“How can I enjoy it, knowing I have to renew myself? And if I don’t…” I cannot bring myself to say the words. But it doesn’t make them any less true.
If I cannot renew, I will die.
“I think you’re special, and you’re blessed by the gods,” Everly says. “They will watch over you and your child.”
If only I had even an ounce of her faith in the high gods.
Seeming to sense my mood, she shifts the subject. “Do you have a plan for escape?”
“Not yet. The good thing is, we’re no longer in the past.”
Everly perks up. “How do you know?”
“Jasce. He knows me, which means we have already met in Karra.” I fiddle with the leather cord wrapped around the end of my braid.
“He’s Jerrod’s heir.” The edges of Everly’s mouth deepen into a fierce frown. “He will not help us.”
Maybe she’s wrong, but I cannot wait around, hoping he will.
We spend a while trying to come up with ways to free ourselves and get our bloodstone back so Everly can create a portal. But we don’t come up with any ideas I’m willing to stake all three of our lives on.
As the sounds of the camp turn to a faint hum—probably because most of the Hematite warriors went to sleep—Everly drifts off with her head against my arm.
A cool breeze wafts through the cracks in the tent opening, cooling my skin enough for me to relax and fall asleep next to her.
ChapterEleven
Twenty. That’s the number of times I woke up during the night, wishing I could change everything. Of course, nothing changed overnight.
I glare at the slivers of light sneaking through the cracks in the tent and embracing us, as if we’re not captives, as if we’re not tied up, as if everything is normal.
The flap lifts, and two guards step into our tent and unties us.
“Come on. Get moving,” one of them growls, giving me a shove.
I stumble forward, almost falling, and Everly reaches out to steady me.
My legs drag as the guards lead us outside and bring us to Jasce.
“Ah, you’re finally awake,” Jasce says, as if we spent a night in a comfortable bed and not tied to a stake.
“What are you going to do to us?” I ask, needing to know. For my sake. For Everly’s sake. Especially, for Everly’s sake.
“You will see.”With those words, Jasce grips my left arm and walks.
The Hematite, with the long scar on his face, grabs Everly and follows. My skin bristles with the need to turn around and shove the man away from Everly, but I don’t. It’s not the time for fighting. It’s the time for waiting, watching, observing.
I glance around as we walk through the camp, taking in the number of tents. There are hundreds sprawled through the valley. Each one houses Hematite warriors capable of slaughtering us. Some of them have powerful fire magic. That’s not something to trifle with.
Near the center of the camp, my attention is drawn to the bodies skewered by thick rods punched into the earth. Bile rises thick in my throat as I take in each face—faces I recognize as the people we rescued from the village.
Horror seizes me, gripping my chest, my lungs, my breath. I didn’t save those villagers. I only delayed the inevitable and gave them a much worse Fate.
Red smolders behind my vision as my body trembleswith the need to avenge the villagers, to curse the Hematites from House of Crimson, to watch them rot, to wither, to die before my eyes.
I need bloodstone.
I need it now!
