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admirers? You re not snuffing me in secret like you did Sirin, are you? She clucked her tongue. And
after I sent written invitations.
He lifted the keys on the ring hooked to his belt. See these? They re yours.
Mmm-hmm. And which part of you do I have to suck before you tell me it s a joke?
It s not a joke, and I wouldn t put anything in your mouth that I wanted to remain attached to my body.
She glanced into the next cell, where Berilla the Hawk lay drugged and silent, as always.
You re setting me up, aren t you? Her gaze flicked past him. Where are the guards?
Upstairs asleep, possibly forever. He pulled the bag of opium powder from his vest pocket and shook
it next to his head. I drugged their wine.
She gave him a sideways look, still skeptical. Looks like you had a few sips yourself.
I did, just one. He tossed the bag over his shoulder. That way it won t hurt so much when you kill
me.
Mali s face froze. What do you mean?
If you escape, it ll be my fault, whether they know it s on purpose or not. But if you kill me, I can keep
some small scrap of honor. Besides He looked at the ceiling. Maybe when I m dead, I won t see
their faces anymore.
You mean the guards?
Or hear their screams.
Oh. You mean us. Without looking away from him, she crouched down and slid the boots through the
bars.
Take the other prisoners and go, he said. You can still save your people.
What people? Where? She stuffed her feet into the boots.
They re burning the hamlet tonight with a thousand Asermon natives inside.
She jerked the bootlaces to tighten them. Where is it?
Take the road toward Tiros about fifteen miles, then look to the east. And hurry. He held out the key
ring and stepped closer to the bars so she could see. This small one is for the weapons closet on the first
floor, and the ones with the
Thank you. Her hands flashed between the bars. One snatched the keys while the other grabbed the
back of Addano s head.
Steel slammed his forehead. A sharp pain exploded through his skull. His knees gave way, and he
collapsed. Red and yellow splashed across his vision, then all turned to black.
Addano felt his leg twitch and kick, like that of his boyhood dog when its back was scratched. His
fingers spasmed, nails scraping the stone floor. Something hard and cold pushed against him. His body
was rolled over like a sack of flour.
The pain faded. He waited for Xenia to gather him up in Her dark robes and carry him to the afterlife.
She came, in the form of a giant black bird whose eyes glowed like the stars in winter.
You re not what I expected, he thought to the bird, just before it enveloped him in violet light.
14
Asermon Valley
T he arrow was coming loose.
As Lycas rode through the night toward the Asermon Valley, he pretended he didn t feel the two-inch
piece of wood embedded in his chest, chafing the scar tissue that had held it in place and protected him
for the last year. Jolts of pain jabbed his core with every slam of his horse s hooves, but his face and
posture showed no hint. If his troops knew that every twitch of muscle brought their leader closer to
death, it would destroy their morale. Right now, their morale was all they had.
He tried not to obsess over it, tried to focus on the tactics they would use to attack the hamlet, tried to
envision the elements of the different scenarios they might face the number of enemy combatants, the
situation of the civilians, the size of the blaze.
But his mind shifted relentlessly, to the night he d received the wound, at the Battle of Velekos, from an
accidental shot of his own archer. He should have pulled it out right away, before his body became too
hard and solid to extract it without risky surgery. He d known that Wolverine could die, that one day his
own flesh could turn as soft as the day he was born.
But denial and determination had kept him going this long. Why stop now?
They were skirting one of the last two remaining vineyards when Vara shouted his name. He slowed his
horse so she could ride up beside him.
They ve set the fire, I can feel it. Her voice was taut with tension.
How far away?
A mile or two. We should see it just over the next hill.
He signaled for the troops to increase their speed from a trot to a slow canter. He wanted to rush in at a
full gallop, but riding in the dark was treacherous, especially since the Cougars could no longer lead with
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