Black Moon Draw(73)

“I agree,” the leader of the Brown Sun Lake’s goons responds.

I toss one leg over the horse’s withers, but the Shadow Knight won’t let go. “Look,” I whisper. “I won’t be in the way. You can take out all their men and then come rescue me.”

“Your plans leave much to be desired.” His eyes are like chips of gray ice flecked with blue glimmers, his stony features unyielding.

“Says the man who made us fall out of the sky?”

“I will not lose you.”

“I don’t trust my magic to work!”

“’Tis a part of you. I trust it and I trust you.”

Ouch. If I weren’t already worried about my finicky ability to use magic I don’t understand, his statement sinks the delicate self-esteem I’ve been working on bolstering. “You should know better by now. I’ll just disappoint you.”

“Nay. You cannot.” He lifts my chin to meet his gaze, his thumb resting at the side of my mouth. The air between us shimmers with something forbidden and intense enough to make my blood heat. “Use your magic.”

My hand is gripping the medallion. “It’s too much of a risk. If it doesn’t work for some reason, you’ll get hurt.”

“So be it. I accept that.”

“I don’t. I won’t. If there’s one person who can save this world, it’s you.” The idea of him dying in front of me makes my chest tight and my stomach churn. It’s more than physical attraction, more than the thought of a book character dying. The pain I feel witnessing his death in my mind is worse than what I went through the day Jason broke it off with me. “Let me go, Atreyu.”

“This is what you decide, after all we have been through? To trust my enemy?” Inexplicable anger flickers through his eyes and he grows tenser, colder.

“Yes.” For now.

“Then heed this warning. If you use the magic of Black Moon Draw in support of my enemies, I will come for your head,” he growls angrily and releases me.

I slide to the ground and grimace, testing my legs before I step away from him quickly. For the first time since we met, I’m scared of him. A man like him doesn’t make empty threats.

From his mistress to his enemy. Typical, moody, idiotic * of a man! I guess if I’m of no use to him, he doesn’t need to keep me around. Innately, I understand he can’t risk letting the equivalent of a nuclear bomb come into play in the middle of a medieval battle.

I’m too pissed to acknowledge that truth.

The archers lower their bows, and the leader of the Brown Sun Lake goons grabs my arm and shoves me towards the figure standing behind him.

“For your father, with my deepest respect,” he says with a bow of his head.

The man who waved at me returns the bow and takes my arm much more gently, leading me away. I peer into the darkness of his hood, trying to see his face, hoping it’s my squire or the princess undercover.

A glimpse of his chin reveals a goatee, newly grown.

“Is he safe?” I ask, twisting to see behind me.

The men still surround the Shadow Knight, whose stony gaze is on me rather than those who are nothing more than toilet paper in his way.

“Nay,” is the honest, quiet response.

I don’t recognize his voice either.

“But we must leave the pass before he loosens his rage and comes for you.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” I murmur.

“For now, it must be enough that you are alive, and so will he be. I cannot return you to him.” His tone is apologetic – yet firm, youthful and confident.

“Who’s your father?”

“The Desert Knight.”

That’s not good. He’s armed, and the medallion at my chest isn’t working. My chances of escaping aren’t promising. My gut is still telling me to go with him, and there’s nowhere for me to run in the narrow pass with steep cliffs on either side.

We reach a pair of horses being held by one of our captors. He motions me to one and mounts the other.

I watch him and clumsily mirror his movements, finding it much more challenging to haul my ass on top of a horse than anyone around me makes it appear. Safely on top, I grip the saddle. My reins are handed over to the man who brokered my freedom.

Or maybe, who helped capture me. Uncertain what’s going on, I glance back once more at the Shadow Knight.

He hasn’t moved. I have a feeling he’s waiting until I’m clear of the shallow valley to unleash his fury and then come kill me.

It’s business, or should be, but I can’t help being a little hurt that he acted like I’m no more than another weapon to use against his enemies.

We start off at a jarring trot that turns into a smooth canter. The man leads us out of the pass into the forests on the other side. His horse takes off when we hit a path through the forest, and I hold on for dear life.

The forest opens to reveal a wide dirt road running atop a cliff overlooking the ocean, and I lift my gaze from the horse’s mane to stare at the dark depths of the ocean. A full moon’s light manages to filter through the mists overhead and reflects off the waves far below. They appear black, and I’m astonished to see the subtle glimmer of purple, green and blue beneath the surface of the ocean.

A cold wind sweeps up the cliff and over me, piercing the thin clothing and taking my breath away. I shiver and huddle closer to the horse’s neck, unable to take my gaze from the ocean stretching to the horizon.