Page 85 of Of Blood and Banes (The Arterian #2)

DON’T GO GETTING SENTIMENTAL

D aeja and I backtrack to Nightfort, sticking to the eastern part of the river and working our way toward the city.

The massive stretch of dense forest thins out to plains.

The river snakes through a gorge with plummeting, rocky cliffs at either side.

Daeja extends her wings out to her side as she glides gracefully over the water.

The cliff sides curve to the east the farther north we get, and Daeja cuts up over the ridge.

The roofs of Nightfort are stark black against the yellow plains, with clusters of boulders littering the landscape below.

Daeja lands near the outskirts where we find A’nala, Sethan, and the others.

Sethan’s addressing the group about keeping a close eye out for anyone following us as we walk through the city.

The dragons will stay back so we can keep a low profile.

The idea is to get in and out without much notice.

Only here for what we need and nothing more.

An ancient translator, who might be able to decipher Queen Elara’s journal.

A’nala swings her golden glare at me and Daeja in a silent reprimand before turning her attention back to Sethan as he retrieves his scabbard from her saddle and slings it over his shoulder.

I unhook myself from the saddle belt and slide off Daeja, then unpack my own weapons and arm myself.

We all gather and head into Nightfort together, following Sethan’s lead through the streets until he stops and knocks at a stone building.

A small metal peephole slides open on the door, before shutting again. After a few moments, Sethan knocks again.

“She’s not here anymore,” someone calls on the other side of the door.

“I don’t believe you.” Sethan pounds harder on it.

The peephole slides open again, and this time a set of brown eyes narrow in on us. “You better leave before you’re noticed.”

“Shall I have you sent to Millton for non-compliance?” Sethan growls into the doorframe.

A series of what sounds like metal twisting fills the silence, and a second later, the door parts open.

A bald man, short and stocky, appears on the other side of the door. “Get in here, then. Before half the town knows you’re here!”

Sethan turns back and motions for me, Melaina, and Cole, who’s holding Darian’s chains. Then, he gestures to the rest to stand guard outside. I narrow my gaze at him for the exclusion of Archie, but Archie takes it in stride, leading part of the group back through the streets to watch from afar.

Our group of five slides into the dark building. Blankets drape over the windows, and a small candle with barely any wax left burns against a far table. A musty smell smacks me over the face, and I turn to exchange a look with Melaina as the man closes the door, sealing us in shadows.

“You’ll get me killed, too, if they know you’re here!” the man grumbles, then kicks a stool away from the door leading up to the peephole.

Sethan cuts straight to it. “We need your help. Your council confirmed Elder Honora?—”

“Our council is corrupt, ” the man warns as he grips the hilt of a shortsword at his side. His gaze bounces from person to person until it settles on me.

Sethan slides in front of me, blocking his view. “We need to know where Elder Honora is. Tell us, and we will simply be on our way.”

“She…she’s dead.”

Sethan draws his sword from his side and lunges forward, racing the man back to the wall and pressing a blade to his throat. “Tell me the truth!”

The man’s voice is a panicked, shrill mess. “I…uhh…she’s…”

“Now!” Sethan thunders.

“Sh-she snuck off to Bayrock! They knew you’d come for her?—”

“Who is they ?” Melaina interjects.

As if on cue, a knock sounds at the door, and we all slide our attention to it.

Sethan takes a step back from the man and motions him to answer it, following him to the door with his blade still pointed inches from the man’s neck.

Melaina and I, along with Cole leading Darian by the chains, all slink over to the farthest wall out of sight of the door if it were to open.

The man grabs the stool, slides it under the peephole, and peers out. “Can I help you?”

“Yes. We need to come inside,” someone answers.

Melaina shifts to grab her sword, ready to unsheathe it, and I do the same as I exchange a look with Cole. He transfers Darian’s chains into his non-dominant hand, then readies himself for a quick draw.

Sethan presses the tip of his blade into the man’s back, and he winces. Whoever is on the other side beats against the door, and the man slides the cover over the peephole and jumps off the stool, despite Sethan’s hissing.

One more thud, and the door springs open, sending the stool flying into a table.

Sethan backs up, putting himself between the group of men on the other side and us as he widens his stance.

“Daeja…we might be in trouble.”

“A’nala’s already on it. The other part of the group has been attacked in the streets, and we’re closing in for backup.”

“Shit. We’ve been ambushed. I don’t know if these are Close Circle members who have crossed the border or Vitalan rebels. Arterians won’t kill you…but Vitalan rebels will. If they are, stay back!”

“Pfft, I’m not staying back! Either way, beat those bastards, and I’ll meet you in the outskirts of town.”

“Be careful!”

“Don’t go getting sentimental on me.”

Melaina, Cole, and I all withdraw our swords in a harmonious chorus of metal as a group of men spill through the doorway, beheading the short, screaming man.

Bastards, indeed.

Cole looks at me and tosses me Darian’s chains.

I catch them with my breath stuttering as Cole dashes to stand side-by-side with Sethan and take on three men.

More of them bleed into the room, and Cole and Sethan explode into a frenzy of blocks and side steps.

Even as Melaina joins the fray, one thing is for certain.

We’re easily outmatched here.

Darian meets my gaze, his face deadly serious. “Remember what I told you? Anything is a weapon if you’re creative enough.”

I swivel to the candle burning in the corner and nod. Praying I can trust him, I drop the chains and race across the room. Ripping my gloves off and tucking them into my side, I raise my hands to the candle and pull it toward me like I’m tearing a sheet off a bed.

The flame sputters off the wick and gathers into a ball as a hum of energy flows around me, through me.

I funnel the distant ley line magic into it.

Within seconds, I pull it inches from my chest, now a ball the width of my shoulders.

My fingers tremble as I fight to contain it, then I turn back to the group.

“Duck!” I scream and throw the flame toward the fight.

Melaina and Cole drop immediately, and Melaina rips her father down just in time for it to barrel over him and blast into the wall of soldiers, knocking them onto their backs and exploding into screams of men on fire.

Darian tosses me a small grin, and I race over to grab his chains and pull him toward the door. Cole helps Melaina stand, and Sethan stumbles to his feet, the tips of his white hair colored black.

“You’ll pay for that one later,” he grumbles, brushing a hand over his head.

“Not my fault you can’t duck fast enough,” I toss back with a chuckle.

The soldiers all lie on the ground, some of them twitching. I splay my hands over the fire and tamp it down to the floor until it disappears completely.

“Let’s go!” I whisper, then pull Darian along with me as I tiptoe around the charred bodies, scanning their armor for hints of what side they were on but not slowing to find one.

We all exit the building into an eerily empty town, then race down the street we came from.

I slide my gloves back on, just in case.

One block over, a chaotic symphony of metal roars out from the distance.

Several townspeople dash past us, screaming and disappearing behind the corner of a building.

We cut down dusty alleyways, until we get to the last street leading out to the plains.

It’s a mesh of humans and dragons, with flashes of metal in the sunlight and smoke billowing up into the air, filling my nostrils with the unmistakable scent of burnt flesh. The numbers aren’t in our favor. But it’s a damn good thing we have dragons.

“Get to your dragon!” Sethan commands, then looks at Melaina. “And you! Stay behind the lines.”

“I will not cower in fear!” she roars.

He lurches over her. “You will as long as I am your father!”

I take a step forward, ready to speak on her behalf, when she fires back, “And you still will not dictate my decisions! Father, or not!”

She races into the throng, disappearing into the chaos. Cole shifts a look at me with a small smile, then launches into the battle without another word. Sethan cuts to the northwest where A’nala’s red figure rears back and snaps at a soldier advancing at her with a spear.

“Let me help you!” Darian begs from beside me and holds his fists up, the metal of his chains clinking with the movement.

My eyes meet his. My heart thunders in my chest, my breath quickening as I look down at his shackles.

“Trust me!” he shouts over the roar of the battle.

I fumble the key out of my brassiere and shakily shove it into one of the locks, twisting until one of his shackles springs free.

A set of thunderous footsteps approaches us, and my attention is dragged up to three soldiers racing toward us, eyes narrowed with menacing determination and their swords raised.

I rip a dagger out from a sheath at my side and shove it into Darian’s hands. No time to unshackle his other wrist.

I glance back at our opponents and draw my sword. Without taking my eyes off the soldiers, I tell Darian, “Once I get to Daeja, I can give you my sword instead!”

The closest of the three closes in. I barely have enough time to block his attack, the force of his blow making my steps falter, and I fumble backward.