The Deathsinger: Book 2

Ch. 3: Last Resort

'We'll burn.'

Tievel's sentiment echoed in my head as we guided the horses down the rocky beach; however, I wasn't sure if it was the idea of burning or the casual way he said it that terrified me more. Perhaps it wasn't the madness that blinded him to fear. It was different for me because I could recall the pain of flesh melting and twisting beneath the flames, and should I ever forget, I only had to look at my arm.

"Enough," I said through gritted teeth as my horse tossed its head and veered off course yet again. Was he even trained, or could he somehow sense my inexperience?

"Get that beast under control."

"Why didn't you take him? You know I'm not an experienced rider."

"Because Starfall is my horse, and your comfort is no longer my concern."

Flushing hot all over, I raised my chin and replied, "But it will be your concern if you get the only Deathsinger you have killed."

Tievel urged his horse over the slim strip of rock connecting Araphel to the borders of Jorridor. An hour ago, this had all been under water and the only way across was by boat. Not that procuring a boat was an issue, but it was much easier to flee across solid ground than across water if we had to make a hasty retreat. But even this close, it was difficult to make out Araphel through the constant cloud of smoke that cloaked the kingdom.

"Unless," I added when he continued to ignore me. "You think your father will send Kuga in my place if something happens to me? Then, by all means, continue to treat me like I'm replaceable."

He looked over his shoulder, blue eyes stormy as they settled on me. "I liked you better before you had a mouth on you."

"I liked you better when I thought you were someone else."

"That makes two of us, then."

Drawing alongside of him, I hissed, "Don't ever forget the hand you've played in who I am now. You broke my heart."

This was the most we had talked to one another since soldiers dragged me from the carriage, and without an army surrounding us, I felt brave enough to say all the words that had been souring in my gut since then. Since he'd pushed me overboard and revealed his true nature.

"Go ahead and continue to–"

His hand clapped over my mouth. The horse beneath me went completely motionless for the first time since I'd mounted him, and I swung my eyes away from the prince, finally looking at our surroundings.

Trees taller than any I'd ever seen before–taller even than those in the Vesper–stretched toward the slate gray sky, but that should have been impossible with the constant fires. Instead of deep brown bark, their completely smooth trunks were the color of soot. No leaves grew on their twisted branches, and all the ground beneath them was blanketed in ash.

The light breeze I'd felt on the hillside and along the beach was absent here. The air here was thick and sulfurous, making it difficult to draw a deep breath, and even though the fires were not currently burning, the temperature was much higher here. Almost unbearably warm.

I pushed Tievel's hand off my mouth and scrubbed away his touch. What point was there in being silent here? After seeing the trees, I wasn't so foolish as to declare it impossible that anything lived in Araphel, but it was also quiet enough to know there was nothing near us. I shivered. It was too quiet.

"What now?" I asked in a whisper to avoid being scolded again.

Tievel pointed through the trees. I followed his finger, leaned forward on the horse, and squinted until I could finally make out the blurry shape of a tower in the distance. It came and went as clouds passed over its glittering spire.