Page 96 of Flight of Fate

For weeks, the God of Darkness disappeared. Now that he’s returned, I need answers from him just as desperately as I need answers from the traitor Crow.

“Left one little detail open.”It takes all out of me to think that at him, but I manage to face the sliver-sprinkled blackness in my head.

“And what detail is that?”

A smirk forms on my own lips, keeping Ephegos’s attention on me as I struggle to remember what he and I were talking about.

“Myron has been your pawn since the curse fell upon the Crows. I have been your pawn since I was conceived. Whose pawn is Ephegos?”

Thunder claps in the skies above as Shaelak growls inside my head.

Just like that, he’s gone.

I don’t have time to consider whether the silence in my skull is creepier than housing the thoughts of a god; Ephegos is still staring at me.

Erina. The deal with Shaelak. Trying to find out why Ephegos is humoring Erina when he could merely seize power for himself… I snap back into reality, locking my eyes on Ephegos’s as I still gasp for air.

“So you’re just going to sell me to Erina all over again?”

“And watch you suffer until the King of Tavras dies. And then, I’ll take you back, Ayna. You’ll be mine for all eternity, and Myron will be forced to watch from afar as you slowly turn into a husk used however I see fit. Whenever I see fit. By whomever I see fit.”

I should kill him now. Should risk it. Dying in the process is a fate less grueling than what he’s concocted for me. One glance at Ephegos’s knife, and he knows. A laugh spills from his mouth, and he crinkles his nose as if amusement and disgust are melding.

“Don’t even think about trying, Ayna. I’ll just pin you by the shoulder to the bench and wait until the double dosage of the drug I’ve coated my armor and all my weapons with sets in.” He slides back to the door, and this time, he doesn’t hesitate before he opens it. “It won’t change a thing about your fate. Only that you might not be awake to experience the first time your future husband takes his pleasure from you.”

Without another word, he hops out the door, shutting it behind him with a bang, and I crumble into a heap of tears.

Fifty-Five

Ayna

It takesabout an hour before the camp is set and someone opens the door to throw a blanket at me. My tears have dried, leaving only resolve behind.

If I want to flee, it has to be tonight. My powers are strong enough to defend myself against a Flame or a few humans, even if I can’t defeat Ephegos. I can’t risk waiting another night.

The guard shuts the door in my face when I open my mouth to ask when we’ll continue in the morning, so I gather the blanket around me, huddling on the bench while I listen to the sounds of the settling soldiers outside, counting their footsteps as they do their rounds.

For a long time, muffled voices are murmuring by what sounds like the crackling of a fire. Metal scrapes against metal as they eat. Only when the last plate has been stacked and stored does the activity die down to a minimum of two soldiers patrolling the camp. They stop to look into the carriage through the curtains that have been drawn open so they can keep an eye on me. It allows me to catch a glimpse of who’s still up and who’s sleeping in the row of bedrolls behind the fire.

When the footsteps fade into the other direction, I crawl into a crouch, daring a longer look outside.

Horses are tied up by a tree, heavy blankets covering their backs and flanks. Only one of them is saddled. A guard is stoking the fire while the other one is heading into the bushes, probably to relieve himself of the diluted wine they sometimes smell like.

“Don’t take too long,” the one by the fire calls after the one already unbuckling his belt as he heads for the trees.

He’s only disappearing between the branches when a shadow stalks up to the guard by the fire. Forcing myself to stay still, I count my own heartbeats as Ephegos’s face appears beneath the hood of a cloak as he approaches the flickering flames.

My fae senses are back to their full extent, so I hear every last word as the traitor Crow announces, “I’ll be riding ahead to the outpost. Erina will be pleased to know his bride will return in the morning.”

Morning.I suck in a steadying breath.

The guard salutes, clacking his heels together.

“Make sure the maids at the outpost clean her up and dress her for his majesty before you bring her up to his quarters.”

The guard hesitates for a moment. “What if she causes problems?”

That earns him a laugh from his master. “She’s been drugged for days. The only problem she’ll cause is vomit onto your uniform.”

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