Aaron winced and nodded. “He expected to be flown back by dawn. But you’ll never get there.”
“And why be that?” Sebastian growled, tightening his fingers around Aaron’s throat.
The Dire managed a sickly grin. “The river’s flooded a huge section of the road—it’s taken out the bridge. And there’s no swimming that river. That’s why we’re waiting for him here—we were going to get to Eras on four feet, but there’s no way to get there, other than by Dragon.”
That explained why they’d stayed. I doubted, however, that Darius would have approved of them visiting the local bar. Good thing for us that Aaron was an idiot.
He proved it by saying, “So you’re screwed. Grievan’s got another buyer. You’ll never see those kids again.”
Sebastian uttered something that sounded like a curse and smacked Aaron’s head into the stone hard enough to knock him out. Then he dropped the limp form into the debris in the alley.
“What now?” I asked.
Matt stared at Sebastian. “We go for help, mate, and those kids are goners,” he stated. “There’s no time.”
Sebastian nodded. “That be why you two are going for help. And I’m going after them.”
My jaw dropped open. “Aaron just told us there’s no way to get there over land.”
“There isn’t a river born that I cannot swim,” Sebastian countered. “Take Aaron back to the academy.” He grabbed hold of one of his braids and sliced it clean off before handing it to me. “That will get you through the gate. It be as good as currency with the gatekeepers.”
I gave it to Matt. “He can take Aaron back. I’m coming with you.”
His silver eyes flared. “No, you are not.”
I straightened and locked gazes with him. “The twins don’t know you from Adam. Tell me I’m wrong.”
His brows lowered. “I have no idea who this Adam is, but whether they know me will not factor into this.”
I planted my hands on my hips. “They are in the talons ofDragons, Sebastian. How are you going to fight those bastards off while protecting the twins? Because I don’t see how you’ll be able to do one, let alone the other.”
He stared at me, but I was right, and he knew it. “Even if you are right, you are not trained to help me.”
“I don’t need training to snatch the twins while you distract those guarding them,” I pointed out. “And they’ll come with me quietly.”
“We’re better together,” Matt insisted.
My stomach clenched. If he came with us, he’d be forging that river, too.
Sebastian’s mouth was clamped, and a muscle jumped in his jaw. “Even on your best day, you couldn’t keep up with me,” the Bellati stated flatly. “And carrying both of you would slow me down too much.”
Matt growled, but I could sense his belief that the Bellati spoke the truth. For the first time, I was grateful Mari wasn’t with us. If she’d been here to go for help, no way we could have convinced Matt to leave.
“You’ll have to carry me, then,” I said.
Sebastian’s eyes widened.
“Angel, those areDragons,” Matt protested. “They’ll slice you to ribbons.”
I agreed with him. “I’m not intending to fight them.” I stared at both of them. “And we are wasting time discussing this.”
“Baz can’t fight them alone,” Matt protested.
The Bellati’s eyes narrowed. “The name be Sebastian,” he growled, before grabbing the map from me and spreading it against the wall. His long finger tapped on a city marked Latak, then flipped the roll to reveal streets. He indicated a spot in the maze of thoroughfares where a tiny hole had been punched through the paper.
“This be us.” He traced the streets to the city gate, then flipped the paper again, picking up the road clearly marked through forests and fields. “This be the main route to Eras. This must be the bridge that’s out.” He tapped at a spot where the road met a river. Flipping the paper again, he stared at Eras’s street map for a moment, tracking where a tributary skirted the city, running close to the Manticore’s Spike Hotel.
He leaned down to rub a finger on Aaron’s skin where the blood was still fresh. Then he straightened, and marked the hotel with a bloody finger print before he rolled up the map and handed it to Matt. “Take that with you. We need Dragons. I know they’re tied up with the Galeran thing, but if you can get them a message, and they can spare Tyrez—anyway, it be a long shot.”
