eyes to the mouth of the hole. “Hodag, what have you done?”
Behind the twitchy troll a row of skydguard trained their blades at us, sneering with a twisted sort of glee.
Hodag fiddled with her dirty fingers. “Sorry, queenie. I like my queenie more.”
“Gods, I do hate traitors,” Ari grumbled.
We were helpless to escape. Skydguard descended into the hole. The only blade we had was promptly snatched from Ari’s sheath before the ambassador and Sofia were pinned to the ground and bound in chains.
I lifted my chin in defiance when three guards forced me to my knees, tugging my hair back as they slipped a magisk collar over my neck. I was ashamed of the sharp wince I gave them after the boiling silver burned my skin.
My stomach dropped when another face peered into the burrow. His pearl white robes were dirty at the hem from trudging through the woods. His grin was the sort of expression only a man who loved to kill for the fun of it could wear.
“Take the others to the dungeons,” the Benevolent said. “No doubt we can find a way to negotiate with their respective kingdoms. But take the memory thief to our king. Call her an early gift for his vows.”
A burlap sack was roughly tossed over my head, and I was thrown into darkness.
CHAPTERFORTY-TWO
THE NIGHTRENDER
Angry clouds littered the sky.Almost like day knew dreary things awaited us.
Malin had been gone for nearly a clock toll, and I could not keep my eyes off the trailhead.
“Kase,” Luca said, nudging my ribs. “Eat something. We have a long day of preparation ahead of us.”
I glanced at the wooden plate in his hands. A bit of bread and dried fish. The idea of eating made my stomach sour. I took the plate to appease him but made no move to eat. Together, Luca and I strode to the long canvas tent where we had maps of the Black Palace strewn about.
Halvar and Niklas muttered in low tones about a potential area to attack during the vow masque. From the corner of the tent, Elise caught my eye. She let out a nervous breath, set a horn of some drink on the ground, and came to me.
“This feels like the moment we met, Nightrender,” she whispered. “The same desperation and anticipation for a rising battle is in the air.”
I nodded, holding her gaze. She understood the unyielding pressure on my chest better than anyone in this tent. “Agreed, Queen.”
