The Last Namsara (Iskari #1)(80)

Torwin brushed aside a strand of Asha’s hair, tucking it behind her scarred ear.

“I got angry with Iskari for never looking around her. To the ones who loved her. To the ones who could save her.”

“But no one can save her.”

“How do you know? She never lets anyone try.”

That night, Asha had a nightmare.

She dreamed she stood in the shadows of the dungeon and before her loomed an iron door. Horrible sounds came from behind it. Sounds of the shaxa tearing at someone’s back. Sounds of bones being snapped. Sounds of a body contorting in terrible ways.

And through it all, she heard a voice, begging.

No . . . please, no. . . .

When the begging turned to screaming, she realized that she knew the owner of the voice. And because she knew him, she threw herself against the door. She pounded it with her fists. She searched for the key—only there wasn’t a keyhole. There was no way to get in.

She couldn’t save him. Couldn’t free him.

Could only listen while they killed him.

Asha woke in a sweat, breathing hard. Someone stood over her, silhouetted by the sun shining behind him. With the nightmare lingering on the backs of her eyelids, she bolted upright. Panic flared through her. Jarek. Jarek was here. She turned to find the carpet empty beside her. Torwin was gone.

“Asha.”

Asha scrambled up and away. Her back hit the makeshift desk full of Callie’s tools, which scattered and fell. She ran trembling hands along the floor, searching for something to use as a weapon.

“Asha.”

That voice.

It made her stop. Her breath scraped out of her lungs, loud and ragged. She looked up. Squinting through the sunlight, she found her brother crouching beside her.

“You’re all right. You’re safe.”

Her surroundings shifted, no longer tainted by the nightmare. Her brother’s voice brought clarity and vision. Dax stared down at her, cloaked in a gray mantle with a mud-stained hem. His dark brows drew together over eyes full of concern. Beyond him, the canvas walls were bright with morning sunlight. The still-burning lamp sat on the rug next to a half-finished flight coat.

“Where’s Torwin?”

Very carefully, Dax said, “Being tended.”

Asha’s heart jolted. “Tended?”

“A group of draksors and skral saw you come in here with him.”

Asha’s mouth went dry.

She remembered when Torwin had first brought her to New Haven, the way the Haveners looked at him when he said her name aloud . . . as if he didn’t have the right.

She remembered the warning Dax had given her: There are just as many skral who won’t think twice about hurting him simply because of the way he looks at you.

She struggled to her feet. Cold morning air rushed against her skin, making her shiver.

“Where is he?”

Dax looked as if the sight of her pained him. “I told you this would happen. I told you to keep your distance.”

Safire strode into the tent then, her eyes sweeping the premises before coming to settle on Asha.

“Saf,” she pleaded. “What’s happened?”

“Come on.” Safire slid an arm around her shoulder. “I’ll bring you to him.”

“When you didn’t return to our tent, I went looking for you,” Safire explained as they strode through New Haven. “Halfway up the valley, I found a group of Haveners in the woods, cursing someone curled on the ground, feeding kicks into his gut and back.”

Safire swept aside the flap of a small tent. From inside, Asha heard raised voices.

“They tried to break his leg, but I stopped them.”

Inside the tent, Asha found a row of cots, a dirt floor, and . . . a shirtless Torwin reaching for the bundle of clothes Callie held behind her back.

“The physician said you need to rest!” Callie’s index finger sliced the air, pointing to the cot.

“Give me my shirt,” Torwin snarled. His hair was damp with sweat and his eyes seemed strangely hollow.

“Get in the cot!”

He was about to shout something back when he noticed the newcomer. At the sight of her, the fight rushed out of him.

“Asha.”

Torwin looked her over, as if checking her for wounds. When he didn’t find any, he shook away the relief in his eyes and turned back to Callie.

“I’ll stay if Asha stays with me.”

Callie shook her head in disbelief. Giving up, she marched right past Asha and out of the tent, taking his clothes with her.

In spite of everything, Torwin smiled a victorious smile, just for the scarred girl standing in the entrance. It made Asha wonder if he even noticed the way Callie was around him. If he had any inkling at all.

Thinking of Dax’s warning, she said, “I just came to make sure you’re all right.”

Torwin moved toward her, a little stiffly. He was obviously hurt, his leg in particular.

“I can’t stay,” she said, stepping back. “This is what happens when I’m near you.” She forced herself to turn, to head for the entrance. “I’ll see you tonight. At the—”

“They gave me a sleeping draught.”

Because you need to rest, she thought, fingers reaching for the tent flap.

“Do you know what it’s like, being trapped inside nightmares all night?”