Page 94 of Of Blood and Fire
“You ordered the fortress walls fortified, Aric, not the entirety of the city.”
I was close to the end of the tunnel now; light danced warmly across the lake’s shoreline, but I remained unable to see either him or Damon or even the earth mage hiding in the dead zone. I had no doubt that he—and whoever else might wait there—would attack the minute I stepped into that cavern.
“Drop your sword, Bryn. Now.”
I didn’t. I just kept on walking, tension rising, knuckles white.
Aric sighed. “Do what I say, or I will kill him.”
“No, you won’t, because he’s the only thing standing between you and death.”
I stopped a foot away from the entrance, pushed the orb deeper into the cavern, then brightened it, needing to see exactly what I was facing and where the two of them were. Warm light speared the shadows, revealing the sheer enormity of the lake and a stark, almost cathedral-like space surrounding it. Directly opposite, on a natural podium of stone, were Aric and Damon, the father behind the son, just as the Prioress had predicted. Damon’s hands and feet were tied, but there was also a thin strip of metal looped around his neck, tight enough to bruise and perhaps even restrict his breathing without drawing blood. A second but obviously very strong strip of metal ran from that to a boulder sitting very unnaturally on the edge of the dais. If it fell, it would drag Damon into the water.
Aric’s grip appeared to be the only thing stopping that from happening.
The bastard had countered the possibility of me cindering his black soul.
Notcame Kaia’s comment.Metal melt,black rock melt.
Yes, but it would take a wider blanket of flame to make that happen, and I was already pushing my strength. But I’d rather risk collapse than the possibility of Damon drowning.
“As you can now see, you cannot burn me without also cindering him. Note also that he is tied to a very large and conveniently round rock,” Aric replied. “Try anything untoward, and I release the leash, the rock drops, and it will drag him in. The lake, by the way, slopes steeply away from our position. You will not save him before he drowns. Now, throw out your sword.”
Don’t, trap, earth mage here.
The words whispered into my soul, etched with pain and weariness, and my heart ached for him.
I know.
I unbuckled my sword and tossed it into the cavern. It clattered heavily on the black stone, sliding forward several feet before coming to a stop close to the edge of the lake. Which was just as well, because Túxn only knew I couldn’t swim well enough to rescue it from the depths if it had dropped in.
“Now, move into the cavern so I can see if you hide any other weapons.”
“Forgive the distrust again, Aric, but?—”
I drew on Kaia’s fire and ripped it around the corner, straight at the dead patch and whoever else—whatever else—might be waiting there. Again, there was no scream. I stepped out, glanced right, and saw the ashes. One pile, no more.
“You know,” Aric said, voice conversational and almost amused, “you and Damon—the real Damon, not this traitorous bastard—would have had magnificent sons.”
“It’s not the sons you have to worry about. It’s us daughters. We control the drakkons, remember.”
“Drakkons—whether or not they have fire—cannot breach Zephrine’s defenses.”
I snorted and turned left, walking around the lake’s shoreline toward them. “I’m sure you thought that exact same thing about the riders, too, and yet they have decimated a good portion of the city.”
“But not the important section. Not her walls or the fortress itself. Stop where you are, Commander, and remove your coat so I can be sure there are no more weapons. As you said, forgive the distrust, but?—”
I smiled coldly and did as he bid, tossing my coat onto the damp stone to my left before raising my arms and slowly turning around. The knife seemed to press harder against my spine, as if trying to hide from his gaze.
Once I’d done a complete turn, I moved on. He didn’t object.
Wants closercame Damon’s tortured whisper.Has knife.
Because a knife was a more intimate means of death than a sword. Because with a knife, he could feel the blood gush over his hands and watch the life bleed from my eyes....
He’s not the only one.
What?
