Eighty-Three Samkiel

Veruka and I waited until two soldiers passed before we ducked into the tent. A wave of uneasiness swept over me, and I stood still, looking in every corner. I didn’t see anything, yet I felt as if we were not alone.

“What?” Veruka asked as she walked toward the small table near the back.

I shook my head and followed her. “Nothing,” I said, focusing on the bundle of scrolls and books scattered across the desk. Veruka nodded, heading back to the front of the tent as she kept a watchful eye.

I ran my hand over a few papers with numbers scribbled on them. These looked like payments for shipments, each line with a name next to it. I grabbed them, folded them, and placed them in my pocket. These could be names of benefactors, people who work for her, or people she had extorted into an alliance. I rifled through another stack, pausing when red ink caught my eye. Shifting a few documents aside, I spread the scroll out fully and leaned forward, bracing my hand on the corner of the map.

“Veruka.”

Her head whipped toward me.

“This isn’t just a map of this world. It’s a map of every single one she’s planning to hit.”

I looked up at her, and her eyes widened. At first, I thought she was reacting to what I’d said, but her gaze was focused on a spot just past the desk. I whipped my head to the side, but it was too late. A woman stepped out of the opened portal and stabbed a serrated dagger through my hand, where it rested on the table. Something shifted in me as a silver pool of blood built on the map. I gritted my teeth in pain, bright cerulean blue eyes locking on me in a death stare.

“Neverra,” I gasped, shock chasing away the pain.

There was a flicker. It was brief but there when I said her name. The tent sides rippled as portals opened one after the other, disgorging soldiers. Illian appeared in the middle of them all, his thick, armored arms clasped behind his back.

He grinned at me and said, “Well now, you were not expected.”

He raised one hand. Veruka yelped as two soldiers appeared next to her and rammed a blade into her gut. They pulled it out, and she fell forward, right into their arms.

“She, however, was,” Illian said, flicking his wrist. “Put her in the caravan with her traitorous brother. We leave soon.”

My eyes widened. They had gotten Orym. Sweat formed on my back. Had they gotten to Dianna, too? No, this place would be covered in flames if they had. My mind reached for her right as Neverra twisted the blade in my hand, and I hissed.

The soldiers dragged a limp Veruka from the tent as Illian pulled a glowing green pendant from the collar of his armor. I recognized it as a glamor created by a very powerful witch.

“Now,” he walked toward me, his head tipped to the side. “You were not what we were waiting for. Nismera said Kaden’s whore would show, but you, my friend, are bigger than even my most ruthless soldier, and you are male. Are you with his whore now?”

I bared my teeth. “Say that again, and I’ll rip your face from your skull.”

He chuckled, and his broad smile made me feral. “So you are.” He rubbed his chin. “Nismera will be pleased to know that she has another working for her, but I do wonder who you are?”

He rounded the table, and Neverra twisted the blade cruelly. My eyes cut to her, and it was a mistake as Illian’s hand whipped out, reaching under my helmet and grabbing my throat. My brain burned thanks to those damned hands and their paralytic components. He was a perfect commander, able to touch anyone and render them useless. My shoulders eased as he tugged at my helmet, the cool air teasing over my chin. What he didn’t know was that I had backup.

“Dianna.” It was a whisper from my subconscious to hers, hoping she would hear me before our entire cover was blown. “It’s time for Plan B.”

She didn’t say anything, but I felt the whisper of her smile, and even unable to move, goosebumps broke out over my skin. A roar, thicker and louder than any I’d heard from her before, ripped through the sky, every guard and soldier turning toward it.

Illian dropped his hand and spun, ripping the tent flap open. He glanced back at Neverra and uttered a word under his breath. I didn’t quite hear it, but her head whipped toward him, and she nodded. While she was distracted, I reached out and slammed my hand against her chest, sending her flying across the tent. I ripped the knife from my hand, hissing through my clenched teeth.

I looked down at Neverra. She was crumpled on the ground, but she was breathing. I didn’t know what he had said, but I suspected it was some type of kill code. My palm opened, and I summoned a small portal beneath her. I only had enough power to send her to the edge of the forest, but she would be safe there from Dianna’s Plan B. Her body bent as it fell, and I watched until she lay unconscious upon the grass until I closed it. I’d get her as soon as I was done here.

I heard boots rush past and strode out of the tent. Chaos reigned in the once-organized camp. Soldiers bolted from their tents, others stopping mid-stride to stare in shock.

The ground shook and quaked as Dianna’s massive form lunged toward the sky, blocking out the sun. Powerful black wings unfurled from her back, the remains of the tent falling from her spikes.

“Ig’Morruthen!”

The shout rang out, and then the world erupted in flames.