Page 193 of The Stolen Throne
What the seven hells is she saying?
“The healed?”
“They become—”
The bell tolls a third time, and the distinct sounds of doors and window shutters around us being shut and locked send shivers crawling over my skin like a thousand spiders. The shadows rear up within me, tensing for whatever is coming next.
“Achlys?”
“We need to get out of the streets. Now!”
82
Bring Balance
to the Rite
Reven. He can come get us.
I close my eyes, focused on my connection to my bondmate. It’s so new I’m not sure how it works.
“Reven.” I whisper the words aloud and think them at the same time. “Find me.”
I open my eyes to find Cain watching me. “Can he hear you?”
We haven’t told them yet. “Sometimes.”
I expect hurt to flicker over his features, but it’s more like acceptance. He even gives a small nod. He doesn’t see the half of it, but now’s not the time to finish breaking my best friend’s heart. Right now, we need to get everyone to safety.
“The rope.” Cain and I say it at the same time.
We look the group over. There’s probably twenty out here, including us.
“Follow us!” Cain calls.
That burgeoning sense of impending doom grows as we lead them around the side to where Pella’s rope still dangles. Thank the heavens for Cain’s pain-in-the-ass sister is all I have to say.
We start sending people up, one after the other, trying to put someone stronger after someone weaker. In short order, we’re halfway through the group. Achlys keeps glancing over her shoulder, shuffling on her feet. I’ve never seen her so fidgety. Handmaidens are trained not to fidget.
“We need to move faster,” she tells me as she steps up to take her turn.
I nod and send her up. Not that we discuss it, but on purpose Cain and I wait until last. I’m not leaving anyone behind.
“Ready?” he asks. He’s well aware of my issue with heights.
I’ve been trying not to think about it.
I’ve also been trying to call Reven, but so far, no luck. In fact, no sense of him at all. Not like before when he would block me, though. This is more like he’s there but quiet. What happened to our handy mind-reading thing? This is when that would be useful, damn it.
Which is what I tell myself so that I don’t have a panic attack that something happened to him while I’m trying to get up this bloody wall.
I glare at the rope. No choice now. “Don’t let me fall.”
“Want me to shove you up from underneath?” he asks as I grab hold and set a foot to the wall. He thinks now is the time to start teasing me again?
“Hilarious.” You can do this. Don’t be a wimp. Don’t look down. One hand in front of the other. Easy peasy—
The now familiar sizzling sensation that precedes the king’s power lifts the hairs on the back of my neck. “C—”
