Page 39

Chapter

Thirty

Nuo

“ W e have one of the fastest ships that Guardians have ever laid their hands on,” Falizha said. “So why are you telling me we still haven’t located the Ikhor? It’s going to cross the borders and get into Aethar hands.”

She was piloting the airship, and I had the unfortunate job of sitting next to her, mapping the way north . What the fuck was going on?

We had been following the Aspis while it ambled through the sky when suddenly it took off. That was an hour ago. We tracked it as far as we could. I could only assume it had reached Ouras’s temple. I’d come to that conclusion because of the smoke rising far ahead.

It had clearly fought the Ikhor while the Council tried to convince us the evil shit was setting fires to South Aspis.

Falizha’s lip curled, showing her straight row of teeth.

She was sending continuous reports to her father, and when the replies came, she unleashed her father’s anger on us.

But with every reply, the Governor sent crystals, food and spare clothing.

And honestly, I couldn’t be bothered to locate those things on my own.

It gave me more time to think of a clever way to kill her.

“If one of your letters has a better idea, we would be happy to hear it.” Bastane sat behind Falizha on a bench against the wall, flipping a knife in his hand and staring daggers at the woman’s back.

Bastane had admitted that he was done with the Council. I was reluctantly believing him. Forgiving him? Gods fucking no.

He had questioned Falizha on her crew, and when she admitted abandoning them, he became suspicious.

When she pushed the Guards forward those first few weeks, scared the Ikhor would cross the borders, Bas became angry.

When Bastane finally caved and snooped through her letters on the ship, he gave up.

“ I used to believe my family was honourable ,” he’d told me. “ My father trusts the Council’s decisions. But what I see here, the fact that Guardians are expendable, and they are demanding no one cross the borders, all I can see are lies. ”

“What’s the problem with crossing the borders?” Kazhi asked.

Bastane told us what he’d read—the Council gave Falizha strict orders not to let us go into Aethar lands. But why?

“We lose the advantage.” Falizha looked back at Kazhi as if she were too stupid to understand. Big mistake. “What are you people not understanding? What did your training teach you? The Aethar have large numbers across the borders. Who knows if they’ve stolen our ships over the years.”

“But they wouldn’t have the crystals to fly them, right?” Bastane continued to flip his knife, locking eyes with me briefly before landing on Falizha again. “And how was it that the ship we stole from the Aethar is the fastest the Guardians have ever seen? What else might be across those borders?”

“Watch yourself, Armel,” Falizha warned. “What the Council demands is all we need to know. Now, we need to find that stupid beast. We wouldn’t have been so far behind if you three didn’t need ground time . What in the Endless Night does that even mean?”

“It means time away from this airship and the noise that comes out of your mouth,” I said. “The temple is there. Let’s land and ask questions. The Aspis isn’t in the skies, and we are flying aimlessly.”

“I will ask the questions,” Falizha spat. “I don’t want you running your mouth and making the rest of the Guardians think you can’t keep up with the Aspis. Like you were supposedly trained to do. Gods, if you three didn’t have me, you’d be still in the plains with the Aspis long gone.”

I spun my seat to face her, and she went still. I gave her one of my charming smiles with an elbow on the front panel while crossing an ankle over my knee, loving how it pissed her off. “We are Guards of the Aspis. Not Guards of the Whiney Little Prude. You’re here because we are using you, LP.”

“LP?” Kazhi asked, ignoring Falizha’s look of rage.

“Little Prude,” Bastane clarified. “Nuo’s being clever.”

Talking about her like she wasn’t there gave me a sliver of pleasure. With a bit of charm and a fake smile, I was closer to being in control of the monster raging in my head, demanding I kill her.

Falizha pretended she hadn’t heard and landed us in a small clearing.

The scent of cedars hit me as I walked down the rear plank, entering the forest. Smoke enveloped me, and I coughed, waving a hand in my face.

“Could have picked a landing spot farther away,” I said, pulling my shirt up to my mouth.

“But maybe pre-emptive planning is a skill left to more seasoned pilots.”

Bastane grabbed my shoulder, pointing to a group of five Mount-leg Guardians running our way.

“The Ikhor!” one of them shouted, halting in front of Bastane. “It was here.”

Bastane laid a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Where?”

“Gone now. It was here an hour ago. Challenged Ouras. And then set fires. It took off in the woods, and the Aspis looked like it was chasing it, but—well …”

“Well, what?” Falizha demanded. “We don’t have all day.”

The Guardians looked from her back to Bastane, and I hid my smile.

“Let the Guards handle this,” I said in her direction. “You can go back to the ship and wait for us to investigate.”

Falizha’s eyes burned. Ohhhh, I loved it.

“I will follow you. Collect intel,” she said through clenched teeth.

“So professional,” I said back. Then I asked the Guardian, “What direction?”

“That way. You can’t miss it.”

“Is it not in the air?” Kazhi moved in the direction the Guardian pointed.

“No, it’s been held down. The Ikhor has strange powers. Not like we thought.”

“What powers?” Falizha walked faster, trying to get to the head of the group.

I passed under large boughs. The sun peeked through to the needle-covered ground. The broken trees ahead, the work of the Aspis, carved a path through the woods.

The Guardians followed us, and the same one spoke again. “The Ikhor can wield more than fire. We all saw it. The monks can use magic, too.”

Falizha stopped dead in her tracks and spun to face the Guardian. “What did you say?”

“I saw it too, Captain Ravin,” said a female Guardian. “They had vines coming from their robes.”

“That’s not possible.” Falizha turned a darker shade of red.

“We saw it.” The Guardians exchanged a glance, seemingly unsure of how to explain.

She stepped closer. “Do you understand the kind of accusations you are making of the monks? Do you realize you could cause panic by saying such things?”

“We—”

“That’s enough,” she ordered. “You won’t speak of what you saw again.”

Bastane and I shared a look and tucked that away for later.

We reached an area where something had broken the trees in half and torn the ground to pieces to find the Aspis with hundreds of thick vines tieing it down. Vines that weren’t growing anywhere in the surrounding area.

It was true then. The Ikhor could control all elements.

What in the Endless Night did that mean?

“It hasn’t moved in some time.” None of the Guardians approached the beast. They stayed far from it. Even Falizha kept a good distance.

Kazhi and Bastane walked next to me as we approached the Aspis, cast into its shadow when we reached its side. Its eyes were closed, and it was breathing deeply.

“It’s sleeping?” Bastane whispered.

Yellow eyes snapped open, and Kazhi reached for a knife. Only our years of training kept us all from flinching back.

“Nope,” I replied. “It’s waiting.”

“For what?” Kazhi asked, easing her hand away from her belt.

“Directions? How should I know.” I approached the beast, its hot breath hitting my face. “It should be able to get out of these vines, no problem.”

The Aspis went back to sleeping.

I dared another step closer. I’d never gotten this close to the beast, not since the night of the transformation. If you didn’t count the time it tried to attack me. I passed its massive head, aiming for the vines, when its eye popped open again.

“Hey, just helping.” I held my hands up, moving cautiously. A long pupil the size of my arm followed me. “Not the best time for a nap.”

I swallowed my disgust. I was being nice to it when I wanted to yell, Get the fuck up! Kill the Ikhor, so I never have to see you again.

I reached the first vine and pulled. It wouldn’t budge, not even a fraction. It was like a metal bar, stiff and unyielding. “Okay, maybe you can’t get out on your own.”

A low rumbling from the beast told me to keep my mouth shut. Did it understand me?

Bastane was at my side moments later, helping me chop at the vines.

Falizha inched forward but, of course, didn’t offer to help. She sighed as her haughty stare trailed the beast. “God, he’s even useless as the Aspis.”

I shot toward her so fast I didn’t know I’d moved. Bastane had his arm around my waist just as my blade was inches from Falizha’s heart.

Damn Bastane.

Falizha backed away, sputtering, nearly tripping on her purple cape.

The Aspis thrashed, spurred into action, a rumbling coming from its throat.

I shook with anger—fuck my control. Let her see what lay underneath, why I was chosen as a Guard. I was the Interrogator for a reason.

“Not yet,” Bastane whispered, for only me to hear. “There are others watching.”

“You three better remember who I am.” Falizha kept her voice low. “Word gets to my father I have been harmed—it will be your lives.” Her voice shook.

Coward. Gods, I wish I could send her to Mayra’s black depths.

No. She deserved so much worse.

“And who will they send to take out the Guards?” I spat. “Who could your father find to end us?”

The Aspis growled behind me.

“Last time the Council tried to take out a Guard, it didn’t go so well,” Kazhi reminded her.

Kazhi, hired by someone high up in the Council, had failed because Brekt saw her coming, but Falizha didn’t know that.

I finally felt like I was part of a team again. Having my family on my side was a small blessing in this huge fucked up world.

“Just remember how this mission is funded. If you three are going through the canyons, I am not going with you. The Council has ordered me back. If you don’t stop the Ikhor before it crosses the borders, you are done with your supplies. You are on your own. And you’ll be dead.”

“Interesting.” Bastane lifted a brow.

We had already talked about this several times. The canyon was the next stop, and after that, Falizha was going home. We might finally get some answers as to why we had to stop the Ikhor before then. It was a tricky game following the Aspis and taking down Aethar while spying on our leaders.

“How I hope the Ikhor reaches the Aethar wastelands, and we will be rid of you,” I said, making Falizha grit her teeth and stomp back through the woods toward the airship.

“I’m this fucking close.” I jabbed my knife to where Falizha last stood, tugging myself free of Bastane’s grip.

The other Guardians turned their heads away, pretending not to see me. They filtered out of the clearing, disappearing back into the woods.

“Get in line,” Kazhi said. “There will be a fight to decide who kills her once it’s time.”

Bastane sat on a rock several feet from the Aspis, putting his hands on his knees. “So the Ikhor went to see Ouras. It’s visiting temples.”

“So why is the Council telling us the Ikhor is south?” Kazhi’s face contorted into rage.

Bastane rubbed a calloused hand against his chin. “I think she’s playing games with me now, too. She says one thing to me, then another in front of you. I think she’s trying to discover if I am telling you two everything or if I’m still a pawn of the Councils.”

“Either way, we can’t believe everything,” I said. “We know it’s true the Ikhor has visited Ouras. They’re getting sloppy with their lies. Do you think it’s planning to bypass the Aspis to kill the gods?”

“The Ikhor did leave it here. If it killed the Aspis, then we would enter an era of suffering. Maybe it needs something before that happens. Let’s consider that maybe the Ikhor will try to steal more power,” Bastane mused.

“The forests around the temple are burning, so my guess is it failed with Ouras and it’s going to try Rem next. ”

“Fuck that.” I returned to the vines, hacking at them.

That’s when the beast woke and growled, fighting against the vines.

I jumped back as the vines snapped.

The Aspis twisted its head and faced us—its Guards—pupils narrowing into fine slits. Hot breath fanned my face, blowing my long hair back. It opened its mouth and roared, shaking the surrounding forest, and I clapped my hands over my ears, wincing at the sound.

The Aspis shot in the air, vines and needles spraying the forest floor.

I covered my head as debris landed over me.

Its tail end disappeared behind the tree line as it vanished from sight, and we wasted no time running back to the airship.

“We need to make sure we don’t lose it this time,” Kazhi yelled from behind me.

“Hopefully, our useless captain has the ship ready to go.” I huffed, out of shape.

I would make sure I didn’t stay that way. My little run in with the Ikhor in Danuli was a wake-up call. I’d been training every day since.

We reached the airship, entering it up the metallic plank to where Falizha was waiting. She took a step back as I stopped to face her.

“If you say one more thing about Brekt—if you mention his name—I will carve you up like an Aethar.”

Falizha turned pale before her face reddened with anger.

I headed toward the front. “You know, when your face blushes like that, you look like an orange fruit. Not a great colour, Falizha.” I sat near the front window, looking out toward the distance, ignoring her stomping around behind me.

We got into the air in time to catch the Aspis ambling through the sky with no direction in mind.

The smoke from South Aspis turned the far horizon a strange colour. It would have to be miles high to see it from here. Our intel had told us the structures were burnt down, and any survivors had fled the camp. The Council said it was the Ikhor. But the Ikhor had been at Ouras’s temple.

I was terrified of the small voice in my head that questioned if the Ikhor had caused any of the damage.