Dorian’s magic. I hadn’t seen it since the Eldermaze.
He rode the horse hard, fast. Behind us, the scouts seemed to run for a time at the same pace—and then they fell back. The distance between us grew, grew, grew, until we passed through the tree line and they were obscured from view.
“They’re gone,” I called.
He ignored me. Dorian kept the horse galloping; the wind kept pushing.
“Dorian—”
“Not yet.”
We ran a span, two. We ran until I couldn’t smell the Kingdom of Storms, couldn’t hear the other horses, and ours started hacking.
“Slow him, Dorian. For gods’ sake.”
He didn’t seem to hear me, or didn’t want to. I let go of his waist—and saw his hands on the reins.
Black-veined. Oil under his skin.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Dorian
My vision had gonedark at the edges at least a span ago. Tar had replaced blood in my veins; my pulse had become sludgy. My heart beat too hard.
I had to keep her safe. Had to get us there before?—
“Dorian.” Behind me, Eury’s voice had taken on a careful quality, like a mother to her child. “Stop the horse.”
“No.”
“Stop the fucking horse.”
I didn’t.
Eury shifted behind me, gripping my shoulders with one hand on each. She hauled herself around me while the horse galloped and dropped herself into the seat in front of me, her back to my chest. When had she lost all fear of death?
She yanked the reins frommy hands—or tried. “Let go.”
I wouldn’t let go. I had to get us there.
She half-turned in the seat; her hand rose and whipped across my cheek. White light burst behind my eyes. “You’re going to get us killed.Give me the reins.”
I let go—the sting was far less potent than the shock—then slumped against her. The strength had gone out of me. It was all I could do to stay on while she slowed the horse to a walk.
Somehow she bore up against my weight. Time stretched and shrank as she walked the horse. We passed trees, the sunlight heated my scalp, and eventually clouds appeared. It began to rain, slowly and then all at once.
Acid rain. My old friend.
The horse whinnied and fought her once the rain started, but somehow she kept him in forward motion.
My clothes were soaked through by the time the horse’s hooves clopped on stone. We passed into darkness and an enclosed, earthy place. A cave. So many lined the mountainside, we could be anywhere.
Eury’s voice came from far away. “Get off the horse, Dorian.”
I wanted to do it, but my body no longer obeyed. The muscles wouldn’t fire. The ligaments wouldn’t bend.
The command came again. Again.