Echoes of the Raven (The Eldrystone #2)

35. CHAPTER 35

35

VALERIA

“Radina, my beloved mate, I pray to Niamhara that I shall embrace you and our daughter soon.”

Kadewyn Zinceran - Veilfallen - 21 AV

A hand covers my mouth, and something sharp and pointed digs into my neck.

“Make a sound and I will bleed you,” Calierin hisses.

I inhale sharply, a cry stuck in my throat. I stayed awake well past midnight, but at some point, exhaustion won the battle. I curse inwardly, angry with myself.

“Make a sound,” she repeats, “and I swear I will give you a second smile, a very bloody one.” Slowly, she removes her hand from my mouth and starts patting my pockets. She comes up with my Plumanegra key and regards it, cocking her head.

“What is this?” she demands.

She pockets the key in a heartbeat, and I almost yell at her to give it back. It’s mine. Father gave it to me. In that instant, I want to turn her to stone, but a shiver runs through me remembering the guardias’ faces and the way Rífíor screamed in pain. I’m not like her. That doesn’t mean I’m helpless, though.

I take a deep breath and strike her wrist, sending her dagger flying.

“ Drocháin! ” she exclaims.

Growling, she wraps both hands around my neck and begins to choke me. But I know well how to get out of this situation. I don’t need espiritu for this. From under her grip, I stick my hands between her arms. At the same time, I buck my hips and jerk her arms apart. Her grip loosened somewhat, and that’s when I’m able to turn on my side and push her away with my legs. Free, I scramble away from her. She quickly crouches and lunges, hands glowing with espiritu. She is so fast I have no time to think, and before I know it, she’s on me, her hands clasped around my neck once more. This time, I do reach for the amulet’s power and…

A crimson sun bleeds over me, casting long, twisted shadows from the many skeletons of buildings that choke the horizon. The air thrums with a relentless buzzing, like a million angry hornets trapped in my skull. I’m adrift in the ruins of a city, my body a hollow shell echoing with desperate screams. Each one claws for dominance, a chorus of agonizing memories not my own—the chilling isolation of total darkness, the sting of a lash, the searing agony of a pyre. I turn and take in the desolation, the destruction. This can’t be. This is not Castella.

My home can’t be gone!

I’m screaming, my throat bare to the night as my blood-curdling cry rents the night.

“It’s over, it’s over.” Rífíor is kneeling over me, shaking me. He slaps my face, not too gently. I turn away and see Calierin, unconscious, her face right next to mine. Panicked, I push away from both of them and jump to my feet. I startle when I notice Kadewyn off to one side, watching. I warily put some distance between us, too.

“You,” I say in a rush of breath. “You sent her. This was your plan all along.”

Rífíor doesn’t say anything. He simply looks at me with a frown.

“I should have listened to Jago. I should have… ”

For the first time, I notice The Eldrystone is in his hand, the chain wrapped tightly around his knuckles. Fear works itself into the marrow of my bones. He may not be able to use the amulet, but what about Calierin and Kadewyn? Of course, Rífíor would trust them more. And the other night? It was just another betrayal, a way to seduce me, so I would let my guard down, and like a fool, I did just as he expected.

A voice in the back of my head is trying to tell me something, but the mixture of anger and fear that suffuses my veins leaves little room for more.

He lifts his hand, raising the Eldrystone toward me. I step back, terrified that, this time, Niamhara will lend him her power to break me the way I broke Orys.

I brace myself for the worst.

Rífíor’s dark eyes grow darker still as he lowers his face and his strong brow casts shadows over them.

My mouth goes dry.

Moving so close that I see the silver line of his scar cutting across his eye, he takes my hand with his free one and lifts it, palm up. My fingers tremble, and I’m embarrassed by the terror that has become me. Without a word, he presses the amulet into my hand, closes my fingers around it, and retreats.

Numbly, I stare down at the jewel, then back at Rífíor. My fear turns into a tangle of emotions that I can’t comprehend. I try to speak, but my lips are sealed shut. No matter… I’m sure only nonsense would come out.

I glanced all around. At Kadewyn standing behind Rífíor and Calierin lying on the ground. Rífíor’s expression is unreadable despite his actions. For a long moment, I stand unmoving, unsure of what to do.

“I can’t,” I say. “I have to…”

I can’t trust Calierin or Kadewyn anymore—not that I ever did .

Slowly, I back away, my grip tight on the amulet, and head toward the horses, picking up La Matadora on my way there.

Rífíor catches up with me. “Where are you going?”

“I can’t stay with them. You know that.”

He nods, looking resigned. Pressing a hand to his chest, fingers splayed, he asks, “Can I join you?”

I thought he would take it for granted that he was coming along, so I’m surprised by his willingness to leave the decision up to me. But I guess he knows I can’t do this without him.

I nod.

He turns to Kadewyn. “I’m sorry, but we must leave.”

The male narrows his pale eyes, which flick angrily toward Calierin. “I didn’t do this.”

Rífíor glances sideways at me, and I know he’s asking if I can let Kadewyn join us, but I have my hands full with one of them. It’s all I can take.

“No,” I say. Just one word, irrefutable.

“I understand,” Kadewyn replies. “But I hope you will also understand that I’ll still be heading west. I’ll give you a head start.” He pauses and points at Calierin on the ground. “I’ll try to make sure she doesn’t interfere, but I can’t guarantee anything.”

“Thank you.” Rífíor bows, then joins me.

He saddles Calierin’s gelding with practiced ease. When he’s done, I reach for the reins, mount the beast, and settle gingerly in the saddle. One of Rífíor’s dark eyebrows arches up. I stare at him blankly. He sighs in resignation and—in one fluid motion, more agile than any human could ever manage—leaps onto the horse and takes his place behind me.

I need to forge my own destiny and that requires I stop letting others take the reins.