Page 90 of The Cruel Dawn
Philia smiles at that, though her eyes wander toward my bag again, to the key to Olivia and their happily-ever-after. I clutch the strap a little tighter.
Some men groan; others emit rattling breaths that might well be their last.
“Step away if you’re smart,” I warn a half dozen more Dashmala soldiers who’ve hurried from their own grubby tents to guard Wake’s fancier one. “If you choose to stay, youwilldie.”
“She’s the one who killed Sinth.”
“Drove his own pike through his mouth, she did.”
Like Sinth, these soldiers have yellow eyes, scars, and bony ridges growing along their jawlines. Their race is derived from my own, the Mera. They’re fighters, with big weapons and bigger egos.
The two soldiers whose thoughts I overheard back away from me and run.
Four foolish Dashmala unsheathe their swords. One lifts his chin and says, “I’m not gonna let some mudscraping—”
I fling him into the sky.He will never walk this land again, I think viciously. I glance behind me, to make sure Philia is watching.
“Who’s next?” I ask.
Another soldier looks at me, looks at the sky, and runs after the two men that fled. The remaining two lift their swords, ready to fight.
I flick my hand, and they are flung behind me. I’m sure they’ll landsomewhere.
We reach the two Dashmala guarding Gileon Wake’s tent.
Neither knight is dying from the sickness hanging over this camp; the Dashmala are not as susceptible to most human diseases. But their swords are useless against the wind bursting from my hands. I slam one of them into the ground. The other Dashmala, also the size of a mountain, blocks me from entering Gileon Wake’s tent. “You—”
I flick my hand.
He crashes into the ground behind an outlying tent, and the campground shakes.
Jadon holds open the flap to his brother’s tent.
My stomach drops. I duck as I step inside, not only because of my height, but because I’m careful that no part of me, not even my hair, touches wool.
This tent is nicer and larger than most people’s homes; even with Jadon and the others standing behind me, there’s still space to move. There’s a wash basin and a wine barrel. A small wooden chest and a sword-stand are on the opposite side. Spotted leopard pelts drape across a bed. The wool traps all the heat from the fire, as well as the heat of the volcanic rock the camp was built upon.
Gileon Wake brandishes that same broadsword he carried the last time we met, a sword that stands taller than him. “Don’t come any closer,” he shouts, his voice tight with fear. “Or I’ll…” He gawks at Jadon. “Brother?”
The prince was already a small man before, but now he is a shadow. His armor hangs loose on his gaunt frame like an ill-fitting shell. The broadsword wavers in his hands, its weight clearly too much for him. His skin, once sun-kissed and healthy, now verges on sickly gray, with deep hollows beneath his cheekbones and dark shadows under his dull blue eyes. Even his stance is off-balance, his knees buckling slightly under the effort of standing. The man who once commanded legions now looks like he’s fighting just to remain upright.
In two steps, I’m standing behind the emperor’s youngest son. I yank the prince’s sword from his hands and twist his right arm behind his back.
Gileon yelps, his pulse frantic beneath my fingers. Nonetheless, he tries for nonchalance. “Jadon, tell her to release me immediately. I can’t talk if I’m being assaulted.”
“You may not remember this,” I say, “but you still owe me a couple of thousand bodies to make up for Veril Bairnell’s death.”
“Let me go,” Gileon demands.
“You’re the son of the emperor,” I say, “and he’s the circle in the middle of the colure. He’s Supreme Manifest. Isn’t that what you all have told the realm to believe? And if you’re the son of Supreme, you should call upon your inherited godly powers and force me to release you. Go on. I’ll wait, but I’m only gonna squeeze you harder.”
“Kai,” Jadon says, “we can’t. He’s…”
Family.
“Please?” Jadon adds.
“Now,that’sa powerful word,” I say, nodding but not relenting. “Before I let go…” I lean harder into Gileon and ask, “Where’s Danar Rrivae?”
