The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch #2)(47)

I spoke up timidly. “I have a suggestion.”

“What is it?”

“I know a means of travel faster than any pigeon can fly.”

“You can’t be serious!” Zoya burst out. “You’re not saying we fly on that azi, are you?”

Althy arched an eyebrow. “It will take at least a week to get to the Kion border,” she said slowly. “But an army from Kneave can use the ports to arrive at Ankyo earlier than that. How long would it take your azi, Tea?”

“You can’t be serious, Althy!”

“It’s the best option we have, Zoya. Can you guarantee our safety, Tea?”

“I think so.”

Zoya shivered. “It’s cold-blooded, the way you can traipse in and out of that mind like it’s an evening stroll through the Willows.”

“Then to the azi we go.” Althy allowed herself a faint grin. “I must confess I am curious. Kalen, the township of Lizzet is a fifteen minutes’ ride from here. Bring the horses there, save Chief and Kismet. The rest will be of little use to us at this point.” Althy skewered me with a look. “We will talk about this again, Tea.”

I nodded, glad she hadn’t decided on a worse punishment. Still, it was hard to meet her gaze with the disappointment there.

“I just hope Mykkie and Polaire are going to be all right.” Likh sighed, gazing back at where the two still slept.

“I’ll need a horse,” Kalen said.

“You can use Chief,” I offered quietly. “He can bring you back here in under half an—”

“I’m taking Kismet,” he informed me, swinging up onto the stallion and riding off before I could respond. I swallowed and looked down, doing my best not to cry. We weren’t friends, but surely—surely—my compelling him was a forgivable offense?

“Can you turn it on and off like a tap?” Princess Inessa asked me as we hurried to pack.

“Turn what on and off?”

“All the familiars sharing space in your head. Do you have to focus on them, or do their thoughts come unbidden?”

“Proximity helps,” I admitted. “Animals don’t have those mental barriers in place, but their thoughts aren’t strong enough to intrude on my own. It’s trickier with people because there’s a give and take required. If they don’t choose to meet me halfway, I don’t sense anything beyond a general idea of where they are.” Granted, the only experience I’d had with a human familiar was Fox, and it was hard enough to pry any thoughts from him unless his guard was down. My hold on Aenah was a lot more tenuous, almost nonexistent at times given the mental barriers she has in place.

“But he has a silver heartsglass…”

“Only because I do. He can’t channel magic himself, but he has the same restrictions we have. Asha can’t take back our heartsglass after giving it away, for example. It’s the same for familiars.”

The color drained from Princess Inessa’s face, and before I could ask why, she was already stammering excuses as she turned to flee, red-faced.

Whenever we were unruly, my mother had a habit of grabbing us by one ear and twisting to keep us compliant. I put that to good use now when Fox drew close.

“If you’ll excuse us,” I said to an astonished Likh and a rather amused Zoya before dragging him off so I could scream at him in private. My brother might no longer feel pain, but he reacted on instinct, his protests ceasing only after I let go.

“How serious is your relationship with Princess Inessa exactly?”

Fox rubbed his ear. “I’m not sure that’s any of your business.”

“It is now. She said she hadn’t expected the empress to choose a husband for her especially after—in her words—having slept with you.” I’d been chewed out for the better part of the morning by Althy, and I wanted to do the same to someone else. “As you can imagine, her apology came as a complete surprise.”

Fox’s face was perfectly devoid of expression. “That’s really none of your damn business, Tea.”

“I don’t want any more details. After my talk with the princess, I definitely don’t want to know—but you need to tell me if your relationship is important enough to ruin diplomatic ties.”

“I don’t know!” His mask slipped. “I didn’t even realize who she was until after I saw her watching practice for the darashi oyun with her ladies-in-waiting!”

“Did she know you were an asha’s familiar?”

Fox coughed.

“Fox!”

“Not telling her was my fault, granted—”

“Every girl deserves to know whether or not they’re in a relationship with a familiar from the very start, Fox! What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t apparently.” My brother’s voice was loud with the things he didn’t say.

“Did you meet her again after you both found out? Or after you ended things?”

Darkness, the rustling of hay—slim hands against my pants, tugging—Inessa’s voice, breathless against my ear. “I hate you,” she gasped, meaning every word—

“Oh no, no no no nonononononono!” I clapped my hands over my ears like that could stamp out those thoughts. I summoned the Veiling rune and focused on my shield, wanting to scrub out the insides of my head with sharp thistles.