His eyes are slits, and I feel like his prey as I slide my earring out of my ear. I lean forward and poke it through his shirt, fastening it next to his neck.
“If I don’t come back, tell the other women I’m sorry. Tell Vivian…tell her I went out with a knife in my hand. And tell them to have good lives. Lives they’ll be proud of.”
“Don’t you dare,” he growls, tugging on the rope. I study his face, and I don’t know what comes over me because I lean closer and brush my lips against his, wishing for…something.
He goes silent as I pull away, but his eyes are blazing. “If you leave me here, I will hunt you,” he tells me, his voice very quiet and all the scarier for the control he’s using. “I will make you wish you had never been born.”
I smile at that, but my heart cracks as I get to my feet. “You’ll have to get in line.”
Chapter Eight
Sarissa
I was born during one of the worst storms of my parents’ generation. My mother said it was a sign of things to come. She said I was a storm and just like the day of my birth, my life would be turbulent and angry. She once told me I would never know peace.
She was a hateful woman, consumed with herself. My father was just as bad, too self-involved to even make sure our smoke detectors were working properly.
At the time, I sneered at my mother, pretending I didn’t believe her. But deep down I knew she was right.
When I was abducted, it was barely a surprise.
That’s the thing about storms. They ruin, they devastate, but eventually, they always die—leaving peace behind. Until they appear elsewhere.
I may never know peace. That’s okay. But if I’m a storm, I’m going to ravage this galaxy until I find the Grivath. And then I’ll make them pay for what they did to us.
I stalk away from the cave, and as soon as I’m far enough from Korzyn that I can no longer hear his roars of outrage, I pull my map out of my pocket and study it. I’m not egotistical enough to think I can pull this off alone. And if the commander were able to walk in a straight line without falling on his face, I’d happily take his help.
But what am I supposed to do—let us be sitting ducks until he’s better?
I don’t think so.
Still, I feel oddly…lonely as I make my way through the forest, giving the Dokhalls’ camp a wide berth. My journey is agonizingly slow as I’m careful not to draw attention to myself.
I need to cross a river to get to Hexir, and I can feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I walk across the skinny bridge. I raise my eyebrow at the blackened ground on the other side of the river. There’s no vegetation for about twenty feet between the edge of the river and the forest.
Dragix has obviously been in the neighborhood, and from the look of the place, he wasn’t in a good mood.
I walk through the ash and to the blackened trees at the outskirts of the forest, gritting my teeth against the urge to break into a run now that I’m out in the open. As soon as I’m back in the shade of the trees, my shoulders slump, and I have to lean against a charred tree trunk—my legs trembling as I come down from the adrenaline.
I make it to Hexir by early afternoon—judging by how high the sun is in the emerald sky. It’s certainly not a large town—more a collection of tashivs than anything else. I hide behind a tree for a while so I can ensure no Dokhalls have taken up residence here.
I turn my map over, reading my notes. Apparently, Teriez’s house is just outside of the town, backing onto the forest. I’ll be able to spot it thanks to the flowers in the window.
I sigh as I stare at the three houses in front of me. All of them have flowers in their windows.
I wander through the town until I find a few houses that are backing onto the forest. Nothing else for it. I march up to the first one and knock on the door.
An old woman opens the door, a dagger in her hand, fear on her face.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” I blurt out. “I’m looking for Teriez.”
“Two tashivs down,” she says and slams the door in my face.
I can feel eyes on me, and I fight back the urge to pull my own knife as I walk toward the tashiv. I knock on the door, and a shirtless man opens it, a sword in his hand. He has Braxian features, blue skin, and horns, and I must’ve been on this planet for too long because it’s a surprisingly attractive combination.
“Yes?”
I eye the sword. “I’m looking for Teriez.”
“Who are you?”
He’s not rude, more…curious.
“Sarissa. Her sister, Weva, sent me.”
He grins, revealing straight white teeth. “I’m their brother, Urox.” His grin widens at my raised eyebrows, and he gestures to his blue chest. “Half, obviously.”
Urox is so easygoing that I can’t help but smile back. “Is she home?”
He opens the door wider. “Come in.”
Teriez is sitting in front of a fire, boiling some water. She wrinkles her nose as I walk in, and I blush. Yes, it’s been a few days since I bathed. And yes, I’m well aware I must stink.
“You must be Sarissa,” she says. “My sister told me you’d be coming.”
“Yes. I’d hoped to travel alone, but Arix’s commander came with me. He’s sick, and the Dokhalls are gathering an army.”
Urox leans against the doorway, his eyes shining with interest as I explain everything that’s happened.
“So let me ensure I understand you correctly,” he says. “You dragged the poisoned commander
