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“I don’t like it when you go to quiet places on your own,” Malyr said.
“Well, Tjema lost her ability to fly, and that’s really the only way of getting there,” I said. “I doubt that some human assassin scaling a mountain for hours to get to me will go unnoticed. Besides, sometimes, a quiet place and some time to myself is exactly what I need.”
Sebian grinned at that. “Be honest, which one of us is the one you need a break from? Ihaveto know.”
I grinned at that. “That’s simple: you’re both equally annoying at times.”
“Ha! That remark deserves a spanking, but I’ll leave that to Malyr.” He executed a backward somersault in all his naked glory, cock slapping against skin, only to spring up onto his feet with an agility that defied the sluggishness he claimed to feel. “Where do you need me today?”
As Sebian began to clean his teeth by the washstand, Malyr finally rose, giving his braid a squeeze of approval before grabbing his attire for the day. “West, probably. I want to know exactly how many of King Barat’s scouting parties are hiding out there, now that they know thecursehas been lifted from Valtaris.”
Malyr dressed, each layer of his fine ensemble bringing out the straightness of his spine. Then, he turned around and leaned down, placing a soft kiss to my lips.
“I will see you later,anoaley,” he whispered, then straightened and strode out.
“I love you.” Sebian’s kiss followed before he hurried behind Malyr, all while simultaneously trying to hop into his breeches. “Meet me at the market later, sweetheart, and I’ll treat you to some fresh berries.”
I rose and walked over to the small satchel I’d prepared earlier. Nothing more but a comb and soap, light enough for my unkindness to carry.
In a burst of feathers, we unfurled our wings. One of us curled talons into the burlap of the satchel, then we fluttered up and through the flight hole. We drifted on the morning chill along the rock wall, lower, lower, until we slipped into the spring hidden inside a cavity not yet touched by the sun.
With a whisper of shifting energies, I returned to my human form. The satchel, dropped by my unkindness, lay beside me on the ground. I picked it up and carefully set it by the edge of the steaming water just as the wind howled around the columns supporting the overhang.
My skin tingled, the pebbling of gooseflesh a stark contrast to the heat rising from the spring. It didn’t matter; the water would heat me up soon enough.
I took a deep, appreciative breath, savoring the fresh scent of moss and minerals. Casting my gaze over Valtaris, I marveled at how the morning sun glinted off the black roofs, not a single shadow in sight.
My ears pricked.
Footsteps. Behind me.
I swung around. Something slammed into the side of my head with a dullthud. Pain exploded around my temple, spreading across my skull as I staggered sideways. White floaters dotted my vision. My ears rang.
At my next step, my foot slipped on the damp rock. The ground pulled out from beneath me and I paddled my arms, flailing for balance until—
Slap.
My body hit the hard ground. A jerk went through my head just as a sting bit into my tongue, metal seasoning my gums. Something heavy wore down on me.
“No…” I mumbled just as panic flooded my heart, sending it galloping through my chest.
Shift.
We needed to flee.
Energy cleaved through me, parting us into five. We wiggled and writhed, hopped and hurled. We fluttered our wings, only for our feathers to break against the ropes wearing us down.
Trapped!
I found back into my form, filling out the weighted net so completely, I could barely move. “Let me out!”
“Scream as much as you want. Not even that pathfinder puppy of yours will hear you down here.” The dark outline of a figure knelt in my periphery. “You have no idea how many times I’ve waited here for you to show up… I knew you would.”
One hand reached through a hole in the net, squeezing my mouth with a brute force that pried it open. Another one shoved little pieces of something, bark or reeds, into my mouth. They scratched at my gums, bittered my tongue, choked the back of my throat.
I coughed, my entire body shivering against the ice-cold fear numbing my veins. “No—”
A hand sealed over my mouth. “Shift. I need you in your unkindness.”
