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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Four days later, there still hasn’t been a peep from the stone. We’ve ridden past a lot of people on the road, past more villages and farms than I care to remember, and through another good-sized town, and not once has it suggested that we might want to stop so I can talk to someone. It was too much to hope that the champion might leave Lenledia and head in our direction, I suppose. At least the stone is continuing to insist that we need to stop at court—I ask it every night. The very last thing I want to hear is that the champion has left the city and is traveling even farther from us.

My relationship with Sweetie is… unsteady. And I’m not just talking about how I feel after riding all day. The muscle soreness that plagued me the first few days is finally beginning to wear off, but I’ll never be a fan of this mode of travel. Who thought sitting on a horse was a good idea? I’ll bet their horse was a gentle sort who adored them. Not like mine, who switches between hot and cold so many times a day, I’ve given up trying to remember if we’re at war or not. Now I just hope she’s not going to kill me while my guard’s down.

Tia thinks I’m being ridiculous—after all, horses are vegetarians. What would be the point of Sweetie killing me? She doesn’t realize that my seemingly placid mare is actually a sadistic demon disguised as a horse and would kill me just for the fun of it.

As though she can hear me, Sweetie tosses her head, her black mane flying. Sometimes I try to console myself with the knowledge that at least she’s a pretty horse, a fifteen-hand bay with a glossy coat I’ve been taking good care of. And definitely steady—she never flinches when Leicht’s near, unlike the packhorse, and didn’t even bat an eyelid when we rode past a group of village children playing with toy bows and an “arrow” flew right past her head. Even Jaimin’s gray was skittish then.

On the other hand, she seems to get nervy at the oddest times, usually when she has an opportunity to send me stumbling backward—or like yesterday, when she shied for no reason and I went flying out of the saddle and practically into Jaimin’s lap. He always seems to be there when she’s in the mood to humiliate me, and I hate that. It’s not the image I want him to have of me. I need to redeem myself in his eyes, not make things worse.

Tia tugs at my mind, and I reach out to her. I can see Leicht, a distant speck against the blue sky. At least the weather has been cooperating—though cold, we’ve had no rain or snow. That’s not likely to last, given the time of year.

“Yes?”

“Stop mooning.”

My face gets hot. Damn her. Somehow she’s gotten the idea that I have an infatuation with Jaimin—which is obviously not true. It’s just been a long while since I’ve had time for sex, and he’s an extraordinarily attractive man. It’s normal to notice. And have the occasional sweaty dream. Okay, maybe it’s a little bit true, but who can blame me? He’s slept mere feet away from me for days now, and we spend almost every waking moment together. That doesn’t mean I’m “mooning.”

Unfortunately, I wasn’t guarding my mind strongly enough that first night, and Tia caught a few snatches of one of the aforementioned dreams. After waking me with a mental screech so loud that I leapt off my cot before I was fully awake, she’s taken it upon herself to tease me ever since. And because our minds are so linked, she can somehow tell when my thoughts turn to him.

“I’m not mooning! I was thinking about my horse!”

Her mental laughter echoes through my mind, and I wince. That was definitely not the right response.

“What do you want, Tia?”

“There’s a decent place to make camp about two miles ahead of you, but nothing after that for ages, not even a village. I think we’ll have to stop early today.”

I narrow my eyes. Interesting how she waited to tell me this until we were just far enough past the last village to make turning back illogical. We’ve already had to camp once, and it’s definitely not on my list of things I want to do again.

“I hate you,” I tell her.

“I love you too, baby brother.”

I don’t bother to argue that we were born less than three minutes apart.

“I’m going to ask Tia to scout ahead for a place to stop tonight,” I say casually to Jaimin. As part of our effort to keep the unusual twin bond a secret, I’ve been making a big fuss about being the one to initiate contact, since I’m the telepath.

He gives me a slightly puzzled glance. “It’s early yet. Is something wrong?”

“No. Just… uh… I don’t want to get caught out camping again.” That’s absolutely true. He doesn’t need to know yet that it’s going to happen. “I’d rather have her start looking now.”

He nods slowly, brow furrowed. “That’s sensible. You do hate camping.”

“So, so much,” I agree fervently, then paste on a distant, focused expression, as though I’m mind-talking with my sister. When I sneak a sidelong glance at him, the frown is gone, replaced by the usual lip-twitching amusement. It’s really a crime for a man to be that attractive.

Tia tugs at my mind again, but I ignore her. I’ve had enough mocking for one day.

When I’m finally sure the “easy-to-assemble” tent is actually assembled and not going to collapse like it has five times already—not embarrassing at all—I plant my hands on my hips and survey the clearing.

Tia’s right that it’s a decent place to camp, just far enough off the road that anyone passing won’t see us, but if I find out tomorrow that there was a nice, tidy little village within easy reach, I’ll risk Leicht’s wrath to kill her.

As though thinking of her was a summons, Tia and Jaimin choose that moment to return to the clearing. They got their tents up quickly, so she went to hunt some game while he fetched water from the stream that’s close enough to hear but out of sight through the trees.

“Want me to test it?” my sister asks with a teasing grin, two fat rabbits dangling from her belt. “We wouldn’t want it to fall on you in the middle of the night.” Like it did last time is implied.

“You can sleep in it, if you want,” I offer, because I’m generous that way. She makes a rude hand gesture and begins digging a fire pit. Until this week, I didn’t even know that was something people needed to do. It just makes me even more thankful I’m a mage and not a rider.

Between the three of us, we finish setting up camp and get a meal started. I do my share, but mostly that means obeying the orders they give me. Being expedition leader means nothing at times like this. A good leader knows when to let others demonstrate their expertise. So I start a fire with magic in the pit, then roughly chop the last of our vegetables while Tia skins and cleans the rabbits and Jaimin sees to the horses. Once I’ve turned the beginnings of the stew over to Tia—since she actually knows how to cook—I go help him.

It surprises me how much I enjoy dinner. Not just the food, although that’s tastier than I expected for something cooked in a can over a campfire. But sitting in the dirt, talking quietly about how we’ll handle our approach to Lenledia, what I’ll say to the king… the comradery of it all is nice. I’m used to working alone, with my master peering over my shoulder occasionally and commenting that I’ve fucked something up. It’s new and different to work collaboratively with others—I haven’t done it since I graduated.

We clean up, then linger around the fire. Stopping early meant we had plenty of light still to set up camp, and it’s nice to be settled and (relatively) comfortable as twilight falls and turns to dark. Overhead, in the space between trees, the stars come out. There’s supposed to be a bright moon tonight—it’s waxing toward full.

“Is Leicht settled?” Jaimin asks Tia. The big dragon won’t fit in the clearing with us, and Tia tells us he doesn’t want to anyway. He’ll share space with her if they’re traveling alone, because it’s safer for her that way, but dragons are very private when it comes to sleep.

She nods. “He’s about half a mile away, and he’s just finished dinner.”

I hold up a hand. “Spare us the details. I don’t want to lose my dinner.”

Jaimin chuckles, the sound warm and inviting in the shadows cast by the fire, and that annoying zing of attraction stirs in me again. Tia tugs at my mind, but I can sense her amusement already and don’t need it confirmed.

“I’m going to bed,” she says. “Since we stopped early, I’m guessing you want an early start tomorrow?”

I nod. “I don’t want to delay our arrival into Lenledia,” I confirm. “The sooner we find the champion, the sooner this can all be over. Bed sounds like a good idea.”

We bank the fire, and Jaimin and I go to check the horses. Then we all retire to our tents. Considering how early we stopped, I’m half expecting to have trouble falling asleep, but I start drifting off almost immediately. My last thought is gratitude that Tia let us each have our own tent, and Jaimin isn’t quite so close tonight…

The stone’s scream in my head jolts me to consciousness and has me scrambling from my blankets, not sure whether I’m awake or dreaming. I rip back the tent flap just in time to see the moonlight reflecting off the blade plunging toward me.

My mind goes completely blank with shock, reflexes taking over as I throw myself to the side, and my magic lashes out. My shoulder hits the ground jarringly hard as my attacker crumples in a heap beside me. I lie panting in the dirt for a second before a shadowy movement gets my attention.

“Tia!” I blast the full force of my power through our bond. “Danger!” Scrambling to my feet, I try desperately to remember any kind of battle magic that might be useful right now. I manage a solid blast of telekinetic energy that knocks Tia’s attacker momentarily off-balance just as she emerges from her tent with blades unsheathed. Then a cry has me spinning toward Jaimin’s tent.

The flap is open.

No .

Cold sweat breaks out on my spine as I race toward it, my foot slipping in the cold ash of the firepit. I fall?—

And a blade swooshes above my head.

Fuck . How did I miss the number of attackers? Dark shadows are detaching themselves from the trees, the occasional reflection of moonlight on skin or metal the only way to see them clearly.

Grimly, I roll to my back and aim another telekinetic blast at the man swinging his sword down toward me. It must hit him somewhere vulnerable, because he drops like a stone, but I don’t waste time waiting for the next attack. Tia’s awake, and the ring of steel on steel, plus the occasional grunt or yelp, tells me she’s got my back. I need to check on Jaimin.

By the grace of the gods, I make it the rest of the way to his tent unhindered. I can hear whimpering from inside and brace myself before peering in.

It’s dark.

Too dark to see.

“I need a distraction so I can make a light,” I throw at Tia.

Mentally sending acknowledgment, she gives a ringing cry, drawing our attackers’ attention. “Come and get me, you bastards!” she shouts.

“Leicht’s coming, but in this clearing…”

There’s not much he can do.

Not wasting another second, I summon a tiny, dim light, barely a glow. I don’t need to attract attention right now, not until I know what I’m facing.

There’s a man in black clothing sprawled just inside the small tent, taking up most of the space, a dagger protruding from his chest. Dead.

In the far corner, Jaimin is curled up tight, whimpering. At first I think he’s frightened, but as he raises his head to look at me, I realize he’s in pain.

Gods’ turds. What happens when the healer’s the injured one? And how long can Tia fight them off without help?

“Where—”

“I’m unhurt,” he gasps. “Go. Help Tia.”

“Jaimin—”

“I swear, I’m fine. Go. ”

I hesitate a moment longer, then throw a telekinetic barrier around him. It’s not much, but it’ll keep any other attackers off him—unless they kill me first.

Backing away from the tent opening, I stand and turn to assess the battle. My eyes have more or less adjusted to the moonlight, although the dark colors our attackers are wearing don’t help. I can do something about that, at least.

“Tia, cover your eyes!”

My sister immediately drops to the ground mid-stab, confusing her opponent, and I fill the clearing with light as bright as day. Our attackers cry out and try to shield their eyes, and I take advantage of the opportunity to begin blasting them with telekinesis. Tia’s on her feet in the next second, blades slashing, and just as the remaining men pull themselves together, there’s an earsplitting roar.

Leicht swoops low enough over the canopy that the backdraft from his wings whips the air, and in the moment of distraction, Tia slays the two gaping men.

Silence falls, and I suck in a breath. “Have we got rope?” I manage. “Those ones I hit are still alive… I think.” Some of them aren’t moving at all, so either I accidentally killed them, or they’re well and truly unconscious.

Tia gives me a pitying look as Leicht circles overhead, and then I gasp as she runs her sword through one of the fallen men.

“Tia!”

“What? Think this through, Talon. There’s no way we can transport this many prisoners, even if we had the right to do so and somewhere to take them. We can’t leave them alive here and risk having them come after us with better luck next time. These men are either extremely well-disciplined and equipped bandits who, for some reason, decided to kill us instead of bothering to steal the extremely valuable horses”—she points to where the horses are still hobbled, the packhorse tossing its head skittishly—“or they were sent here specifically to kill us .”

I hate when she’s right, and I flinch again as she beheads another one of the men, even though this one is stirring.

Then she stops, staring at him. She takes a step back and looks around the clearing. “Talon?”

“Yes?”

“Is there a man lying in front of my tent with his throat open?”

That’s a question I never wanted to hear. “Um…” Reluctantly, I look. “No?”

She nods. “That’s what I thought.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s here. Ten feet away. Still with his throat open.” His head rolls slightly, and my stomach heaves. “Even more open now.”

Every hair on my body stands on end.

Then horror strikes, and I spin and take the three strides to get to Jaimin’s tent, terrified by what I might find.

But nothing’s changed. The dead man is still dead. Jaimin is still huddled, breathing in painful gasps. I brighten the light a little, kneeling to examine the dead man more closely. His wound looks the same, though I didn’t see it all that well before, anyway. He looks… human. Hesitantly, I reach out and check for a pulse. Nothing. Do zombies even have a pulse?

Not for the first time, I curse the ancestors who decided lack of knowledge would prevent stupidity.

“What are you doing?” Jaimin wheezes.

“At least one of the ones outside is a zombie.” Shit, I’ve left Tia alone with them. As I scoot backward, I run into something solid.

“Watch it,” my sister snaps, and I relax, glancing up. She’s got her back to me, blades in hands, attention focused on the rest of the clearing as she guards us. “Is he okay?”

Blinking, I glance back at the dead man before I realize she means Jaimin. “Working on that,” I reply. “Have any of the rest risen… or risen again?”

“No. I dismembered the first one. It won’t stop it, but it’ll do while we make a plan.”

We don’t have a lot of options.

“Not a zombie,” Jaimin says, and I turn my attention to him. His breathing seems to be a little easier, but his face is still tense with pain.

“How do you know?”

He slowly lifts his hand, wincing, and taps his temple. “Feels different. That’s what woke me. People that felt wrong.” A slight shake of the head. “Not him. He was human.”

“Talon,” Tia warns. I peek over my shoulder and see some of the bodies stirring.

“I’ll be back,” I tell Jaimin, removing the telekinetic shield. I’m going to need that energy. “Let me out, Tia.”

She shifts a step sideways, and I wriggle past her and stand. Two of the men are now on their feet, at least three more moving. The two standing are easy to identify as zombies now—one’s missing an arm, and one has a gaping wound in its chest, but neither seems to notice their injuries. They’re not in pain, not confused—just intent on us as they stride forward.

I brace myself and hit them both with magefire.

It engulfs them instantly, but they keep walking, and it’s a fight not to take my eyes off them. I’m going to be seeing this in nightmares for the rest of my life.

They’re two feet away before their legs fail and they collapse to the ground, the magefire eating every trace of them, reducing them to ashes and those ashes to dust. I watch grimly until the last spark is extinguished, then raise my gaze to the others. Two more are on their feet. One’s staggering, and I’m not sure if it’s because it can feel the wound in its thigh or because Tia’s severed something important, but that doesn’t matter. I shoot magefire at both of them.

There’s movement behind me as I burn another zombie as it rises. No wounded human could move that smoothly.

“Talon?” Jaimin murmurs just as I feel his warm presence at my back. “Let me pass. I’ll check the rest.”

I move so he can come up beside me, but then fall into step with him, Tia at my other side. “We’ll come with you. We need to take care of them all, anyway.” Bile rises in my throat as I realize how easily I’ve warped the meaning of “take care of.”

We move swiftly around the clearing, Tia keeping an eye on the burning zombies as Jaimin glances at each of the remaining seven men, pronouncing them either human or not. I mostly didn’t need his help—the ones that aren’t zombies seem to be actually dead—but I obediently wait for his pronouncement before striking the zombies with magefire.

The last body we stop beside is the man who tried to kill me. Jaimin, swaying slightly, frowns down at him. “He’s human, and definitely dead. I can’t work out how, though. There’s not a wound on him.”

“Heart attack?” Tia suggests, not bothering to turn around and look.

Jaimin slowly shakes his head. “No. His heart’s healthy. Talon, how did you kill him?”

I shrug uncomfortably. “I don’t know. I wasn’t fully awake yet. My magic was involved, but that’s all I can tell you.”

He raises a troubled gaze to study me, and I resist the urge to squirm.

Overhead, Leicht continues to circle, keeping watch for further danger.