—

Kavya didn’t like the idea of Tallis following her in that confined tunnel. He was the most vicious creature she’d ever seen.

Yet, hadn’t she needed just that? Some ferocity on her side? The women she urged forward, toward the open air, would be dead without him. Kavya would be prisoner to her brother. Would he have dragged out his torture and taunting? Or would he have simply pushed her against the altar for two Black Guards to restrain? One slice later, she’d have met the Dragon in the afterlife.

She shuddered even as she crawled. For the most part, the hollow beneath the mountain was natural. A few of the smaller passages had needed to be widened because none of her armored bodyguards could’ve traversed the narrow length. A few modifications to nature had created a tunnel she’d never thought she would need.

Her sense of self-preservation had kicked into the stratosphere when faced with her brother’s insane placidity. Although they hadn’t seen each other in more than twenty years, he’d recognized her as surely as she’d recognized him. The Masks had done their jobs, but now he would be able to track her mind’s false persona. He knew what she looked like as a grown woman and knew who accompanied her in flight.

Even if he stopped for the night to tend to his arm, which she doubted, he would be in pursuit. Soon. Relentlessly.

His arm . . .

She shut her eyes for the span of a panting inhalation. Tallis had bitten her brother. Her shock had been nothing to Pashkah’s expression of agonized surprise. When Tallis had spit and smiled, Pashkah of the Northern Indranan, so insane and formidable, had appeared afraid.

That was a precious memory she would keep as long as the Dragon granted. It softened her hatred of the man following at a steady crawl, behind where she sought purchase on the slippery rock. Tallis of Pendray had saved her life, and he’d done so by terrorizing her brother—a treasure to offset whatever misguided vengeance had brought him into her valley.

She heard Chandrani’s voice in her mind. “Almost there. Another hundred meters.”

That eased Kavya’s anxiety. Chandrani had recovered her telepathy. But what awaited them at the end of their crawl? How fast could Pashkah’s men circle around? Would they be able to find the exit in the dark? Of course they would. They’d only need to search for five conscious minds emerging from the side of a mountain. Select few Indranan were skilled Trackers. If Pashkah had tempted one to join his rabble, he would be able to find them at a distance of twenty or more miles—some rumored as many as a hundred.

Locating a half-crazed Pendray mind should’ve been the easiest means, but during his rage, Tallis had seemed impervious to Pashkah’s attacks. Kavya had felt that ambient energy like the heat of an open oven.

Chandrani had hurt Tallis. Pashkah had done something. Maybe he wasn’t shielded from every Indranan. Only Kavya? Why?

Tallis was a complete unknown . . . aside from his exceptional means of fighting. He’d been able to take down Chandrani without the use of his gift. Kavya had never known a man able to achieve that feat.

Chandrani’s mind linked with hers again. Kavya could see what her bodyguard saw, which was near-total darkness. At least the darkness was empty of Guardsmen with glinting swords and voracious thoughts, eager to use their twice-cursed powers on any susceptible mind. Their intentions had been clear enough when holding the young women who continued to crawl through the tunnel. They’d hoped Kavya would go peacefully into her brother’s custody, and that in return for their service, they would be awarded the women. They’d each clutched soft flesh a little tighter, greedily, ready to use force.

The Indranan had been damned for generations. Force—force against women—was the heart of their divided, hateful clan, as intrinsic as murderous violence between siblings.

Kavya felt Chandrani withdraw from her mind. She would need all of her faculties to scout for trouble or, worse, to attack if guards materialized from the shadows. Kavya returned her attention to the women she shepherded. She touched their thoughts, one after the other. She was the Sun. Bright. Warming. Such intense focus left her drained, but she wanted them calmed by generous stores of hope. The draining part was concealing how little hope Kavya yet retained.

First one, then the other reached the exit. Kavya quickly followed. When she stood, she recalled the seax in her hand. The mental rigors of the crawl had turned the weapon into an extension of her body. How? She’d never held one other than to face the man who’d given it to her so freely.

The man who crawled out of the tunnel.

Tallis of Pendray.

Whatever remained of his berserker rage was visible only in his eyes. The night darkness was almost absolute. In fact, she was sure that the only clues she collected were drawn from her gift. Could it be possible? To read him at last? But no. It was his gift shining in the blackness. His rage was a blue beacon. And his loathing hadn’t eased.

He adjusted the strap of his knapsack and held out his hand. “I’ll have that back now.”

For a moment, she was tempted to hack his palm—an impulse born of frustration and fear. But her hatred had dimmed compared to the terror of standing face to face with Pashkah. How could she have compared the two men?

“I didn’t want it in the first place.” Kavya swung the sword and presented him with the hilt. The needle tip of the seax pointed directly at her heart. She already bore two cuts on her neck. She knew the blade’s lethal potential. But this was a show of . . .

Trust?

And a warning.

She wasn’t afraid of him.

“Thank you.” He sheathed it behind his back.

“Why?” The tremulous voice belonged to one of the young women. “Why did you do it? You’re the Sun. You were supposed to bring us together.”

Kavya knelt beside the crouching pair. “You’re Sarbani. You share a family pod with Divyesh and his wife.”

“That’s right.”

To the other Kavya said, “And you’re Jayashree. Your brother was killed by your husband three years ago. You’re safe from that constant fear.”

“We have your brother to fear now,” Jayashree said. “How is that much better? Sarbani is right. Where were you when he killed those Leaders? I know what it is to be terrified of one’s brother, but we were depending on you.”

They were too distraught and angry to be consoled now that the immediate danger had passed. “Will you accept my apology and my vow to make this right? Will you come with us?”

A shimmer of thought flitted between the two women. Kavya couldn’t tell what they said, only that they were conferring without words.

In tandem, Sarbani and Jayashree stood. “No,” said the latter. “We’re Northern Indranan. We know these mountains. The last thing we need is a hunted woman and a mad Pendray dog. We’ll find the people of the North and let it be known that the Sun has fallen.”

CHAPTER

SIX

Tallis watched the women walk away, but he saw them as enemies rather than individuals making sensible choices. In the midst of his rage, he’d considered them distractions who imperiled Kavya. Now they were liabilities, and he was glad to be rid of them. Yet the turnabout of opinion after Kavya had just risked her life to save theirs was a biting betrayal.

He shook his head. The rage was still there. His berserker side tended to see things in black and white. There were good and bad situations. Good and bad people. He must still be holding on to that fury, because he should know better without needing a reminder.

“They’re traitors,” Chandrani said softly.