Sworn to Vengeance
Page 25
Luckily for them all, she saw what they had seen just a few moments before. Because no one would have stood in her way otherwise.
The arena, dusty with broken columns everywhere, stood calm. In its center lay a wyvern trembling flat on its stomach but seeming unharmed.
Raisa still lay clamped about its snout, but she was slowly sliding off even then.
And Terris. Terris sat on the wyvern's back. As pleased as a child with a new pet.
Ciardis slowly stood up from her crouch with her jaw dropped to the ground.
Before she could take more than a few strides, she heard Sebastian call to her from just behind, “Be careful. Please. Any wrong move could break her control.”
Ciardis froze mid-step, afraid to go on. Afraid to look back.
She wanted to throttle him. And Thanar. And everyone else for not warning her this was going to happen.
But most of all, she wanted to get a good look at her best friend and make sure that she was all right.
But she couldn't do that from here.
So she watched, miserable, as Raisa did it for her.
The dragon slid daintily off the wyvern's snout and watched warily as it settled its head onto the ground at its feet.
Walking slowly, Raisa moved around its side with no visible limp. She reached a hand up to Terris, and Terris reached a hand down.
They said some words that Ciardis would have given her eyeteeth to hear, and then parted.
The ambassador took some steps back.
Ciardis stopped breathing.
Raisa took some more steps back.
Then a few more.
Until she was halfway between the human contingent and the wyvern-riding woman.
Raisa then lifted her hand, turned it in the air, and made a “come” gesture to the wyvern.
Slowly she began to walk backward.
And even more slowly, the wyvern got up on its two very strong hind legs and followed her.
Ciardis only felt herself start breathing again when someone elbowed her in the stomach.
When she got control of her breaths again, the wyvern was standing three feet away with a grinning Terris astride its back.
Kithwalker looked down at Weathervane.
Weathervane looked up at Kithwalker. And Ciardis would swear to her dying day that they spoke subconsciously.
She said something along the lines of “when you get off the stubby dragon, I'm going to take you and kill you.”
Terris's smug grin said, “You'll have to catch me to thrash me, and remember I did good.”
Once they broke eye contact, Ciardis looked at the wyvern with a shudder, then turned to Thanar and said, “I assume you knew about this.”
“We all knew about this, remember?”
She ignored his question. He was trying to get out of the blame.
“You're not getting away with this that easily,” she said—albeit quietly. It wouldn't do to break Terris's connection with the wyvern, assuming it could be done.
Thanar decided to ignore the enraged Weathervane and wandered over to the dragon's side.
Before she could round on him, Sebastian disappeared.
Practically quivering in rage, Ciardis cursed under her breath, crossed her arms, and glared up at the friend who had started it all.
Behind her, Rachael had finally stood, and said, “You knew we needed the wyvern.”
“I know,” said Ciardis. “To use its fire on the living undead.”
“Yes,” said Rachael. “But even before then, when we needed to kill it and bring its head back to the emperor, we needed it in some fashion.”
Ciardis shrugged. She wasn't sure how she would kill Terris, but she had a lot of delightful plans running through her head at the moment.
Rachael sighed. She tried again: “Terris was always critical in that.”
Ciardis didn't even bother retorting to that. She just snorted.
When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she nearly jumped out of her skin, but it was only Christian.
“I see that she succeeded,” he said gaily.
Ciardis threw up her hands in frustration and moved away toward the steps. She climbed up until she sat on a suitable step and just decided to fume. Alone.
Because no one could see what she had seen, that her best friend had just nearly died.
Before she could delve into that thought, someone came up to her. It was Sebastian.
Her face down to hide her sniffles, she said, “You're blocking my sunlight.”
She heard him say, “It's hard, isn't it?”
Ciardis bit her lip and looked up at him through teary eyes. “What is?”
Sebastian smiled and wiped the corners of her eyes. “Seeing someone you love in danger.”
Ciardis felt her mouth tremble, and she covered it hastily. “I'm being stupid, aren't I?”
“Just a bit,” he said tenderly.
She looked up at him with a mighty frown.
He chuckled and said, “That's the Ciardis Weathervane I know.”
She wrinkled her nose and said, “What do you want from me, Sebastian?”
He looked up at the sky and back down at her. “Well, for starters, you could go over to your friend and tell her what a damned fine job she did and how proud of her you are?”
Ciardis looked at him and then looked at the crowd gathered around Terris.
“I guess I could,” she admitted softly.
“Yeah, you could,” he said while holding out a hand and pulling her up until she stood on her own two feet.
“And then?” Ciardis asked as they walked hand in hand back down the steps.
“And then,” Sebastian said grimly, “we burn this city to the ground. An Algardis always keeps his promises.”
They did just that, using the entrapped wyvern to first give the ravenous horde, and then, under Christian's guided care, each citizen with the remaining intelligence to know what was going to happen to them, and the joy in their eyes to embrace the fire with open arms, the death they deserved.
Finally the council members lined up, and they too were gone.
When Ciardis's group looked around for Seven, just to see what his plans were, they found out that he was gone. He'd slipped out of the city when they weren't looking.
No one was too put out; he had, after all, gotten what he wanted. And so had they.
As they gathered some horses that the city council of Kifar had kept in a well-protected stable in the north ring, Ciardis was glad that she wouldn't have to leave the fortress walls through the same entrance they had come in, where the blood and acid rain ensured a gloomy reception.
They saddled up and left before the sun had even set.
When they got to the hill and were free of the long shadow projected by the city, she smiled.
“Does it still feel wrong?” Christian asked as they turned on horseback and watched the flames reach the very top of the fortress walls.
“No,” Ciardis Weathervane said as a weight lifted off her shoulders. “It feels just right. Now let's go home.”
~*~*~*
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About the Author
Terah Edun is the New York Times bestselling author of the Courtlight, Crown Service, and Algardis series, set in the eponymous Algardis Universe. Her books boast exhilarating adventures, breathless romance, and incredible fantasy for readers of all ages. You can visit her online at www.terahedun.com.
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