Page 109 of Skalterra By Nightmare
Tiernan caught my eye from behind Galahad. His glowering expression was difficult to read, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
“How many lives does she have left?” he asked, still looking at me.
I held up my hand for the rest to see the scars.
“Two more,” I said. “I started with five.”
Iseult inhaled sharply and reached for my hand again. I drew it away before she could touch me, and she frowned at her grandfather.
“She’s lucid,” she said.
“Well, yes,” Galahad grunted. “I wasn’t going to curse a mindless drone.”
“Grandfather, that’s dangerous! You know I can’t let her in. You all need to leave.”
“It’s not like last time,” Galahad insisted.
“Last time?” I asked, but they both ignored me.
“The others won’t allow it.” Iseult shook her head.
“I’m sorry to put you in this position,” Galahad said, “but we really are just passing through for Skal. Once we have what we need, I promise, you’ll never see us again.”
“Tulyr’s laws—” Iseult started.
“Is your allegiance to a dead city really going to stop you from helping us protect the Divine Sovereign?” Galahad cut her off. “In another life, you would’ve been a Riftkeeper too.”
“The others—”
“They will listen to you.” Galahad stepped forward and set a gnarled hand on Iseult’s metal shoulder plate. “Let us in, Iseult.”
“But the Nightmare—” She glanced at me, and I didn’t understand the fear that flitted across her tan features.
“She’s safe. More importantly, she’s useful. She killed a rotsbane.”
Iseult’s chest plate clinked as she heaved a mighty sigh.
“In and out. Get your Skal, and then you’re leaving.”
“Of course.” Galahad patted her shoulder again, then motioned for the rest of us to get ready to go. He threw his pack over his shoulder and smirked. “Wouldn’t want you to have to kill us.”
Iseult blushed in the rising moonlight, but kept her gaze down as the others hurried to grab their packs.
Iseult led the way, easy to follow with her illuminated leg. Its soft light rebounded off her metal armor, and I felt like I was following a star to the top of the plateau. Rugged terrain, dotted with short, gnarled trees and clusters of glowing white flowers, gave way to even ground and tiered inclines.
“It’s paved,” I realized, looking at the cobblestone path hiding beneath the vines growing over the ground. Another cliff loomed ahead, but its face was split by a set of stairs carved into the stone. “Is that a staircase?”
Orla walked beside me. She held my scarred hand in hers, running her fingers absentmindedly over the marks left by Galahad.
“I don’t get why he didn’t tell us about the curse,” she mumbled.
“Something about being afraid you’d put your own life at risk if you knew mine was in danger.” I shrugged. “Which is fair. We both know you would.”
“But if we knew, Tiernan might not have blown you up,” she said.
I stared at the space between Tiernan’s shoulders where he sauntered ahead of us. His cloak had become so dirty in the last weeks that it looked closer to brown than yellow.
“We both know he would have,” I said.
