Chapter 5

Rough bark bit into Inona’s back as she pressed herself hard against the tree. She’d almost been caught. She wasn’t certain why she hadn’t been caught. Kien had appeared out of nowhere, his steps silent even though he moved with the slow, shuffling gait of the recently injured. But he’d barely glanced around the forest before he’d stumbled into the narrow cave opening.

What was she going to do? She was not going to leave Delbin in there alone.

Suddenly, the energy around her gave an odd lurch, shifting like a wayward strand in the Veil. For one long moment, the ground trembled. Inona covered her head and hoped that the earthquakes here weren’t like the ones on the plains back home. Those were sometimes fierce enough to level cities, at least near fault lines.

Thankfully, this tremor was over in moments. Inona peered around her tree at the cave once the earth had calmed. No movement. Gods, she hoped Delbin hadn’t been injured. Had Kien unleashed some dark magic? She sent her senses out, and she gasped to find…Moranaian energy? The sick oddness was gone.

At the edge of her consciousness, she detected Delbin’s presence. Just a quick brush, probably to see if she was well, but Inona latched on before he drew away. “What happened? Did they catch you?”

“No.” There was a long pause, and she could feel his worry like her own. “I disrupted what the mage was doing, and the spell just kind of exploded. Now Kien’s here.”

“Can you get out?”

“I don’t know. I’m barely hiding myself.” Their connection wavered. “I’m going to try something. I’ll let you know.”

Just like that, the mental link was gone. Inona glared at the cave as though Delbin could actually see her. He’d been too long on his own if he could dismiss her orders so easily. By all the gods of Arneen, he wasn’t even formally trained. What was he thinking? Scowling, she slipped a knife from her pocket and sneaked to the next tree. Then the next.

Chances were good she was going to have to save him.

Delbin’s heart pounded as he sent his mind ever so slowly back into Patrick’s, the youngest and weakest of the bunch. But he didn’t try to assert control. What he really needed was to see, so he eased himself into a connection just strong enough to get hazy images of what was going on. The stalagmite hid him from sight, but it also blocked his view. No way he wanted to move around and risk being seen.

“What have you idiots done?” Kien yelled, his voice an odd echo through both Patrick’s and Delbin’s ears.

Victor took a tentative step forward. “Wasn’t me. Pat here brought some newcomer. I think. I blanked out until after the spell exploded.”

Delbin felt Patrick’s fear like his own as Kien turned his attention on him. “You brought a stranger here?”

“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Patrick forced out.

“There has to be some reason that Tom is unconscious and the spell ruined,” Kien said, his tone smooth but his eyes spitting fury. “I don’t suppose you have an explanation?”

“Milord, I swear—”

“Oh, shut up.” Kien’s expression went hard. “Describe this stranger, Victor.”

Victor shifted uncertainly at the prince’s attention. “It was a man. Had short blond hair. Patrick said you invited him. Then everything went dark.”

Delbin bit back a curse. Too bad he hadn’t been able to erase Victor’s memory. Through Patrick, he watched a considering glint enter Kien’s eyes before his lips lifted into a wicked smile. That couldn’t be good.

“I see.” Kien tapped a finger against his chin. “I did invite a young mind mage I stumbled upon, but perhaps he did not arrive with good intent. Patrick, check on Tom. Victor, you search the cavern.”

Yep. Screwed.

Releasing Patrick’s mind once more, Delbin scanned the edges of the cavern for some way out. His eyes narrowed. Was that a tunnel between those two stalagmites a few feet away? The caves here branched out and connected all over the place, but it was risky to navigate them without experience or equipment. Was the possibility of death-by-cave better than whatever Kien might dish out?

Based on the look of dark fury on the prince’s face, definitely better.

He just had to hustle before Victor made it to Delbin’s area of the cavern. Giving a quick glance to either side, Delbin slipped to the next stalagmite. Then a spiraling column. He winced as his foot slid into a shallow pool, but there was nothing he could do about the water that leaked into his boot. At least it hadn’t made a splash.

Delbin stepped onto a broad stone ledge near the mouth of the small tunnel and ducked between a pair of fang-like stalactites. As the damp sole of his shoe lost traction against the rock, he stifled a cry. Slipping, he threw out his hand for balance and connected with one of the stalactites.

He let out a relieved breath as he regained his footing. But then the fragile rock broke under his weight. Pieces tumbled down, splashing into another shallow pool, and he heard a shout. Dammit. He crouched low, trying to dart into the tunnel before he was seen, but a hand wrapped around his arm, jerking him to a stop.

“Gotcha!”

Gathering power from the world around him, Delbin let himself be spun around. A mental blast would incapacitate the man, and Delbin might be able to use the distraction to escape. Energy pooled in his body, like a buzzing in the blood. He looked into Victor’s eyes and prepared to release it.

Then a shock slammed into Delbin like lightning, and his power drained away with every pain-filled heartbeat. He reached for his head. A vain attempt to stem the agony. His vision shifted to red.

Then black.

Now that the energy was cleaner, Inona pulled power into herself with abandon as she crept down the tunnel. She might not be a mage, but like most sonal, she could cloak herself from sight at least somewhat. Too bad she couldn’t blast Kien with a battle spell. She’d just have to rely on stealth and her knife.

It was dim in the tunnel, but her eyes adjusted quickly to the shifting light. Gods, she hated caves. Why couldn’t Kien have set his base in the trees? She would far rather climb than slink around rock formations with a mountain above her head.

The light grew brighter, so Inona cast a camouflaging spell around herself. It wouldn’t make her invisible, but it helped distract the eye. She just had to keep her movements steady and slow. Way slower than she wanted after hearing Delbin cry out. But she’d been in enough difficult situations to know that rushing would help nothing.

A voice echoed from the cavern ahead. “Tie him up.”

“You aren’t going to kill him?” another said.

“Do not question me,” the first man answered in a cold, regal voice. Probably Kien.

The sound of shuffling grew louder as she neared, and then the snap of something breaking rang out. Inona’s heart gave a leap, but it settled at the tinkling of stone tumbling on stone. One of the men cursed.

“Stalagmites aren’t going to hold him up,” a voice said. “Must be made of flowstone. Damn things keep breaking.”

“Maybe if you weren’t trying to tie near the top—”

“Shut up!” Kien’s shout reverberated down the tunnel. “No need to string him up. Just tie his hands together and bring him over.”

“Don’t you want to torture him?”

A pause. “Perhaps later.”

Inona crouched low behind a large rock formation and peeked around the edge. A few body-lengths away, Kien stood glaring, his profile outlined in the dim glow of the mage lights dangling overhead. Clechtan, she cursed to herself. She edged back slowly so the movement wouldn’t catch his eye. She would have to work her way over to the huge stalagmite to her right. That would be a perfect spot to ambush him.

A groan filled the cavern. “He’s waking up,” one of the voices said.

“Then work faster,” Kien snarled.

Though her instinct was to check on Delbin, Inona used the distraction to creep to a better position. Once behind the stalagmite, she glanced around the edge at Kien’s back. He hadn’t noticed her, best she could tell, his attention focused on the two men tying Delbin’s hands behind his back.

A muffled sound from the side caught her attention. Inona’s gaze narrowed on another man slumped against a column. Another prisoner? But he wasn’t bound in any way, and his expression was detached as he watched the two tying Delbin. He did appear ill, his skin a sickly, pale yellow in the dim light.

“Blast him again,” the third man mumbled.

“No,” Kien said, his tone hard with command. “I have questions for him. Let him wake.”

Inona moved shifted closer, this time behind a stalagmite near enough to Kien that she could almost touch him. But she didn’t move against him. Instead, she focused on Delbin and waited along with the others as he returned to awareness.

He groaned again and shook his head. Then his body stiffened, and he started to tug against his bonds. “The hell?”

“Delbin,” Inona whispered into his mind. “Kien’s men caught you. I’m in here.”

He stilled. “Run. Warn Moranaia of his plans.”

“You’re mistaken if you think I’m the type to leave a person to torture,” she answered. “Cause a distraction. Keep their attention. That’s all I need.”

“I do hope you’re ready to tell me your name now,” Kien said. “Perhaps you will find yourself a little more forthcoming, hmm?”

“Fuck that,” Delbin said.

Then he rolled to the left, shoving hard against the legs of one of his captors. The man tumbled over with a yelp, and his body slammed into the second man as he fell.

Inona didn’t wait to see what else might happen. She tightened her hand around the hilt of her blade and slipped behind Kien. She took a deep, bracing breath for only a heartbeat, then struck.

Thank the gods she was tall.

Inona flung her left arm around his waist and wrapped her right over his shoulder, pressing her knife to his throat. His body jerked, and her brows rose at the hissing groan of pain he released as her left arm tightened. She could feel, then, the extra fabric around his waist where he’d been bandaged. He really had been injured recently.

Her gaze flicked to Delbin, and she winced to see him pinned against the rocky ground. One of his captors had his knee in Delbin’s back. The other stood above them, a blade clutched in his hand.

“Call them off,” she said into Kien’s ear as she let the knife cut into his skin ever so slightly.

Enough to release blood. Enough for the steel blade to affect his magic.

“I should have known,” Kien bit out through gritted teeth. “You’re not Moranaian at all, are you? No scout there would carry steel. What game is this?”

A smile he couldn’t see crossed her lips. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Now call them off.”

“Leave him be!” Kien called.

The second man stepped back at once. The one holding Delbin scowled for a moment, then shoved himself away. Delbin grunted as the man pushed him none too gently into the rock on his way up.

“Help him up,” Inona ordered.

The men glared at her, but at Kien’s nod, one of them leaned down and heaved Delbin to his feet. The man shoved him forward. Delbin stumbled and almost fell again before righting himself.

From the side, a chuckle rang out. The third man. Inona frowned as she studied his face. She should have considered this plan more thoroughly. He’d appeared sick, but what if she’d been wrong?

“Guess you’re not as powerful as you seem,” the man choked out around his laughter.

Kien went rigid, and she could practically feel the rage emanating from him. “Says the man who let our entire plan fail. If you’ve power that wasn’t drained, shut up and act.”

The laughter ceased, leaving a deep silence. The two behind Delbin exchanged uneasy glances and then turned their doubt-filled gazes on Kien. Were they less loyal than she’d assumed? But then one of them spoke.

“What should we do?”

“Unbind my friend,” Inona answered, putting force behind her words. “Or I’ll slice Kien’s throat.”

Kien chuckled. “You wouldn’t.”

Inona dug the knife a little deeper, and he let out an involuntary cry. “I am more than ready to dispense with any threat.”

Power hummed around her as her captive tried to draw energy to himself despite the steel. Inona shoved her arm hard into his injured side, and he gasped, his magic sputtering out. “Untie him,” Kien ground out.

What was she going to do with the prince? As the other two untied Delbin, she considered the dilemma. She couldn’t let Kien go. He was a serious threat to Moranaia, and if she couldn’t take him to Lord Lyr without getting Delbin killed, then she might have to kill Kien herself. It wasn’t ideal. The dark magic was troublesome, and she had no way of knowing what other plans he might have.

But how could she take him alive? By all accounts, Kien was a powerful mage. An illusionist. The slightest slip and he’d turn on her. Miaran, but she hadn’t been prepared for this. Who would have expected to find their greatest enemy on such a simple mission? Apparently, she should have.

Delbin rubbed at his wrists once the rope fell away. He turned his gaze on one of the men beside him. “Thanks, Patrick.”

Patrick’s eyes glazed over, his body slightly slack. Had Delbin taken control? Kien straightened, restless against her hold. “Do not think to try for my mind, youngling.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to see the messed up stuff in there. Thanks anyway,” Delbin answered. Then he shifted his attention to the other man. “How about you help my friend? You have some rope ready, see? Go tie up Kien.”

“I will torture you for days,” Kien growled.

Inona shoved against his wound again to cut off his words. Though her arm grew damp with his blood, she didn’t waver.

“Don’t forget the third one,” Inona said as she met Delbin’s eyes.

The man against the column laughed. “Take the fool. I’m done with this shit.”

“You’ll rule nothing without my help,” Kien said.

“It’s not like we’ve been ruling anything with it.”

As the one with the rope tugged at Kien’s hand, the prince jerked back. Inona tightened her hold, her knife slicing a fresh line. He cried out, flinching, and in that moment of distraction, the other man bound his hands in front with the sharp, awkward motions of someone under mental control.

Across the cavern, Delbin stared, unblinking, his body trembling. His face had gone pale, his breathing shallow. The effort of such control must be immense. They had to end this soon.

Inona removed her right arm from Kien’s throat, turning the knife and hitting him in the side of the head with the pommel. He sagged against her, and she let out a grunt at his sudden weight. But she was strong enough to handle it. As Delbin ordered Patrick forward to help, Inona adjusted the prince in her hold and backed toward the entrance.

“How long can you keep control of them?” she asked.

“Not long.”

Inona eyed the third man slumped against the column. “What about him?”

“Can’t right now,” Delbin muttered.

She frowned. Couldn’t what? Then she realized what he meant. If Delbin couldn’t control the man’s mind, they should tie him up, too. It would be the best choice. But Delbin was clearly shaking now, and from his sharp words, it was obvious he was about to lose his hold. They needed to hustle.

“They’ll come after us as soon as you release them.”

A grim smile crossed Delbin’s pale face. “No. They won’t.”

Before she could ask what he meant, both men cried out, their hands going to their heads. Moments later they crumpled. Delbin sagged where he stood, and shadows like new bruises had formed beneath his eyes. But he didn’t pause for long, stumbling across the cave to reach her.

With one last glance over her shoulder at the third man, Inona turned toward the exit. It was going to be difficult dragging Kien through the narrow space, but she didn’t have much choice. Not unless Delbin had regained some strength.

“I know you’re wiped out,” she began.

“Here.” Without further comment, he shifted to her side and slipped his shoulder under Kien’s left arm. Together, they hefted the prince’s weight and headed for the entrance. Now they just had to get him to the portal.