Page 29 of HeartTorn (WarBride #2)

ILSEVEL

Suddenly I am a prisoner once more. Surrounded by enemies, far from all help. And before me stands a stranger. A warlord of unmatched brutality, towering over me in menacing power.

Everything which has taken place between us—every stolen moment, every tender touch, every explosion of bliss and united song—fades away. There’s nothing left but encroaching darkness and the wrath burning in his eyes.

I take a stumbling step back. Though the velra cord burns so bright I can almost see it taut in the air between us, a rush of self-preservation tells me to turn, to flee. I begin to pivot, but movement erupts on all sides of the chamber, along with a cacophony of voices speaking words I cannot understand. Taar’s voice booms above the rest, and whatever he says sounds harsh to my ears. Unicorns and riders close in on me. I look for escape and even start to dart between two of them. The riders dismount at once, catch me by the arms, and hold me in place. I scream, wordless, struggling to turn and look back at Taar, still hoping to glimpse again the protector I’ve come to trust.

But the man standing before that altar stone is someone I do not know.

Onor Gantarith appears at his side, speaking urgently. Taar answers in a series of growling words and gestures sharply with one arm. What is he saying? Is he giving orders for my immediate death? Are these my last breaths, my last heartbeats? Gantarith shakes his head and speaks again, gripping Taar’s shoulder. Taar turns away. His eyes refuse to meet mine.

Movement draws my gaze to where Tassa and Halamar appear in one of the shadowed doorways, staring into the domed chamber. Tassa’s eyes are wide with shock, while Halamar looks on with habitual stoicism.

Gantarith speaks again in a final burst. The only word I understand is, “Luinar.”

Taar curses bitterly. Then, turning, he calls to Halamar, who springs forward and salutes his king. Taar’s voice is too low for me to hear, but I see him gesture to me and the two Licornyn riders gripping my arms. Halamar nods. He strides across the chamber toward us and beckons silently.

They begin to drag me away, feet scraping against stones. “Taar?”

Terror bursts from my lips in a little bleat. “Taar! Where are they taking me? What is happening?”

He bows his head, long hair falling across his face. Just as my captors haul me to the far doorway, just before I’m yanked into the shadows out of sight, he looks up. His eyes meet mine across the distance. The look in them is so black, it could blot out the sun.

“Taar!”

I scream. My last sight of his face is a sudden shock of pain just as his knees buckle. The velra between us flares again, so sharp and hot, I scream. But the two Licornyn riders drag me down the passage with relentless footsteps. The pain increases, like someone stabbing me over and over again. If I feel it this harshly, how much worse is it for him?

My view of the domed chamber is blocked by the bulky bodies of two unicorns, following behind their riders. Halamar leads our strange procession. He moves swiftly through a dizzying array of dark passages where only stray ilsevel blossoms offer any illumination. We step out at last into daylight on some part of the mountain I’ve not yet seen. Confused by pain and terror, I can hardly make sense of anything.

A small circular wall of stones swims before my eyes. A well—and they’re dragging me straight toward it. Halamar stands beside the low wall. Are they going to throw me down there? Is this how they mean to kill me? To drown me in the dark?

“No!”

Survival instinct jolts through my veins. I haul against my captors’ grips, writhing, twisting, little caring if I dislocate my own arms in an effort to get free. I won’t be tossed down that dark hole. I’ve spent my whole life fighting for freedom; this will not be my end. “No, no, no!”

The last word bursts from my throat, not in a shout but in a sudden flood of unrepressed song. A single note, deep, raw, and reverberating. Full of power.

That power shoots out from me, like a streak of soulfire. It whorls around me then darts out in two branching streams, straight for the two unicorns. Like lances of light and sound, those streams pierce their chests, glowing bright inside as though their hearts are suddenly made luminous. That light builds up their necks, into their heads, and bursts from their horns in two new streams of light-song, multicolored and searing with heat.

The bolts strike the men holding my arms. They drop like stones at my feet.

I stand there. Shocked to stillness. Staring down at those still figures. Are they dead? Did I kill them? No, they’re breathing, I think.

Slowly I lift my gaze to the two unicorns. They’re as astonished as I am, their hearts still vibrating with the force of that song. Tongues of soulfire lick across their flanks. They look from their fallen riders to me. Their eyes are deep as the night sky, filled with dancing flame.

Pivoting on heel, I prepare to run and run and run and run, I don’t know where as long as it’s far from here. I lift my foot, ready to take the first step.

Halamar looms before me. Big, terrifying, and untouched by whatever force felled the other two. He stares down at me, his stoic face broken in an expression of terror. He raises a fist. “No, wait!”

I cry, lifting my hands.

Too late. His blow strikes me across the temple, and I know nothing more.