Page 131 of Scorched Earth

The strain of the journey didn’t seem to touch the boy. Whether it was because Nic was physically eight years Marcus’s junior or because he didn’t carry the mental weight of those eight years, Marcus couldn’t have said, only that as day after day passed, Nic happily took on a greater workload, managing hours of administration, often from the saddle of his horse, while Marcus slipped deeper into grim silence as he contemplated what lay before him.

And behind.

Neither were allowing him any peace.

What Marcus needed above all else wassleep.The schedule of the hard march didn’t allow him the ability to use narcotics to pull him out of the reach of nightmares. Nightmares that had only grown worse since the battle to cross the Orinok. Night after night, he was plagued with visions of Teriana being torn apart by the enormous hawk. Of Gamdeshians and Maarin cursing her name. Of an ocean of dead men and women, all with their mouths open to scream one word.

Traitor.

Astara’s choice to attack Teriana instead of him was the first sign his greatest fear was coming to pass.

Gamdesh didn’t blame him for invading.

They blamed Teriana.

You should kill them for threatening her,a dark voice demanded from the recesses of his mind.The shifter first and foremost.

Marcus shoved away the thought, then swayed in the saddle as a sudden wave of exhaustion poured over him.

Why hadn’t she stayed in Celendrial? Why hadn’t she gone to join theQuincense? The questions repeated in his head, and he knew that he was piling blame on Teriana for a decision he’d been unable to make.

And now her life was on the line because of it. She’d been named a traitor because of it.

Shifting his weight in the saddle, Marcus glowered at the ranks of marching men ahead of him, sick with rage at himself. For not being able to turn off sentiment as had always been so easy for him in the past. For not making logical decisions.

For not making himself stop loving her.

His love was poison to her, even if Teriana didn’t realize it. Better for her to hate him. Better for her to think the absolute worst of him. Because even if all this worked exactly as he intended, there would come a day when Cassius revealed to her the truth of what Marcus had done to Lydia.

Yet for every step he took to drive her away, he took two closer. Unwilling to let himself have her. Unwilling to give her up.

Teriana had his heart and there was no force on earth that would put it back in his chest. The only release for both of them would be the inevitable moment that she’d choose to crush it beyond repair.

You murdered her best friend.

You murdered her best friend.

You murdered her best friend.

Marcus shook his head sharply to clear the refrain, then caught sight of smoke in the distance. The land here was tropical, but great swathes of forest had been cleared to make space for farmland, allowing one to see a fair stretch in either direction. Miles and miles of black ground, the stink of wet ash heavy in the air, for the skies had unleashed heavy rains the night prior.

A scout approached. “There’s another small town ahead, sir. The civilians have already fled, but they burned what they had to leave behind.”

They’d passed many villages and towns on the road that had been burned, but Marcus still found he couldn’t tear his eyes from the column of smoke as they drew closer. It wasn’t long until his eyes picked out the smoldering buildings, little left but the stone encircling wells that had undoubtedly been poisoned or fouled.

And one small black column.

Guiding his snorting mare into the ruins, Marcus stopped before the monument to the Seventh god, which stood no higher than the average man. Around it were the toppled remains of six more columns. “Did the Gamdeshians pull them down?”

The scout shifted in his saddle. “No, sir. We did.”

He hadn’t given the order for this, but Marcus held his tongue. Word of this would reach Kaira, and it would serve his purpose well. Besides, these small shrines were easily replaced. Nothing more than piles of stone. Meaningless, really.

Tear them all down,the voice ordered.

Marcus froze, abruptly realizing that he’d dismounted his horse and now stood with one hand pressed against the black column of stone, though he had no memory of doing so.

Shaking his head, he stepped away. “We don’t have time to waste on this sort of destruction. Speed is of the essence.”