Page 13 of Warrior of the Drowned Empire (Drowned Empire #6)

LYRIANA

I stared at the snowflakes tumbling inside the mouth of the cave, my heart pounding. Rhyan was no longer visible.

“Fuck!” Dario slammed his fist into the wall. “Fuck!”

“He’ll be back,” I said, my throat tight. One akadim could be life-ending. And Rhyan was surrounded by them. Vorakh or not, he wasn’t immortal. Not in his current body.

“He will,” Meera whispered. “He’s strong.”

I nodded, biting my lip to keep it from shaking, but worry seized every inch of my body.

“Here,” Aiden said, handing me a torch.

I gripped it so tightly my fingernails dug into my palm. I stared down at the vadati now hanging over my chest, clear and dormant. And as the seconds passed, it remained so.

An entire minute came and went, a sick feeling welling deep inside me. Still, the vadati was silent.

“We need to move closer,” Dario said, his eyes on the stone. His face filled with determination as he raised his sword, and jerked his chin at Aiden. “Be ready, we don’t know what’s out there.” His eyes met mine and we instinctively stepped in, our bodies shoulder to shoulder, our swords out and ready to protect our people.

“Stay close to me,” I ordered Meera. “No matter what.”

I started to hold my breath, my hand nearly slipping down the length of the torch with sweat. Then a familiar squawk that ended in a roar drowned out the growls of the akadim.

The gryphon.

“Lyriana!” Blue light from the vadati emanated against my armor and filled the cave.

“Rhyan,” I yelled, my hand tightening around the hilt of my blade. I turned to Dario. “We’re coming.”

“No. Wait!” Rhyan roared, the sounds of battle, grunts and growls filling the stone.

“Rhyan?” I asked.

“ Himai! ” He commanded just as a gust of wind filled with snow blew into the cave. A low growl echoed against the walls and a dark shadow filled the entrance. The akadim’s outstretched claws reached for us as it began to roar, its eyes glowing red. It was massive. A giant even amongst akadim. There was no way I could reach its heart. I wasn’t even sure I could cut off its arms.

It rushed forward, and Meera screamed. I raised my sword, my hand shaking and pushed Meera behind me. I aimed for my hit, but my sword bounced off its skin. And I fell back onto my ass.

Meera’s arms wrapped around me from behind, lifting me up as I scrambled to my feet, reaching for my sword.

The akadim roared, its teeth gnashing, its claws nearly reaching where Meera and I stood. And then it stopped, and stilled, eyes widened in horror as something ripped through its heart.

A beak.

The gryphon had impaled the akadim from behind. Blood rushed down its belly, as the red light left its eyes.

I jumped backwards, moving Meera aside, just as the demon’s body slid lifelessly to the floor. The gryphon’s beak opened and closed, shaking off the blood, then looked at me expectantly, like it wanted another head rub.

“Good boy,” I shouted, my voice too high. “Good fucking boy . Tovayah .” Then I urged everyone forward. “Go.”

But another akadim was barreling toward us. And this one was even bigger, its giant head grazing the cave’s ceiling. I reached for my blade, distantly aware of Dario running toward the beast—until its head rolled off, and one of Aemon’s silver collars spun on the ground.

The moment the giant’s body collapsed, Rhyan’s boots touched down behind him. His knees were bent, the point of his blade against the stone floor. His shoulders rose and fell before he stood, sliding his blade into its belt.

“Get on,” he roared. “They’re coming!”

Rhyan was already running for me, pressing his forehead to mine, his arms tightening behind my back. Then he turned, his face hardened for battle and he sprinted back. Meera and I ran after him while Dario tugged Aiden outside.

The gryphon had backed away from the cave, and already akadim were attacking from all sides. Its talons thrashed as it screeched. Dario hoisted Aiden onto its back with one hand, while stabbing an akadim with another.

The gryphon rose up on its hind legs as we made it outside. Miraculously, we had a clear path, only a few feet to run before we’d reach it. Rhyan looked back. Right as he did, an akadim stepped in between us. I shoved Meera back, and widened my stance. This one had been a woman when alive. A soturion. Her position mirrored mine perfectly, revealing her training. She looked me up and down with red eyes, her fangs protruding from full lips. I feinted to the side, but she remained still, already guessing my move. I made it anyway. I launched my torch at her face. She was barely an inch clear of the flames, when Rhyan jump-kicked her, pushing her into place. The fires flared instantly, spreading down her body as she screamed in pain, arms flailing.

I froze. She looked mortal at that moment. Merely mortal. And scared.

Her screams of pain, the ghosts of her soturion training … She reminded me of Haleika.

My eyes met Rhyan’s and I knew he was thinking the same thing. Remembering the arena, the horror. I could still see it so clearly. Still hear Haleika’s final moments.

“Lyr,” Meera shouted, pulling me back.

Chest heaving, I trapped Meera’s hand in mine and ran. We were getting on that Godsdamned gryphon and we were getting out of here. Lifting her in my arms, I pushed her onto the gryphon’s outstretched wing. She reached for his feathers, hoisting her body up.

Dario screamed from the opposite side of the gryphon. Akadim were climbing aboard.

Rhyan vanished and reappeared on the gryphon’s back, just in time to grab Meera’s arms and haul her the rest of the way up. With a quick glance at Dario and Aiden, he jumped again, his body reappearing behind mine. He reached around my waist, his head pressed to the back of mine. My stomach tugged and I landed face first in a heap of fur and feathers on the gryphon’s back.

“Hold on,” Rhyan ordered. The gryphon was frantic, slashing and moving, avoiding attacks from all sides.

Blearily, I saw Dario kill an akadim, but already, he was facing another climbing up the flank as Aiden scurried back.

“Go. Now!” Rhyan yelled. “ Vra. Mahara. ”

The gryphon’s talons fell forward before he roared and lifted back once again onto its hind paws. One wing raised into the air, he roared in pain, blood dripping down his bronzed feathers.

“Hold on!” Rhyan shouted.

An akadim launched its body up, landing right beside me. I screamed, just as Meera slid her body forward, her boot slamming hard enough into its face it fell backwards.

“Shit.” My eyes widened. She’d gotten stronger.

A second later we were moving. I pulled her against me as Rhyan threw himself at Dario’s side. Together they cut off the akadim’s head, and kicked its remains from the wing.

“ Mahara ,” Rhyan commanded.

Both wings were in the air now, the gryphon’s body leaning dangerously far back, and then we were running, racing from the akadim, and lifting into the air, flying higher and higher.

“Come here to me,” Rhyan whispered in my ear, arms circling around me.

I turned in his arms, sparing a quick glance for Meera who was miraculously unharmed. Then I began scanning Rhyan for injuries. He had a few cuts and tears in his pants and tunic, but the blood was already dried, the wounds already closing. The worst injury was to his face.

“Your nose.” I frowned, and gently pushed his curls from his forehead. He flinched, and then sighed at my touch, his head pushing against my hand.

“It’s okay,” he said, but he was grinding his teeth as he spoke.

He’d most likely been able to ignore the pain during the adrenaline of battle, but now I was sure he was feeling all of his injuries at once.

Slowly, I began to lower my hand, fingers grazing against the swollen skin of his forehead. His eyes closed and he shivered against my touch with a long, painful breath.

I reached the bridge of his nose, and my hand stopped, my heart pounding and my chest warm.

I didn’t know how to do it—only that I could. And all at once, I could feel heat spreading in my hand. Could feel my chest warming as the light of the Valalumir glowed beneath my armor, lighting up my palm.

Rhyan’s eyes sprang open in horror and he grabbed my wrist, pulling it away. “Lyr, no!”

“What?” The light inside my chest went out. “Why?”

“Don’t,” he said, his eyes widening. “Don’t heal me.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I can do this.”

“But I don’t want you to,” he growled, suddenly shifting back from me.

“Rhyan!” I looked anxiously around us, but Dario and Aiden were too far to hear, their heads bent to each other in deep discussion. “You need to be healed. We … we don’t know what we’re going to face next.”

“Exactly.” He took both of my wrists in his hands, his touch gentle, but firm enough that I’d have to struggle to break free. “It’s fine. It will heal on its own.”

“But it can heal faster. What if we have to fight again tonight?”

“Then we fight! Lyr, this is exactly why I won’t let you! If you do this, you’ll take on this pain. And it will weaken you. There’s no way in hell I’d risk that.”

“But right now it’s weakening you!” I said.

“No, it’s not.” His mouth tightened, his under eyes dark bruised shadows. “You saw how many akadim I just killed. I don’t want you taking this pain on. Okay? Swear to me! Swear you won’t heal me.”

I searched his eyes, breaking free of his hold. He let me, but I kept my hands in my lap. “I can’t stand to see you in pain.”

“Neither can I stand to see you!” He took my hand in his.

“I can handle it,” I said. “I’m strong enough.”

Rhyan shook his head. “No. They needed to do it—it’s mine to bear. Not yours.”

“But—”

“Lyr, stop. Please. You can’t.”

“Rhyan!”

“Lyr, listen to me. When we went to bed earlier …” He squeezed his eyes shut, his expression miserable. “You healed me. You took my exhaustion away.”

My jaw dropped. “I …” I’d thought my chest had heated as I laid there in his arms. But I thought it was just a remnant of his touch, a reminder that he was a Guardian.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have told you earlier. That’s why you slept so long. Okay? That’s why. You healed twice today and it’s worn you out both times. Lyr, we don’t know enough about this yet. I don’t want you using it again until we know how it’s going to affect you. And right now, I need you ready to fight whatever comes next.”

“And I need you ready to fight,” I said.

He breathed out slowly. “I am.”

I was about to demand a compromise, for him to let me heal him when we landed and knew we had time to rest. But there was a sudden flash of light in the sky, and the gryphon screeched, its body turning violently away. My hand shot out for Meera, as Rhyan wrapped his arm around me, pulling me back against his body.

“What is that?” Meera asked.

The muscles in Rhyan’s jaw tightened. “It’s Aemon.”

I looked back, seeing the glowing blue lights beneath his ashvan horse, Aditi. Aemon’s red Arkturion cloak flew out behind him.

“The fuck?” Dario yelled. “Who is that?”

“Not Glemarian,” Aiden said, his eyes clocking Aemon’s every move.

Aemon’s aura was expanding, its violent deadly essence reaching toward us.

My eyes met Meera’s, who’d leaned forward, her body straining to see him. I didn’t have to ask what she was looking for. Because I was looking for a glimpse of her, too.

Morgana.

There was no sign of her though, and I couldn’t decide if I was disappointed or relieved.

Maraaka Ereshya.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” I gritted.

Meera’s eyebrows narrowed. “ Listening .”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Fuck. Of course he was. That was what he did. He’d been able to manipulate us when we were in Bamaria, able to push us toward everything he wanted. Knew how we’d react, knew our exact thoughts each time. Because he’d listened to everything.

Without a doubt, he knew what we were up to. Knew we were going to Numeria, that we were going to rescue Jules. And knowing him, he’d find a way to use that against us.

“It’s a good sign,” Rhyan said quietly. “He’s not attacking. He’s revealed he’s here, and he didn’t have to.”

“So, he’s sending a message?” I asked. “That the akadim were his?” My hands fisted at my sides, seeing their collars in my mind. “We already fucking knew that.”

Rhyan nodded. “He fucked up though. Because he just showed us something I don’t think he meant to. He isn’t any more powerful than last time we saw him. Morgana hasn’t given him the shard yet.”

I shuddered with relief, not realizing how desperately I needed to hear that. To hear that Morgana hadn’t brought back the full power of Moriel. But was that because she was truly on our side?

Maraaka Ereshya.

Or was she keeping it for herself?

“Do you think we’ll know?” Meera asked. “When he does take the shard?”

“I think we will,” Rhyan said. “I think he’ll want that.”

“The fuck’s going on?” Aiden interrupted.

Dario’s eyes narrowed on the three of us. “Don’t know. But he’s gone now. We’ll report it.” He reached for his belt, but then cursed when he remembered his vadati had been smashed in the fight.

Aiden’s eyes narrowed on us. “We should look further into it,” he said.

But Rhyan sat forward and said, “It’s not fucking important right now. The real question is how you’re going to get the warning out about the akadim.”

“Akadim reports go to Arkturion Kane,” Dario said darkly.

“Kane?” Rhyan paled. Kane was the man Rhyan’s father wanted me to marry. The Arkturion who was supposed to make the Bastardmaker look civil. Rhyan had let his father torture him just to keep him away from me.

“Yes, Kane,” Dario snapped. He looked down his nose at Rhyan, his sneer full of condescension. “You remember him.”

Rhyan’s mouth tightened. “Dario, listen to me. We can’t go to Seathorne. We just can’t. Say we escaped—say we fought and overpowered you.”

“And why would I do that?” Dario jerked his chin at us. Aiden nodded in response.

I was too slow to understand the signal. But Meera wasn’t. She’d jumped to her feet, wobbling to the side as the gryphon’s body shifted beneath us, her stave out and pointed. Aiden was faster. Black ropes sprang from his stave, overtaking the light emanating from hers. He bound her within seconds. Rhyan lunged protectively in front of me, his body blocking me from view. Aiden bound him anyway, then bound me, too.

My skin itched the second the ropes made contact, and my chest tightened.

“Maybe you misunderstood,” Dario said. “We were always going to Seathorne.”

My heart sank. “Why? Why stick to the plan? Rhyan just fought for you—with you! He protected you! Doesn’t that mean anything?”

“That we fought together? Just like old times?” Dario spat. “What did you think happened here, my lady? That we made up? That it’s all better? We stopped a fucking threat. Nothing more. Rhyan did his duty—the least he could do. Now we’re going to report it. And then I’m going to do my duty and bring you before my Imperator.”

“You would have died without him,” I said through gritted teeth. “Rhyan killed your akadim when you couldn’t. He fucking held you when you were laying there in shock! You owe him. He saved your fucking life. And you Godsdamned well know it!”

Dario smirked. “Aye. But we saved yours first, freeing you from the ropes.”

“Ropes you put us in!” I shouted.

Rhyan only shook his head beside me. “Lyr. Don’t.”

I rose to my knees, trying to get between Rhyan and Dario. He could bring me before Imperator Hart. I didn’t care. But I was going to be damned before I subjected Rhyan to the place where he’d been helpless and tortured. “Doesn’t anything he did matter? He was your friend, and by the way he acted tonight, he’s still your friend. He’d never do this to you if the roles were reversed.”

“If the roles were reversed Garrett would be alive! My father would be alive. You don’t want to play this game with me.” Dario’s eyes darkened.

“Bring me then,” Rhyan said calmly. “Let me answer for my crimes. Let me receive justice if this is what you need.” His eyes fell on Aiden. “But you both know what Kane is. What he’s capable of. Please. Don’t bring Lyriana and Meera into that. They’re innocent. I beg you.”

Something lifted in Dario’s aura, and my heart nearly skipped a beat. He was listening. Rhyan was getting through to him.

Just as quickly as he seemed to shift, his aura darkened again, pulsing with something angry, and rageful. “Kane’s who we report to.” He stalked forward, hand on the hilt of his sword. “We could have reported the threat to my father. The Master of Peace, remember? But you killed him, too.”

I could feel it coming. Dario was going to strike.

“If you touch him—” I snarled.

“You’ll what?” He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me easily aside, hovering over a kneeling Rhyan.

The wind howled, and I desperately tried to get back. To find a way to fight. Aiden had stilled, watching the exchange with the focus of a hawk. Meera started shouting, and I was pleading, begging. But Dario wouldn’t be deterred.

“Aiden got his. I want mine. You promised to answer for your crimes. So, let’s start. You said I could break your arm.” He made a clicking noise with his tongue. “Not going to work while you’re bound.”

My breath came short, my heart fluttering with panic. I knew what was coming next. And from the way Rhyan’s face paled, his breath coming short, he knew it, too. Dario fisted his hand around the hilt of his dagger, the gleam of the blade caught in the moonlight. “Noses don’t break twice? Do they?”

The crunch sound was awful. And I screamed as Rhyan fell unconscious.

Meera and I were both rushing for him, awkwardly crawling on our knees, our arms bound, our power gone.

“You bastard,” I yelled. “You fucking gryphon-shit bastard!”

My fingers itched, desperate to touch Rhyan, to soothe him, to heal him. His eyes were swollen shut, his nose bleeding fresh blood again. The gryphon shifted and Rhyan rolled into me, grunting softly.

“He’ll fall off,” I said at last. “How will you explain that to your Imperator? I assume he asked you to bring him back alive?”

“Put his head in her lap, free her hand,” Dario ordered Aiden, his gaze distant. “Hold him then. Keep him from falling.”

I wanted to punch him. But I also saw a flicker of regret in his eyes. I just hoped I could use that to my advantage.

“ Vra ,” Dario commanded the gryphon. “We’ll stop at the nearest post to report the attack. Then we head straight for the Imperator.”

I brushed Rhyan’s bloody curls off his forehead, willing my hand to warm, for my heart to glow. I wanted to heal him. I needed to.

His eyebrow furrowed beneath my touch. But no heat came. There was nothing else I could do. I could only sit there and try to hold him. Keep him safe, and allow him to rest until sunrise. Until we faced his father.