Page 38 of Bite The Power That Feeds

I got into my bedroll beside Larisa and looked up at the cloudy sky. Tomorrow would be overcast, so we would have a great opportunity to destroy the obelisk and make ground on the return journey. That trek should be much shorter than the one here.

“How do you think Aurelias is doing?”

He crossed my mind every day, wondering if he was dead or alive. “I’m sure he’s fine.” He was the only person who had enough clout to sway Father’s opinion, and it was a shame he wasn’t here to do that.

“Yeah, me too.”

“If he doesn’t return by the time this is over, we’ll go after him.”

“I think that’s a good idea.”

She worried about my brother like he was her brother—and that made me love her more.

* * *

At dusk, we packed our things and left.

We continued up the path to the mountain, the steep hill a strain on our bodies. The temperature was cool, so at least we didn’t have to conquer the elements as well as the terrain. Hours passed before we reached the top, the black stones erect and enigmatic in the dull light. I thought I heard a quiet hum against my ear, but it was so faint I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it. Every single one of us was absorbed in the sight of them, the pillars that towered over us with an unquestionable solidarity.

If it weren’t a graveyard of souls, it would look like art.

Queen Clara suddenly released a scream.

We all turned at the sound, and as I unsheathed my blade, I moved in front of Larisa, even though she was covered with armor.

Queen Clara was on the ground, an arrow just beneath her shoulder.

“It’s an ambush!”

Cobra sprinted faster than I’d ever seen him move, getting to her just as the next arrow fired. It bounced off his armor right below his neckline, an arrow meant for her lung. “Come on.” He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her behind one of the pillars of stone, protecting her from the arrows that continued to fire.

I dragged Larisa behind the closest pillar. Viper appeared on the other side.

“What the fuck did I tell you?” Viper snarled, pulling his bow from his back.

“Rebels,” I said. “The same from Evanguard.”

“Clara said she was the only one who knew about this place,” he snapped. “So she’s a damn liar.”

“If she staged this, why would they shoot her?” Larisa said. “She wouldn’t have left her armor behind.”

“To make us think—”

“Viper, we can argue about this later.” I peeked around the corner, seeing a group of five soldiers approaching the stone that protected Cobra and Queen Clara. I recognized the first one on the left. “Toman. She dismissed him from her service when we first came here.”

Viper took a peek too, but then quickly moved back for cover when an arrow fired off. “You’re right.”

“Her father must have told him when he assumed they would be married.”

Viper poked his head out, dodged the arrow that came at him, and then fired off an arrow himself. “Got him in the shoulder.”

“Stay here with Fang,” I said to Larisa.

“Why?” she snapped. “You’re outnumbered.”

“We can handle it. Now, do as I say.”

“I’m an Original, remember?” she spat.