Amber Eyes

by S. D. Grimm

  “I need that Deliverer,” Franco said into a stone he held. Jayden watched him as if she were a spider hanging from the ceiling. “If you can’t find her, then draw her out. I’ll destroy everything she holds dear. Then I’ll have her. And then I’ll take her power.”

  His growl made her recoil. She recalled how he’d crushed her neck with uncanny strength. How he’d pressed her onto his bed and attempted to poison her with a goblet of spelled liquid. “Who is he talking to?”

  “Careful. He’ll hear,” Thea said. “To see in his stone, just think about it.”

  Jayden focused on the stone in Franco’s hand. The picture swirled and seemed to suck her inside of it. Then she was the spider on a different ceiling, staring at a different man. That face. That scar. She recognized him. The man who’d punched Ethan in the ear over and over and called him “dog.”

  This time hate poured into her. Some of it was hers, but some of it was his. It choked her like thick tar in her mouth.

  “Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’ll personally kill everyone she holds dear, starting with that man who’s nothing more than a dog.” Then his green eyes looked into hers. “I see you.”

  Something invisible seemed to grip her throat. Pull her closer. She tried to wriggle away but couldn’t. Finally, she dropped the stone.

  “Cover it!” Thea shouted.

  Jayden placed the cloth over the stone.

  “Didn’t you hear me calling you?” Thea’s eyes widened.

  “No.”

  “That was close. He could have seen where your camp is. Your surroundings.”

  “How do you know he didn’t?”

  “He’ll likely know you’re in these woods. And he’s sworn to kill you.”

  Jayden stared into Thea’s eyes. “You just endangered everyone I love. I should kill you now.” She raised her dagger.

  “You can, but I still have some messages to deliver.”

  “Enough.” Jayden pressed her blade against Thea’s neck, right under her chin. “Your cryptic messages don’t cloak anything from me. You’re scared, Thea.”

  “Yes. But Ethan is alive. He’s looking for you. If no one finds him in time, he will die.”

  Somehow she held her dagger steady. “I told you, I don’t trust you.”

  “You will.”

  “Never.”

  “Haven’t I proved that I know future things? I’ll tell you three things that will come true. Then you’ll trust my words.”

  Jayden reluctantly dropped her weapon from Thea’s neck.

  Her gaze seemed to entrap Jayden, and all emotion disappeared from Thea again. “Franco intends to free the Mistress of Shadows. If you don’t stop his plan, all of Soleden will perish. Do you understand?”

  Jayden nodded, wishing she didn’t care suddenly about what Thea had to say.

  “Good,” Thea said. “Then heed my words. I don’t know what Franco’s plan will be, but I do know how to get the information. I don’t see everything. It comes out in pieces, like a puzzle. I’ve gotten good at putting it together.

  “First, you will come across a man with a muzzled dragon tattoo. He would rather die than help you. I do have good news in the second vision. You will also come across a man wearing a broken arrow. He will tell you what you need to know about Franco’s plan. Third, your search will lead you to a woman who can’t see, but who will see right through you. Listen to her.”

  Jayden wanted nothing more than to wring Thea’s childish neck. “Is this supposed to be helpful?”

  “It will be.” Her familiar smirk curved one side of her mouth. “Here’s something for you alone. A frog and fox will show you your heart’s desire.”

  “That’s the stupidest—what do you know about my heart’s desire?”

  Thea just looked at her with an infuriatingly unreadable expression. “I don’t recommend you pursue your heart’s desire, Jayden. Not unless you want to risk the heartbreak.”

  “You don’t think I can handle heart—”

  “He can’t.”

  Jayden stared into Thea’s unblinking gaze. “Because I die.” She tried to say it with as much venom as she could, but the breathless words slayed her heart even so.

  Thea nodded. “I wish I hadn’t seen it. But for his sake, heed my warnings. I’ve helped you all along.”

  “Helped me? Helped? You got Ethan killed.” Jayden picked up her weapon, pressed it against Thea’s chest, and pushed.

  Chapter 9

  Not Envied

  Jayden!” Ryan wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back.

  If he hadn’t heard Jayden’s voice carry so much hate, he wouldn’t have believed her capable of killing Thea.

  She pushed at his arms. “Let me go!”

  He guided her around to face him. “Why don’t you let me talk to her while you cool off?”

  “Cool off?”

  “I might be able to get her to open up.”

  Jayden blinked and shook her head. “I—I don’t know what came over me.”

  He breathed a sigh, because it seemed like his Jayden—the one who didn’t jump at the chance to kill her enemy—was back. “It’s okay. Come here.” He opened his arms and she fell into his embrace. This. Comforting Jayden. With everything else going on, this made him feel more normal. He could almost believe everything was going to turn out all right.

  “You can’t have this.”

  Almost.

  Jayden let go of him and stepped back. “I’m sorry.”

  He smiled. “For getting mad at Miss Nickname-for-Everything?”

  “No,” she whispered. “I wanted to kill her.”

  Ryan’s heart stalled. Was that what killing did to someone? Made them believe it was an acceptable answer to problems? If so, maybe he never wanted to kill. Never wanted to have that—that hatred.

  “Hate can be an effective weapon.”

  Ryan sucked in a breath. Red colored the clouds. Red on the bottom, white on top. Just like the white lion. He shuddered.

  Jayden’s eyebrows pulled together. “Do you think that makes me evil?”

  “No.” He cupped her elbows in his palms and looked right into her round eyes. “Never. You did what you had to, and you’re still trying to protect your friends.”

  “Thea is dangerous.”

  “I remember.”

  Jayden smiled. “Thank you.” She touched his arm gently before she headed back to camp.

  Ryan approached Thea and crouched down in front of her. Pretty, but venomous.

  She smiled. “I hoped you’d come.”

  “Listen, what you did back there, firing Jayden up like that? I won’t stand for it.”

  “You tell her.”

  Ryan stopped short and swallowed. He really needed to get used to that voice before anyone noticed him reacting. “And I’ll skin you if you lay a hand on her or my sisters.”

  “Your sisters are all redheads.”

  “Am I supposed to be impressed by your observations?”

  She shrugged. “Your brother’s hair is dark. Soldier’s not your real brother, is he?”

  Heat flared in Ryan’s chest and he held up a knife. Of course Ethan was his real brother. As real as any brother who shared blood. “Don’t you dare mention him.”

  “Even to tell you I left him in Kara’s care? Alive?”

  Ryan evened his breathing. He couldn’t hope it. Couldn’t not. “You’re a liar.”

  She nodded. “No. I’m an assassin. He would’ve died if I hadn’t told my sister to care for him. I figured it was the least I could do.”

  “The least? What are you talking about?”

  Her blue eyes, dark and expressionless, seemed to offer a hint of emotion. “I know what it would be like to lose my sister. I couldn’t bear it if you had to go through the same.”

  He laughed even as the hope inside him clawed to be set free. Too dangerous for that right now. “Because you’re so accommodating?”

  “Not particularly. But for you, I cou
ld be.”

  “For a price.” He held up the knife. “I’m going to get answers out of you one way or another.”

  “You don’t have to torture me. I’ll tell you.”

  Incorrigible woman. Ryan stared right into her eyes. He wasn’t sure if his talent worked when he wasn’t making direct eye contact. “Tell me, what’s this big news you’ve been dying to share?”

  “You people really don’t know how to treat a guest, do you? Take a girl’s cloak, don’t even offer her water.”

  This he’d anticipated. He draped the cloak over her shoulders. “Would you like some water?”

  “Please.”

  Ryan crouched in front of her and held the water skin up to her lips.

  She drank deeply, then her blue eyes met his. “You really don’t need to keep me tied up. I’ll stay for as long as I want and leave when I’m ready anyway.”

  He sat back and propped his left arm over his left knee. “So confident.”

  “I’m an assassin. It comes with the territory.”

  “So does lying.”

  A sly smile touched her lips. “You don’t believe me?”

  “Shall I go over our history for you?”

  “You are the one who would pick up on the lies. They’re your territory, too, aren’t they?”

  Did she know about his talent? That he could persuade her to believe his words even if they weren’t true? “What do you mean?”

  “Does it bother you yet?”

  He glanced at Thea askance, not willing to let her know how curious her comments made him. “Games are no fun for the other team if you don’t explain the rules.”

  “Come now, this act isn’t you. The Charmer, that’s more your style. Put on that cocky, winning grin and let’s talk like old friends. Unless, of course, this new solemn face has more to do with the hallucinations.”

  Ryan tried to control his breathing, but it was too late. Judging by her smile, Thea had noticed his surprise.

  Her eyes narrowed like a cat with a mouse. “She’s in your head, isn’t she?”

  “What are you talking about?” He’d wanted to ask, “Who?” but that would give too much away.

  She leaned as close as the bindings allowed. “You’ve figured out my secret already, I’m sure.”

  “That you’re clairvoyant?”

  “Yes.” The ropes around her shoulders and chest fell away, and she rested her elbows on her knees. “Don’t look so surprised. You already know I’m a step ahead.”

  More like three. “Why are you here, really? Who do you work for, if not Franco?” He offered her some dried meat.

  She took it. “That’s the trick, isn’t it? Finding out my motives. See, you’ve already figured out what I am, even though I’ve never told a soul. I’m not surprised, though. I know to what you will bond.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Everything. Think about the Deliverers. What do you think gives them their powers? The animals they’ll bond to, of course. Just like any Feravolk. And here we are, in an age when that which was extinct is returning. Forgotten powers are emerging. Forgotten creatures re­surfacing. Of course, Deliverers can’t have all the fun. Any Child born the night of the Blood Moon could be blessed to bond with one of these returning creatures.”

  Did any of this really make sense? Forgotten creatures? Like what? Dragons? White lions? “How do you know this?”

  “You showed up in some of my visions.” She shrugged. “Can’t think of a prettier face, actually, but you—I don’t envy you.”

  Perhaps her talent was making people want to strangle straight answers out of her. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your future, of course. Your road isn’t an easy one. Neither is mine. I am glad to have met you, Charmer, but like I said, I don’t envy you. Your role in all of this will break you. I can give you something that will help with the hallucinations and the voices, if it’s gotten that far already.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Here.” She held out her hand and a strange root rested in her palm. Ruddy brown with several branching pieces. “This will help.”

  A hiss echoed in Ryan’s mind as he stared at the root in Thea’s palm. Good sign or bad one? “You know I don’t trust you.”

  She cocked one eyebrow and one corner of her lips curved up. “Yes. I also know you’ll use it eventually.”

  She reached out and took his hand. He watched as she uncurled his fingers and placed the sprig in his palm. The hiss thundered, then died away.

  He met her eyes. “Why do you pity me? What will I bond to?”

  “I can’t tell you. The path you’re headed down is too important for me to alter with needless details.”

  Perhaps he could deceive her into telling him.

  “Break off a small piece like this.” She snapped off the tip of one of the twiggy branches and held it up to his lips.

  “Doesn’t look like it’ll last long.” He chuckled, though it felt more forced than any other fake chuckle he’d ever delivered.

  She smiled, and he glanced at the herb in his hand. Of course the missing piece had grown back. It was spelled. Or poisoned. He gripped her wrist with his free hand.

  She sighed. “You have to eat it right after it’s been broken off.”

  A voice thundered in his brain, “Do not eat it.”

  “I’m not planning—”

  She flicked the piece into his mouth. Before he could spit it out, the piece of root dissolved, leaving a residue of cinnamon on his tongue. The cloud in his mind dissipated, and the thundering whisper with it. Gone.

  He let her go. “How did you—”

  “Clairvoyant, remember?” She touched his arm, and her normally haughty eyes looked soft. “It’s temporary, but you’ll figure out how to get rid of her.”

  Her? Ryan stared at Thea. Dare he ask what she meant now?

  Thea ran her fingers over his forehead and down the side of his face. Something about her touch was actually tender. More games?

  “The Mistress has a hold on you, Ryan. Don’t give her more than she’s already taken. But right now, she isn’t your immediate danger. Now that Idla is dead, Franco has rallied soldiers. He wants the Deliverers because they have the keys to the Creator’s power. Until they unlock it and relock the Mistress’s prison, they are in danger from anyone who wants the Creator’s power. Don’t you understand? Franco won’t rest until he gets them. A group of his men has picked up your trail. They’re on horseback. They’ll be here by midmorning. The best thing you can do is head east.”

  “Are you mad? That’s toward the palace.”

  “You’re wasting time.” She motioned to something behind him. He didn’t look. She frowned. “I’m sorry. You’re going to lose that one. Too bad I won’t be around to mend your broken heart. I would have liked to be.”

  He glanced over his shoulder. Ah. Of course Jayden would be waiting to hear what he’d found. And his sister Chloe. And of course Thea would use that to distract him from the conversation at hand. “Jayden won’t break—”

  “No. You’re too strong now for that to break your heart. But you’ll wish it had.”

  What did that mean? His sister headed toward the water while Jayden walked down the other side of the hill. Soon she’d be back in view on the top of this hill.

  She really shouldn’t be letting Chloe go alone to the lake. He’d have to persuade Jayden to follow his sister. He pocketed Thea’s gift. “You’re pretty good at the distraction thing, I’ll give you that, but—” He turned back and Thea was gone. Of course she was.

  He scanned down the hill but didn’t spot her. She had one of those Feravolk cloaks on. Unless one of the animals was out that way, she was gone. And he had a mind to just let her leave. She knew what was coming anyway. There was no catching her unless she intended to be caught.

  A soft hand rubbed his arm, and he turned toward Jayden. “Are you okay, Ry?”

  He breathed deep. Before he could say
anything, Jayden knelt by the tree and picked up the broken rope. “Thea’s gone?”

  “Yes.”

  “You don’t seem very concerned.”

  “She said there was danger headed our way.”

  “And you just let her go?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “She was already unbound and got the jump on me.” Admitting that was harder than he’d thought.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  Jayden bowed her head and worried a loose thread on her clothes. “Did she tell you anything about . . . about Ethan?” Her eyes met his.

  His next breath hurt. “She’s a liar, Jayden.”

  “What if she’s not?”

  “What did she tell you?”

  “That if we don’t find him soon, he will die. I think we should at least look. I—”

  He touched her shoulder. “I know you want to.”

  “You don’t?”

  “I do. Heavens, Jayden. He was my brother.” If Thea truly could tell the future, why didn’t she tell him where to look? His heart dropped. She had sent him toward the palace.

  “You will go with me?”

  “With you? It’s a trap, Jayden.”

  She backed a step away from him, an incredulous look in her eyes. “I guess I don’t care.”

  He stood there, rooted. But if she was going, he was going. “I guess I don’t either.”

  She leaned in and hugged him so tight. “Thank you.”

  Perhaps Thea was counting on that.

  A scream pierced the air. Ryan’s heart jolted. Chloe.

  Chapter 10

  Testing the Limit

  Ethan followed the pull anchored in his heart deeper into the forest, and it grew stronger. According to the sun, he’d been on the horse for at least the rest of the day and all night. Everything hurt worse, and new blood seeped from the wound in his stomach. And his arm.

  He stroked the horse’s neck. “Where are we?”

  One of Javelin’s ears trained on him, but the other flicked around, trying to pinpoint a sound, no doubt. Ethan strained to listen, but he got nothing. Well, plenty of sounds, but they all amounted to nothing. “What do you hear, girl?”

  He covered his right ear and everything muted.