I think about it. “Yep.”
He throws back his head and roars with laughter. “You’re my kind of female.”
Teriez smiles at that. “Ignore my brother,” she advises me. “How can we help?”
“All I really need is a distraction.”
Teriez runs her eyes over my ripped dress, her gaze lingering on the cut on my forehead. “You need more than that. Sit down, and I’ll make you some food. Then you can wash.”
“I don’t have time. The commander—”
“The commander is likely in a deep sleep if you gave him maradoza berries,” Urox says. “Teriez is right. You’re not going to be able to hit the Dokhalls until after the sun sets anyway. I’m guessing you have a plan?”
I smile at him. This is the kind of support I need in my life.
“I sure do.”
Korzyn
I stare up at my father. Why must I leave our camp? I have a home here. My mother has another babe in her belly, and I play with my friends each day.
“It is time,” he says.
“Father…”
“Remember what I said, Korzyn. Your purpose is to protect the king. That is your only purpose. Do you understand?”
My mother’s lips are bloodless, her eyes filled with tears as she hugs me goodbye. She immediately turns away, as if she can no longer look at me.
I have seen fourteen summers. I’m one of the strongest of my friends and the fastest with my sword. But had I known I’d be sent to train as a guard for the new king, I would never have spent so long improving my sword skills.
I crack open my eyes as I attempt to reach out for my mother, but my hand is tied. A cave. My mother isn’t here. I’m in the cave. And there’s something I must do…
I struggle, but it’s no use, and I’m once again pulled under.
“Too slow,” my trainer tells me. “You are to be the last defense between the king and those who would kill him. What happens if you are too slow?”
I grit my teeth, blood running down my face from the cut along my cheekbone.
“He dies.”
“He dies, and the entire kingdom of Heriast knows it was because his guard was too slow.”
“Korzyn?”
I turn at Arix’s voice, and my trainer bows. “Your Majesty,” I murmur.
Arix waves his hand. “You know I hate formalities. Are you ready for the hunt?”
I gesture at my bloodied clothes. “I will clean up and meet you in your quarters.”
He grins at me, and I blink. For so long I have resented this young king, who was responsible for the loss of my home—even if he was not aware of it. But…he is honorable. Kind. He has the potential to be a great ruler, if I can keep him alive long enough for him to consolidate his power.
I blink open my eyes, the cave dancing in front of me.
The little witch drugged me. I pull at the ropes around my wrists, not missing the irony. I tied her to my bed, so she returned the favor. If she had not left to throw her life away, I would almost be amused.
I groan, but my eyes are too heavy, sliding closed once more. I grit my teeth. Not again.
I’m in the marketplace, the crowd’s shocked whispers surrounding me after the sudden attack. The attack I was too distracted to see coming.
Sarissa stands in front of me, her face white as she stares at the wound in my chest. She drops to her knees.
“Serves you right for stalking me,” she mutters. “Oh God, there’s so much blood. You need a healer.”
“Cava berries,” I manage to get out. “Right pocket.”
She pulls them out, stuffing them in my mouth. I can feel my blood draining onto the ground around me. When my pocket is empty, she takes my sword and gets to her feet, eyeing the crowd around us.
Is she…guarding me?
The world turns dark, and then I’m lying in the healers’ quarters, insisting that Arix find the little hellion who chased after the Zinta that stabbed me.
She appears, the Zinta’s head clutched in her hand, and I can’t help but laugh as her cousin gags.
“Vicious female.”
Sweat is dripping in my eyes when I next open them, and from the bright light in the cave, the sun must be high in the sky. Sarissa has been gone for hours. I pull on the rope, feeling whatever she has tied me to bend a little.
She gave me the chip. A clear sign she doesn’t believe she will live. Fury burns through my chest at the thought.
I will not allow her to die this way. Not while I’m still breathing.
“Obstinate, impulsive, stubborn witch.” I mutter a litany of curses as I yank on the rope, managing to raise my head to scan the cave for weapons. There—by the remnants of the fire—is a knife. I stretch my foot toward it, but it’s too far, and the drug once again pulls me under.
Chapter Nine
Sarissa
Teriez feeds me freshly cooked udazin, while Urox helps me go over the finer points of my plan.
“You’re going to need a bigger impact,” he murmurs. “Especially if you’re hoping to take down that canopy.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Let me think about it. We need the distraction to be so big that most of the Dokhalls are consumed by it…or at least have their attention focused on it.”
I nod. “My thoughts exactly.”
Teriez holds out her hand for my clean plate. “Thank you,” I say. “That was delicious.”
My stomach twists at the thought of Korzyn, still in that cave. He must be starving.
“Are you okay?” Teriez asks.
I explain what I was just thinking, and Teriez nods. “We will give you meat to take with you. The commander won’t starve.”
“I can pay you—”
Teriez waves that off. “My sister told me all about you and your cousin. She was impressed by you both,
