Page 64

Chapter

Forty-Two

ARA

The man walks back and forth in front of me while I look straight ahead at the forest, which taunts me with the hope of escape.

Who is he? And what does he want?

As if he heard my questions, he starts to talk.

“I saw you, you know.” The man laughs cruelly.

“He attacked a dragon for you. How very heroic.” He stops in front of me.

“How about I add a little tragedy to your love story?” My stomach drops, but I don’t react, not that I could have without giving myself away.

He runs his hands over my shoulders, pushing the ripped shirt down my arms before he traces my scars.

Inside my head, I scream and rage at him to take his hands off me.

“What do you think”—he looks at me, contemplating—“if I offer you up all bloody and weak, will he sacrifice himself to rescue you?” His assessing gaze runs over me, and I want to cover myself. But I keep my curse in check and stay as still as he commanded.

My mind scrambles for a way out of this, for something to defend myself with. But the only weapons around is the knife he took from me. He starts running a blade up and down my arm, scraping lightly without causing real harm…yet.

“He didn’t like the dragon cutting you, but he does seem to like scars,” he muses. He sneers while he traces a long scar running down my arm—a sword practice accident when I was fourteen. I imagine slapping his hand away.

“Let’s add some for him to admire.” He runs the dagger along my collarbone next, softly at first, increasing the pressure gradually until it bites into my skin. I gasp at the pain, clenching my teeth to keep from screaming.I will not give him that satisfaction.

The trickle of blood is warm on my chilled skin, and the cut burns long after he stopped, but I can’t see it, so I try my best to ignore it.

Think, Ara.

“I waited for you at the base, and you didn’t disappoint. The way he held you when you got back. Just think how fascinating it became when I found out that the female visitor never left, but a Grayson Summer never returned the evening before.”

He circles me, and I probably would have flinched every time the cold steel touches my skin if his magic hadn’t prevented me from doing so.The next cut draws a quiet hiss from my lips.

“It seems the prince has a weakness for you.”

Prince?

He must see the confusion in my eyes because he laughs. “Oh, he didn’t tell you, did he? It’s rather tragic, I guess.” He chuckles, clearly enjoying this. His talking buys me time to think, but I have a hard time ignoring him when he talks about Tate.

I glare at him, and he laughs.

“He won’t stop me. You won’t save him. Accept it.” He says it like it’s a fact and shakes his head when I keep glaring.

I will not accept that.

“Playing hero is a very ungrateful role, or have you seen anyone thanking your dear prince? He resigned to save the day and earns nothing but hate.” My heart squeezes painfully for Tate and everything he endured. No wonder he kept anyone at arm’s length.

Then another thought strikes, and I’m stunned. He resigned…that means Tate had been the crown prince, so unless we are talking about another country here…

I was betrothed to Tate for half my life?

The man keeps talking, but I don’t hear anything over the ringing in my ears.

Hope unfurls in my chest and determination.

I will go along with my family's plan, but the original one. He has given up so much, but I won’t give up on him.

I want Tate, and I will find a way to make it happen, but first, I have to get away.

“And now you will help me settle his debt,” he ends, but I’ll be damned if I do.

I let my eyes roam, looking for anything to take him down.

There is the fire, but he’s much heavier than me, and I’m not sure I’ll manage to push him that far. My gaze catches on the stones surrounding the fire.

I wait until he’s behind me before I lunge for them.

“You bitch.” He tackles me from behind, landing on me and knocking the air out of my lungs. My fingers are just short of reaching the stones. I stretch but lose focus when he slams my face into the ground.

A blinding pain explodes from my nose outward, the sickening crack telling me more than I want to know. His full weight on my back and his hand pressing my face into the dirt makes it hard to breathe.

I buck and wriggle, trying to throw him off, but it’s no use.

“You are a lively thing, I give you that. Maybe we should have a little fun before I hand you over. What do you think?” I stiffen, panic bubbling up inside me.

No.

“How did you manage to get out of my bind?” he muses. “Do you have a protection spell hidden somewhere? Don’t worry, I’ll find it.”

He gets off my back, and I throw myself forward, blindly grabbing for a stone. My fingers graze the coals, leaving stinging burns. The pain gets even worse when my hand closes around the hot stone, but I don’t let go.

He flips me around, and I swing. My arm vibrates with the impact, but my eyes still water so badly, I’m not sure where I hit him.

It’s enough to make him back off, though, and I scramble back, nearly falling into the flames in the process.

I throw my weight to the side, trying to scramble to my feet, but the bastard is on me before I can. His hands clasp around my throat.

He squeezes.I’m still winded from my fall, and it doesn’t take long for dark spots to dance over my vision. He kneels over me, pressing and pressing, waiting for me to pass out.

No.

I pull my leg up as hard as I can. It’s a little awkward and without much force, but the aim is perfect. He howls with pain, clutching his crotch.

Air floods my lungs, and I take in as much as I can get. My throat burns and scratches with every inhale, but my vision starts clearing. Crawling, I drag myself away from him, my legs too weak to get up just yet.

I’m slow, but I’m glad about every bit of space between us. Something glints in the sunlight, and I turn to it, crawling as quick as I can.

Please be something sharp and pointy.

But it’s the medallion I ripped from Livia’s neck during our fight. She didn’t pick it up. There is a flame etched into its surface, and I realize that is how she got her hands on the magic flames despite the regulations. I grab it and start to get up when a roar sounds behind me.

A boot hits my side, sprawling me onto my back. My attacker is back on me, straddling me, smashing my head into the ground repeatedly.

I shove at him, but he doesn’t let up. My view starts to get wonky, and the throbbing in my head intensifies with every hit. My fingers scrabble with the clasp of the medallion, fighting to open it.

“Barely alive.” He grunts, smashing my head into the ground. “Is plenty… for an exchange.” My head hits the ground after each exclamation. “No need… to survive.” Spittle hits my face. He’s past enraged.

He will kill me.

Finally, the medallion flips open. I can’t see it and don’t have much room to move. I just hope it touches his clothes somehow.

I wish for him to go up in flames, but it takes two more impacts before he notices the flames crawling up his body.

He jumps up, his hands batting at the flames. But magical fire is much harder to extinguish.

The flames spread, and the glow of the flames is visible despite the world spinning around me. He screams, then he takes off, leaving a trail of flames behind him.

I don’t care where he runs as long as it’s away from me. My eyes close.

I need a minute.

Tate

Smoke starts billowing up from the forest below, and by the time I realize it’s not just a campfire, a chunk of the forest is already ablaze. Even without seeing the flames up close, the speed at which the fire spreads makes me suspicious. This is too quick for a regular fire.

“Get the message out,” I tell Daeva.

“Already did. Others saw it, too. Someone is flying for the academy already.”

“We head back,” I decide.

I need to know Ara is safe, and we have to mobilize everyone who can help fight the flames and establish a plan for containing it. Daeva doesn’t object and takes a sharp turn.

By the time we get back, blue and violet flames dance between red and golden ones. We set down, and I don’t waste time before heading for the rider, who documents all the newly bonded riders coming in.

Gods, I hope I am wrong.

“Is anyone unaccounted for?” I ask, my eyes drifting over the list in his hands, trying to find the name I’m looking for.

“A few, sir.”

“Who?”

Please don’t say it. Don’t say it.

“Vaccari, Godwin, Summer…” He goes on, but I don’t hear anything else.

Of course, she’s in this fucking inferno.

Why is she so adamant about getting herself killed?

“Thank you.” My voice is so eerily calm, I don’t recognize it as my own.

I can’t think. I can’t fucking breathe, and still, my voice betrays nothing.

My eyes are on the smoke, the dark gray veil spreading while I watch. The chances of someone surviving this are very slim, but riders are still coming in.

Vaccari strides toward the rider I just left. There is still hope that Ara will land any second now, too.

She can do it. Some part of me knows it’s wishful thinking. But damn do I want it to be true—need it to be true.

My mind replays pictures of how I found her at the foot of the cliff, barely alive. I healed her and beat the odds. I can do it again.

But for that to work, I have to get my hands on her while she’s still breathing.

My eyes wander over the groups of riders, sorted by squadron. It doesn’t take me long to find squadron four of our division. Ilario’s big frame next to Mariel’s bright red hair is a dead giveaway, but I can’t find her anywhere.

The riders commanding elements gather closer to the fire, and I make my way over to them. We split the area into four quadrants, one for each division. The other centurions and I assign parcels to the riders present to get the fire under control.

I take the area right next to the gathering ground since there’s no way I’m leaving here without knowing Ara is back.

I throw myself into the task, cutting off the air and smothering the flames faster than they can pop up. The quicker we have it under control, the faster I can go look for her. The natural flames succumb at once.

The magic flames are harder to kill, but I don’t give them a chance, concentrating on one small part after another, slowly working inward. The fire wielder to my left and a water wielder to my right are doing the same.

Daeva circles above, keeping an eye out for Ara while I work. I try my best not to let my worry for her consume me, but the words of the stranger from a few nights ago keep circling in my head.

There are people after her and after you.

And then I do something I haven’t done in years. I pray to every god and goddess who might listen.

I simply don’t know what I’ll do if she’s gone.