Crown of Cinders (Imdalind #7)(27)
If this were true, it could be the difference between her loyalties, from pulling her away from whatever job she had to do.
“Get them back to the hall. Don’t take your eyes off them. I need to talk to Ilyan. I’ll be back,” I said to Risha, not waiting for her nod of understanding before I took off into the air, my magic lifting me higher as I soared away from them and toward the main courtyard.
The whining and bickering hordes Ilyan had been trapped in for days would have to wait. I needed to find him.
JOCLYN
6
“Never do that again!” Wyn’s voice was a snap in my ear, accentuated by the not so playful swap against my backside as she fell to her knees, gasping and heaving in a desperate attempt to catch air.
“Ryland said the same thing two weeks ago.” I laughed, magic pulling me toward Ilyan, desperate to be near him now that we were back in the cathedral.
“I can see why,” Wyn gasped. “That was awful. No wonder no one other than you and Ilyan has even tried that. I mean, do you have a death wish?”
“No death wish, just not a lot of time.”
As I pulled her back to her feet, she gasped, her eyes wide in obvious panic that I was about to do it again.
“Take a chill, Wyn. I’m not going to do it again. And it was a stutter, not a colonoscopy.”
“A what? Is that some kind of party mortals have? Because it sounds awful.”
“Never mind.” This time, I did roll my eyes as I dragged her behind me. We weaved past the illuminated tents that littered the courtyard. The canvas domes glowed in the darkness in glittering jewel tones of red, blue, yellow and green.
It was magical if you could ignore the dark shapes that wandered amongst them, darting around the camp in shadows, whispering in groups, and cowering in the dark like some demon was ready to strike.
“This way.” Gripping Wyn’s gloved hand, I pulled her after me, letting the strong tug of Ilyan’s magic guide me. “He’s this way.”
“Lead the way, Your Majesty,” Wyn taunted. “In a nice, gentle walk if you please.”
Ignoring her, I pulled her behind me, darting around a large, red dome. The familiar red light emanated from it until it intersected with the blue tent next door, casting ribbons of blue and red and purple around us like a rainbow.
The beauty was lost, however, as I took one more step and the whispers hit against my chest like the sharp point of a nail, the lingering shadows staring at me unabashedly, hands held over mouths as they hissed and speculated on realities they could never understand. Some didn’t even bother to hide their questions or comments. They let them run freely, loudly, and aggressively. The words bounced off the canvas and alerted everyone to my very presence. Anyone who had already retired to their tents became attentive, emerging from the canvas at the prospect of drama.
“I don’t know why he chose her.”
“She probably broke the original prophecy, too. Broke them all. Now we don’t know …”
“You saw all that fire … and that girl … so much blood.”
“She probably wipes the blood on her face and turns into a dragon. Eats goats raw,” Wyn interjected from beside me, adding her own flavor to the growing horde. Her loud scoff was not missed by any of them.
An old woman’s eyes grew wide before she darted back into her tent, hisses seeping through the canvas after her.
“They are going to believe that, you know,” I snapped under my breath.
Wyn smiled more widely, proud of herself. “That’s the point—to make them so ridiculous they won’t know what to believe.”
I wasn’t convinced that was actually helping, but whatever. Wyn was my greatest ally, and I was glad to have her.
“You and I know the truth, and that’s all that matters.”
“That is blood on her hands! I wonder if she killed someone else.”
I wiped them against my pants, my heart dropping to my knees as the whispers increased, alerting me to what I had done.
Wyn, however, laughed and said loudly, “Don’t let them see the goat blood, Jos. I don’t want to share my dinner with anyone.”
That time, I laughed, the sound an opposition to the fear that leeched around us, wiping it all away and leaving everyone looking confused.
“Their fears are unfounded,” Wyn said with a slight laugh from where she stood beside me like a bodyguard, her oppressive frame enough to scare off anyone who might try something. “Someday, they will see the truth.”
If I were going to have a bodyguard, I would choose Wyn, even with her crazy reputation. She would sooner kill someone than let them tear me down. I wasn’t always positive that was a good thing.
“And what truth is that?” Darting between a green and gray tent, I came face to face with a bright-eyed child who promptly screamed and ducked inside. “That I eat children for breakfast? Because that one seems to have gotten out.”
“No,” Wyn groaned as she pulled me away from the tent and toward the tall blond man who was looking at me as warily and worriedly as he always did as of late. If it weren’t for the intense love in his eyes, I would say he was half-dead already. “That Sain is a bloodsucking leech who was crossed with a dinosaur. Leechasaurus rex.” She waved her arms around like a gimpy Tyrannosaur, her tongue darting out in some weird hissing-slurping concoction.