Page 101 of Magick and Lead
“Me? Or the voice in your mind…” Kortoi said. “The voice of your dying lover?”
I pressed the dagger harder against his throat, a twitch away from drawing blood. I felt a rumble of laughter rise from his chest.
You can let Charlie burn,Othura said.But I won’t let you pretend it isn’t happening.
I growled, a sound of pure, carnal frustration. “Shut up!”
“You’re going through a lot. Why don’t you just set me down here?” Kortoi said.
For a second, I didn’t understand what he meant, then I squinted down and saw a dark shape on the surface of the water. A landmass. And further away, off to my right, fire and explosions in the distance. This was Dorhane—the frontline of the war.
Being dropped off on Dorhane was what Kortoi wanted. And I hated giving him what he wanted. And yet, I couldn’t endure his presence for one more second.
Wordlessly, I shifted my weight, guiding Othura into a dive. In minutes, we were gliding to a rest atop one of the island’s rocky cliffs.
I roughly shoved Kortoi off Othura’s back. He hit the rocky ground and rolled to a halt. Then I leapt off myself, my dagger ready.
“You promised to cure Othura,” I said. “Do it. Now.”
I was fully prepared for what would happen next, as Kortoi stood and brushed the dirt off his robes. He would refuse to help Othura. I’d kill him. Then, I’d have to find some way to save Othura before that dark poison of Kortoi’s consumed her. That, or I’d lose her…
But the prelate smiled and gave a small bow. “Of course,” he said.
Few men have the courage to approach the deadly jaws of a dragon, but Kortoi did so calmly. Othura watched him, one edge of her mouth drawn in a snarl.
The explosions of war boomed far away, rolling across the wasteland like distant thunder.
The dark priest leaned in until he and Othura were nose-to-nose, then he inhaled deeply. As I watched, a string of smoke was drawn out of Othura’s mouth and into Kortoi’s. The prelate turned and blew it out again, like a draught from a pipe, then looked to me with a shrug.
“There. All done.”
I looked to Othura’s eyes. Indeed, the darkness that had clouded them before was gone.
I turned to Kortoi again, my fist tightening on the dagger in my hand. I could kill him now. Fulfill my objective. Rid my kingdom of a terrible blight. And he seemed to know it. His eyes danced from the blade to my face.
“You can try to kill me,” he said. “But you told me you would drop me off here safe. It is written: an Irska always keeps herword. You wouldn’t want to be the first to break that sacred tradition, would you? And besides, your dragon here isn’t the only one with teeth.”
He champed at the air, clacking his teeth together, then laughed.
I stared at him, not trying to conceal the disgust I felt.
“Come find me when you’re ready to begin rebuilding Maethalia. We’ll do it together,” he said. “But for now… I’ll leave you to your choice.”
And with a flourish of his robes, he turned and walked off into the mist, whistling tunelessly.
I looked to Othura and her fiery orange eyes met mine. As always, there was no judgement there. Only perfect love. Perfect understanding. Sometimes, it was harder to look at her than to stare into the sun. She saw me as I was, saw the truth in me—always. It was almost impossible to bear.
I glanced down at the dagger, still clutched in my trembling hands, and sheathed it.
Then I looked out across the sea. East, toward Maethalia. Then west, toward Admar.
My heart ached. I felt like I was being pulled in half. My kingdom. Or Charlie. How many times would I have to make the same terrible choice?
“Do you still hear him?” I asked. I felt my bottom lip trembling and caught it between my teeth.
Faintly, now,she said.
I took a deep, steadying breath. “Then fly like a gale.”
