Blood Oath (The Darkest Drae Book 1)(59)

“Ryn,” he whispered, cupping my face in his hands. “Drak. I can’t believe it’s you.” He fingered my hair and looked into my eyes. “You’re really here.”

He brushed his thumbs over my cheeks, and I smiled at him, ready to burst.

“I have to hurry. We don’t have much time,” I said. I pulled him down so we were nestled between vines, a poor attempt at stealth considering the sparseness of the crop here.

“What do you mean? You need to come with me, now. I can get you out of here. We’ll hide you—”

“It won’t work. I-I’m . . .” The word got stuck in my throat.

“You’re the Phaetyn,” he whispered. “We know. We’ve been watching you for weeks, waiting for a shot. We’ve seen what happens to a field after you’ve been there.”

I stared at him. “You know?”

He nodded, smiling. “You’re the last Phaetyn, Rynnie. I could hardly believe it. But then I began to remember some stuff your mum used to do, being so meticulous about the water in your house . . .”

“I’m pretty sure she used to make me rub an ointment on that stopped me from healing. I heal really fast.”

Arnik swallowed. “You do?”

I could practically hear the questions about to burst from his lips.

“Arnik, listen. You need to get a message to Cal. You need to make sure he knows the king has a Phaetyn in his power. And . . . I met a friend. He said to tell Cal that if the rebels kill the king, the Drae will be free from his oath. That he might join the rebels.” I agreed with Ty now. I didn’t think we needed to worry about Irrik if he wasn’t under the king’s control.

Arnik worked his mouth, open, closed, open, closed. Nothing came out.

I glanced behind, aware that sooner or later, Irrik would come after me. When I turned back to Arnik, he was shaking his head.

“What?” I asked.

“How could you know that? How could anyone know that?”

I replayed the last minute in my mind and realized he was talking about what Ty told me about the oath. I understood his doubt, but he didn’t know Ty like I did. “His family was raised near the Drae, before Irrik was oath bound. His father told him. Plus, he’s been a prisoner in the castle for a long time.”

“Wait,” he said, drawing back to look me in the eye, “Whose father? Who told you?”

“Ty. He’s my dungeon buddy.” When Arnik frowned, I amended, “He’s in the cell next to mine.”

Arnik pulled me close again and kissed my forehead. “Drak. I’ve been sick with worry. Are you al’right? You look like . . .”

He was asking if they’d mistreated me. What could I say to that? Should I tell him of the horror of my dungeon life? If I did, what purpose would it serve, except to make him worry more?

“I’m fine,” I lied, dropping my gaze to the ground.

He sighed, his chest pushing against mine with his breath. “I miss you so much, Ryn.”

My throat clogged as I thought of my mother, Dyter, and the life I’d had. All of it gone in a blink, along with the rest of Harvest Zone Seven.

“I have to go,” I said.

Arnik held me fast.

“It’s time to leave, Ryn,” Irrik growled, a second before he yanked me out from under the vines. “Tell your lover goodbye.”

The ringing note of finality in his voice made me twist to face the Drae. I saw his eyes, cold and reptilian, and I shook my head. “No, Irrik, please.”

His jaw widened, and his face seemed to swell, and I knew he was shifting. I wasn’t letting him kill the one friend I had left. I grasped his half-Drae, half-human face in my hands. Razor sharp fangs sliced through the soft pad of my thumb, and I hissed at the sting.

“No,” I pleaded, pulling my hands away. “Don’t—that’s my only friend, Irrik. Please don’t kill him.”

His features snapped back to human, and he shoved me away, down into the dirt. “Go home, human. Don’t contact her again.”

I couldn’t watch Arnik leave. I just listened as his running footsteps faded.

“There’s work to do,” Irrik said.





25





“Where are we going?” I asked Irrik. My head was fuzzy with fatigue, and it took me longer than it should’ve to notice we were taking a different direction through the castle than we had for weeks. He wasn’t leading me to my new room. My eyes widened. He was—

“Where are you taking me?” I blurted.

“The dungeon,” he said in a cool voice.

“What? Why?” I shrilled, desperately. I remembered the darkness and Jotun’s thudding footsteps as he’d come to collect me for more torture. Nearing the edge of hysteria, I tried to reason with Irrik. “I haven’t been there for weeks.”

Irrik gripped my arm lightly, probably sensing I was about to bolt. “Because, Phaetyn, you must learn that what is given can be taken away just as easily. Today, you spoke to your friend. Do you know what Jotun or the king would’ve done to him for that? What I’m still contemplating doing? You would be punished, too.”

I shut my mouth at his threat against Arnik.

As we wound down the stairs that haunted my dreams, my thoughts went from Jotun to the other occupants of the prison. I’d be able to talk to Ty. My heart leaped at the thought that Tyr might come to see me as well. The Drae glanced at me with one eyebrow raised, and I wiped my smile away. His previous warnings about showing affection for Tyr rang in my ears.