Page 110 of The Blade in the Ashes
Her green eyes darted up to meet mine, and her magic hit me with the force of a battering ram.
Gods damn.
The pain was instant, like millions of lightning bolts slamming into every inch of my body. My knees buckled immediately, and I stumbled to the ground, barely catching my fall before my face touched down. I bit down on the scream, not wanting to give her the satisfaction, but a desperate groan escaped, nonetheless. Another wave of it slammed into me, and my muscles seized, locking in strain.
In my life, swords had run me through, Ciclopia’s beasts had brought me to the brink of death, and I had lost more blood than any man should reasonably survive. Still, I fought on in the face of that agony. Nothing had ever brought me to the brink of surrender before.
Butthis?
The third wave of agony had me ready to beg for death.
“I think that’s enough, Ayanna,” the Headmaster told her, a hint of admonishment in his tone.
Her magic slid out of me, purposefully slow, leaving waves of torture until it had fully retreated.
The room was silent as I heaved, patiently waiting as I summoned all my strength to rise back to my feet. Chest heaving, I met herself-satisfied grin. In my head, I looked angry, but when I saw my reflection in the whites of her eyes, I knew she could see the effect she’d had.
“Fine,” I spat out. “You can come.”
“We don’t have enough horses,” I hissed to Kent as I stormed back to where the rest of our group waited for us.
Ayanna went to get the princesses and would meet us here so we could resume our travels promptly.
Kent looked over our companions. “Antoni can ride with Myla and I’ll ride with Ezmie and try to keep her calm.”
That still left one new addition without a steed.
Kent turned, walking backwards towards the others. The whites of his teeth shone as he gave a genuine smile for the first time since we’d memorialized his mother.
“The instructor can ride with you.”
ChapterThirty-One
Thea
“Ifeel bad spying,” Nessira whispered.
I almost snorted. The part of me that felt bad for things like that had died a long time ago.
“We need to know if we’re safe here,” I reminded her. “We can figure that out by spying or waiting for them to try and kill us.”
She thought on it for a moment, pursing her lips unhappily, before she sighed and waved a hand forward.
I nudged the door open, straining to hear anything amiss. As I did, Nessira pressed tightly against me, her brow as deeply furrowed as my own, both of us rigidly tense as we took in the sounds of hushed voices in the kitchen.
“Where did you find them?” whispered a low male voice.
“Your brother found them on the road into town,” Eloise answered in that same gentle tone she’d used with us moments ago.
“Hush!” the man hissed. “What did they look like?”
“Oh, they’re just two young girls in need of some help, George. It’s nothing to fret over.”
“And was one of thosegirlsblonde-haired and blue-eyed, wearing a gown fit for a royal?”
I swallowed as a shudder worked its way down my spine. He knew who I was. Nessira’s wide eyes and newly pale face mirrored my own as she latched onto my hand and squeezed. There was only one reason they would know what I looked like, and it wasn’t good.
Hyrax had sent forces after me.
