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Leap looked into the soldier’s eyes, and saw the unspoken words there. The soldiers hated Ryker nearly as much as he did, and wanted to be rid of him. Leap would be doing them a favor by taking his cousin off their hands.
“Fine.” Leap raked a hand through his spiky hair, then turned away. “Hurry and get on, before I changed my mind.”
* * *
Even with Leap and Ryker using their combined wind magic to clear a path through the snow storms, it still took them two full days to reach Angtun. Between battling the winds, taking shelter in caves for the night, forcing sleeping draughts down Tempest’s throat, and dealing with Ryker’s constant criticisms, Leap was ready to throw himself on one of the city's gleaming spires and end it all right then and there.
The lighting riders guarding the city entrances paused at the sight of Leap, but as soon as they realized Ryker and Tempest were with him, they allowed him through. An escort was assigned to them, and they were brought directly to the palace, where Tempest was handed off to the healers.
Leap was so exhausted that all he wanted to do was collapse into bed. But as he expected, his Uncle Oren summoned them into his study, refusing to give them the chance to eat or clean up first.
“This is a first,” his uncle growled, pacing in front of the fireplace. Leap and Ryker watched him silently, unused to seeing Lord Oren exhibit this kind of frenetic energy. The leader of the Gaoth Aire usually kept his emotions tightly controlled, but the air around him crackled with power, so much so that various objects in the room levitated every time Oren got too close to them. Leap would have found it amusing if the situation hadn’t been so dire. “I’ve never been so conflicted as to whether to reward or punish someone under my command, never mindtwosomeone’s.”
“Do you think maybe you could feed us while you decide?” Leap suggested. He wasn’t trying to be snarky, but after three days of hard travel with very little rest, he was feeling lightheaded. “I think we’ve earned some food, seeing as how we brought back Tempest safely and all.”
Uncle Oren snapped his fingers at a servant, who scurried from the room. “Tell me how you found her, and why she is in this condition,” he ordered Leap. “You’ve been running around the entire country—I know you know something about all this.”
“I’m the one who tracked her down,” Ryker said stiffly. “I’ve been sending out scouts for weeks to scour the borders, and one of them reported seeing her near that village. Leap just swooped in at the very end.I’mthe one who did all the hard work.”
Lord Oren’s raptor eyes flashed, and a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky outside the study window. “Your sister is lying in the infirmary, her body riddled with shadow infection, and all you can think about is getting proper credit for finding her?”
His words snapped through the air like a whip crack, and Ryker took a step back as though Oren had physically struck him. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he said. “But I—”
“But nothing.” Lord Oren’s lips thinned. “You disobeyed my orders and left the safety of the city. Officer Kil sent a battle report to Gale ahead of your arrival—If Leap hadn’t shown up, you would have been killed, and I would have lostbothof my heirs.” He turned to Leap, dismissing Ryker. “Now, tell me why my daughter is in this condition.”
The servant came back into the room with a platter of sandwiches, and Leap told Uncle Oren everything between mouthfuls of meat and bread. He explained that Nox had planted a piece of her shadow into all the hostages, and his theory that the shadow magic had reacted badly with Tempest, turning her into this monstrous creature. He also told Oren about Nox’s master plan, and that instead of rising to the bait of General Slaugh’s attacks, they should evacuate the border town and villages, and do everything they can to avoid the conflict.
“You’re suggesting we sit back and do nothing?” Ryker scoffed incredulously. “That we just hide out in the mountains and allow this Nox to get away with what she’s done to Tempest?”
Leap ignored Ryker. “We have to wait until Adara completes the ritual,” he insisted to his uncle. “If we attack now—”
A knock on the door interrupted him, and a healer entered the room. “Apologies for the interruption,” she said, “but I wanted to update you on Tempest.”
“Yes.” Uncle Oren returned to his seat behind his desk. “Speak. How is my daughter?”
“She is severely malnourished,” the healer said, “and her entire body is riddled with shadow taint. We have tried giving her everbright potion, but the potion is meant to be used as a preventative, not a cure, so it hasn’t done much. Her mind has almost completely been taken over by the shadow taint, and she nearly killed two of our healers when they removed her restraints to do an examination. We’ve been forced to sedate her again for our own safety.”
Uncle Oren clenched his jaw. “Is there nothing that can be done to make her more comfortable, at least?”
“Other than sedating her, no.” The healer shook her head sadly. “We are feeding her just enough to ensure she doesn’t waste away, but if we give her too much food, we won’t be able to contain her. She’s too powerful, and the shadow taint makes her resistant to normal magical restraints.” She hesitated. “May I speak plainly, Lord Oren?”
“Yes.”
The healer swallowed. “I know how much you love your daughter, my lord. But she would not want to live on in this condition, and I don’t believe it's in her best interests to force her. If you wish, we can give her a stronger sedative. One that will allow her to peacefully pass on and free her from this torment.”
The silence that descended upon the room was so thick and oppressive, Leap thought he would choke on it. It was like sitting in the middle of a thundercloud right before it released a storm.
“Thank you,” Lord Oren finally said. Leap didn’t think he’d ever heard his uncle speak so quietly. “You may leave us.”
The healer bowed, then hastily retreated, shutting the door behind her with a soft click. Lord Oren steepled his fingers, staring into the fire for so long, Leap wondered if he’d been dismissed, too.
He was just about to leave the room when his uncle finally spoke. “You said Adara went to find someone to help her complete the ritual. If she does, and she gains this icefire power, will she be able to cure Tempest’s affliction?”
“Yes,” Leap said, even though he wasn’t sure that was true. But he did know that if his uncle believed Adara was his best bet for Tempest’s survival, he would do everything in his power to support her.
“Very well.” He met Leap’s gaze. “Then I will tell the healers to keep Tempest alive until Adara returns.”
“And the border villages?” Leap asked. “You’re going to evacuate them?”
