“He carried you for twelve miles before we found him. This is the first sleep he’s had.”
I looked at Rafe, his face gaunt and bruised. He had a gash over his left brow. The river had taken its toll on him too. Sven explained how he, Jeb, Orrin, and Tavish had maneuvered the raft to the planned destination. They’d left their own horses and a half dozen Vendan ones they had taken in battle in a makeshift paddock, but many had escaped. They rounded up what they could, gathered the supplies and saddles they had stashed in nearby ruins, and began backtracking, searching the banks and forest for us. They finally spotted some tracks and followed them. Once they found us, they rode through the night to this shelter.
“If you were able to find our tracks, then—”
“Not to worry, Your Highness. Listen.” He cocked his head to the side.
A heavy whine vibrated through the cavern.
“A blizzard,” he said. “There will be no tracks to follow.”
Whether the storm was a blessing or hindrance, I wasn’t sure—it would prevent us from traveling too. I remembered my aunt Bernette telling me and my brothers about the great white storms of her homeland that blocked out sky and earth and left snow piled so high that she and her sisters could venture outside only from the second floor of their fortress. Dogs with webbed feet had pulled their sleds across the snow.
“But they will try to follow,” I said. “Eventually.”
He nodded.
I had killed the Komizar. Griz had lifted my hand to the clans who were the backbone of Venda. He had declared me queen and Komizar in a single breath. The clans had cheered. Only producing my dead body would prove a successor’s claim to rule. I imagined that successor to be Malich. I tried not to think about what had happened to Kaden. I couldn’t allow my mind to drift there, but still, his face loomed before me, and his last expression of hurt and betrayal. Had Malich struck him down? Or one of his other countrymen? He had fought against them for me. Ultimately, he chose me over the Komizar. Was it the sight of a child’s body in the snow that had finally pushed him over the edge? It was what had pushed me.
I had killed the Komizar. It had been easy. I’d had no hesitation, no remorse. Would my mother think of me as little more than an animal? I’d felt nothing as I plunged the knife into him. Nothing when I plunged it in again, except for the slight tug of flesh and gut. Nothing when I killed three more Vendans after that. Or was it five? Their shocked faces blended together in a distant rush.
But none of it had come soon enough to save Aster.
Now it was her face that loomed, an image I couldn’t bear.
Sven held a cup of broth to my lips, claiming I needed nutrition, but I already felt darkness closing in again, and I gratefully let it overtake me.
CHAPTER TWO
I woke to the sound of silence. The howl of the storm was gone.
My brow was sticky, and strands of hair were plastered across my forehead. I hoped dampness was a sign the fever was breaking. And then I heard strained whispers. I carefully slivered my eyes open, peering from beneath my lashes. There was soft light filtering through the cave, and I saw them huddled close together. What secrets were they keeping now?
Tavish was shaking his head. “The storm’s over, and they’ll be on the move. We need to go.”
“She’s too weak to ride,” Rafe said in a low voice. “Besides, the bridge is damaged. They can’t get across. We have time.”
“True,” Sven said, “but there’s the lower river. They’ll cross there.”
“That was a good week’s ride for us from the Sanctum,” Jeb countered.
Rafe took a sip from a steaming mug. “And now with the snow, it will be twice that.”
“Which will also slow us down,” Tavish reminded him.
Orrin rocked on his heels. “Hang me, they probably think we’re all dead. I would. No one could ever make it across that demon river.”
Rafe rubbed the back of his neck, then shook his head. “Except that we did. And if they don’t find a single body floating anywhere downriver, they’ll know.”
“But even once they cross, they’ll have no idea where we are,” Jeb said. “We could have exited anywhere. That’s hundreds of miles to search with no tracks to follow.”
“No tracks yet,” Tavish warned.
Sven turned and walked over to the fire. I closed my eyes and heard him pouring something from the kettle into his tin cup, then sensed him standing over me. Did he know I was awake? I kept my eyes closed until I heard him walk back to the others.
Their discussions continued as they weighed their options, Rafe arguing in favor of waiting until I was stronger. Was he risking himself and the others because of me?
I mumbled as if I was just waking “Good morning. Rafe, can you help me up?” They all turned and watched me expectantly.
Rafe came over and knelt by my side. He pressed his hand to my forehead. “You’re still hot. It’s too soon—”
“I’m feeling better. I just—” He continued to resist, holding my shoulders down.
“I have to pee, Rafe,” I said firmly. That stopped him. He looked sheepishly over his shoulder at the others. Sven shrugged as if he didn’t know how to advise him.
“I’m afraid to even think of the indignities I may have suffered these past days,” I said. “But I’m awake now, and I will relieve myself in private.”
Rafe nodded and carefully helped me up. I did my best not to grimace. It was a long, awkward, painful process to get to my feet, and putting the slightest amount of weight on my now-stitched thigh sent fiery shocks through my leg and up my groin. I leaned heavily on Rafe for support. My head spun with dizziness, and I felt beads of moisture spring to my upper lip, but I knew they were all watching, gauging my strength. I forced a smile. “There now, that’s better.” I clutched the blanket around me for modesty’s sake, because all I had on were my underclothes.
“Your dress is dry now,” Rafe said. “I can help you put it back on.”
I stared at the wedding dress spread out on a rock, the crimson dyes of many fabrics bleeding into the others. Its weight had pulled me under in the river and nearly killed me. All I could see when I looked at it was the Komizar. I felt his hands running down my arms, once again claiming me as his own.
I knew they sensed my reluctance to put it back on, but there was nothing else to wear. We had all narrowly escaped with just the clothes on our backs.
“I have an extra pair of trousers in my saddlebag,” Jeb said.
Orrin gawked at him in disbelief. “Extra trousers?”
Sven rolled his eyes. “Of course you do.”
“We can cut away the bottom of the dress so the rest can serve as a shirt,” Tavish said.
They seemed eager to busy themselves with something that would distract them from my more personal task at hand, and began to move away.
“Wait,” I said, and they paused mid-stride. “Thank you. Rafe told me you were the best of Dalbreck’s soldiers. Now I know that he didn’t overestimate your abilities.” I turned to Sven. “And I’m sorry I threatened to feed your face to the hogs.”
Sven smiled. “All in a day’s work, Your Highness,” he said, and then he bowed.