Warriors of Wind and Ash - Page 95

Odrash and Kehanal flank Rahzien, weapons ready in case anyone else has revenge on their mind. Aeris stalks over to me, and I instantly feel smaller in her presence. She’s such a skillful warrior—so sure of herself and her movements.

“Did you get the cure for Serylla?” Kyreagan asks.

“In a manner of speaking.” Aeris gives me a look full of sympathy. “My sorcerer friend did his best, but he doesn’t think the potion he made can sever the life bond between you and Rahzien. A poison like this is beyond his skill to undo entirely. He said it would require the magic of the person who created it. They would have to take the original written spell and destroy it with their own hand—”

“That’s no longer possible,” I say quietly.

“I see.” Aeris eyes me for a moment, then continues. “Well, at the very least, this should negate what he called the proximity link,’ which means you can travel as far from Rahzien as you like.”

Kyreagan gives a feral growl. “So I can’t kill the bastard?”

“Not if you want to be sure Serylla remains alive,” Aeris replies.

A blast of wind rushes through the courtyard, and Hinarax descends, with Meridian on his back. The rebel climbs down gingerly, holding his bloodied left arm close to his chest.

“Stray bullet—the non-explosive kind,” he explains, leaning against Hinarax’s scaly shoulder for support. “Fucking bad luck.”

“We’ll find one of the healers Rahzien conscripted into his service,” I tell him. “They’ll fix you right up.”

“You have my thanks.” Meridian gives me a grateful nod. “Well met, Aeris! Nice of you to join us. I assume you were successful.”

“Partly.” Aeris takes a vial from her satchel and hands it to me. “She’ll be free to leave Rahzien and go where she likes, but in all probability if he dies, she will too.”

“Well, that’s a fucking shame,” Meridian says. “I was looking forward to watching the Prince here toast His Anal Majesty into a crispy little nugget. Eh, Odrash? Wouldn’t that have been fun?” He spits in Rahzien’s direction.

Rahzien doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t react. His face is entirely blank, completely neutral. He has shut down again, withdrawn all emotion and sealed it within himself. Who taught him to do that, I wonder? A parent, a mentor? Who made him this icy ruler, this brawling warrior, this fiend so ravenous for conquest?

If I want to live, so must he. And perhaps, if he lives, he can change. Maybe he can learn to be different—to be better.

“Make him kneel,” I tell Odrash and Kehanal.

They glance to Meridian for confirmation, and when he nods, they push Rahzien to his knees.

I walk over to him and grip his bearded chin, forcing his face up. “Look at me.”

His eyes meet mine. Dead eyes, blank as stone.

“I need you to repeat something,” I say softly. “And if you don’t, Odrash will cut out your tongue. You don’t need your tongue to live, after all.”

It’s a threat I’m not sure I’d carry out, but I steel my gaze, because I need him to believe it.

His lips tighten, but he doesn’t respond.

“Say these words aloud,” I tell him, and he repeats after me, in a slow, even tone.

“I am a man who does what is right. When I do what is right, I earn my place in the world. I have done great harm to others, and great harm to myself. From this day on, I will be worthy. I will be wise. I have value, and I can be redeemed.”

The courtyard is deathly quiet as Rahzien speaks the words.

I don’t have him say it again. I know he’ll remember every phrase, as long as he lives.

29

I have never been so proud of Serylla, and I’ve never felt less worthy of her than when she looks down at the defeated king and gives him those words of mercy.

I hate him. I’d sooner bite off his head than allow him a chance to change. But with that option taken from me, I will have to endure his existence.

“We’ll have to imprison him somewhere,” I say.