Page 184 of A Dawn of Gods & Fury

“Don’t do anything to attract their attention, and you will blend in.” But Destry pulls her pendant out, closes her eyes, and begins to chant indecipherable words. When her eyes flip open, they’ve turned completely white.

Annika flinches. “That is disturbing.”

“And yet useful.”

We wait quietly for Destry to do … whatever it is she is doing. When her eyes shutter and reopen a moment later, they’ve turned black again. “There are many guards, but they do not seem to be searching for you here yet. They must think you are still within the capital.”

“What did you do there?” I ask.

“I used the eyes of the birds to see what we cannot.” She says it as if it’s the most natural thing to do.

My eyebrows arch. “I am impressed.”

“This only allows for a small range.” She holds up the pendant to show me the white stone. “It is made from the temple in Orathas. Every Azyr receives one.”

Annika studies it. “It’s the stone at the top, where the kal’ana is.”

“Yes. It channels the light. The larger the stone, the farther the reach. The Azyr within the temple can reach all of Udrel and beyond. To the seas, and the wraiths within them.”

“So they knew we had washed up.”

“Yes.” She tucks her pendant away. Already, her eyes are returning to normal. “We should be safe enough in the city. For tonight, at least.”

The wagon halts and Ezra shouts something. A creak sounds and then we’re turning and plodding along again.

“We will stay in the inn tonight,” Destry says. “The owner is a friend of Ezra’s.”

Annika sighs heavily. “Thank the fates. I am desperate for a bath.” She grimaces as she touches her neck, where I smeared honey on her.

I chuckle as I slip my fingers beneath her braids and pull out another strand of hay. “He has a lot of friends.”

“Ezra is the honey man. He is well known.”

A dainty hand slips through the little window, two bands made of a dull silver resting in its palm.

“You must wear those,” Destry announces.

“Excuse me?” Annika gapes.

“They are commitment bands—”

“Yes, I know what they are,” she snaps. “Why must we wear these?”

“Because we will tell the owner of this inn that you are a married couple from the islands in the far west. The dialect there is so different, it is basically another language. Besides, the wife is a traditional sort and if you are to share a room together, you must be pledged.”

Annika scowls. “There is an easy solution to that. We are not sharing a room together.”

“Yes, we are.” Enough is enough. “I am not leaving your side until we are safely out of this realm. Unless spending the next thousand years as their kal’ana sounds more appealing than listening to me snore.” Not that I will likely get much sleep.

Annika purses her lips but doesn’t argue as I collect the bands. “Thank you, Uda.”

The instant I slip on the larger one, I feel the burn. “What is this made of?”

“A special silver from the mountains north of here,” Destry says. “Where the wroxlik live.”

“The wyvern. I saw one earlier today.”

“Yes, they live up there, usually high within the clouds.”

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