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“What does that mean?”
“I mean Rychel has never been content. From the moment of her birth, I think.” I felt him sigh. “I suppose it's natural, considering how she came into this world.”
“After what your father did to her mother, you mean?” I said, my stomach turning. “Lovely man, your father. You take after him more than I thought.”
Draven ignored the jibe. “Excalibur is with Orcades. Rychel's taken the grail to the Valtain. The Siabra are exposed. Vulnerable. They need you now more than ever, Morgan.”
I couldn't believe my ears. “Are you seriously trying to persuade me to take responsibility for your people right now, Draven? I have my own problems to worry about. My own people to think of.”
“Wait.”
I heard the crackling sizzle of fire and felt a faint flow of heat as Draven leaned forward.
There was a scream.
I peered down to see a hunter plummeting to the ground, their mount not far behind them.
“I won't be your empress,” I started to say, just as Draven shouted, “Duck.”
A bolt of lightning flashed over us. I twisted in the saddle, evading the onslaught just in time.
Nightclaw soared downwards without another word, taking us towards a new cluster of dark riders.
“No,” I protested sharply. “There are too many of them, Nightclaw. Take us back.”
“Not for me,” Draven declared. “Fly forward.”
Nightclaw responded to the command instantly, leaving me annoyed that Draven could have such an effect on the battlecat not even his own.
Did our bond extend to our exmoors, too, I wondered with a start?
The bond. The fucking bond.
Turning my head, I watched as Draven unleashed a crackling inferno of fire that cascaded out like a sweeping gust of wind.
The group of hunters and mounts ignited, pieces of flesh and burnt wings scattering downwards.
“We've cleaned up the worst of them. We need to get up to the city,” Draven announced.
“How do you do that?” I demanded, feeling both furious and envious at once.
“Do what?”
“Wield my own power better than I can!”
Quiet again. Then, “Well, I've been practicing.”
“For how fucking long?”
“Since we got back from Meridium.”
I clenched and unclenched my fists around the reins. “That long?”
“That long.” Draven's voice was soft. “I thought... If I could master this, then I could teach you, too...”
My temper flared to life. “I don't want you to teach me. I don't want you near me. Not ever again. Not after today. Do you understand that? Do you, Draven?”
He was quiet. “I understand that you feel that way now. But I hope, one day, that you might change your mind.”
