Page 45 of Vanquished Gods
“Please tell me there’s hemlock in this tea or something to get me out of this conversation.”
The air around him darkened, but all he said was, “Come on, Elowen. We want to get back before night falls.” He noddedat his cloak, which was drying by the fire. “You take that. Stay warm.”
With a few more sips of tea, I rose from the bed. Embers still smoldered in the hearth. I pulled on his cloak, wrapping it around myself, breathing in Sion’s warm scent.
As I crossed to the door, a faint, muffled sound floated through the wooden wall by the hearth. I narrowed my eyes at a small door nearby I hadn’t noticed before. Probably because it was barely noticeable, blended into the wood. I crossed to it and slowly pushed through it into a small bedroom. My jaw dropped. There, tied to a pair of chairs, was a couple, their mouths bound with cloth and hands tied behind their backs. One of them had a small, dull dagger with which he was trying to saw away at the ropes, fraying them strand by strand.
“Archon above,” I muttered. I dashed back into the kitchen and grabbed a sharper knife.
Within a few moments, I’d cut the couple from their bindings. Furiously, they pulled the rags from around their faces.
“You monsters,” the woman said. She was young, round-cheeked. Fucking furious.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know anyone was here. We’re leaving now. Again, so sorry about that. You have a lovely home.”
What else was there to say? When I left the cottage, I found Sion already mounted on the horse.
“You tied them up,” I said sharply.
He shrugged. “Well, I let them live, didn’t I? You should be thankful for that. You needed food, you needed rest. I got both of those things for you. Stop complaining, and let’s get on the road.”
I mounted the horse just in front of him, his strong arms wrapped around me, and then I was off again with a vampire who took whatever he wanted.
As dusk streakedthe sky with shades of indigo, Poppy carried us through the overgrown gardens outside Donn Hall. Out there, ivy climbed the crumbling stone. Wild tangles of roses and jasmine bloomed around us, and the scent of salt and flowers floated on the sea breeze. The castle loomed above us. Maybe it was the warm lights in its narrow windows, gold against black stone, but I could not wait to get back inside that place.
“You know, Sion? I actually am starting to like it here.” I surprised myself with my own words.
“Are you admitting you were wrong about Gwethel?”
“Hmm, you know, I’d rather not.”
From beneath an ancient stone arch, Maelor crossed toward us, the wind whipping at his dark cloak. His pale eyes locked on us. “I’ve been waiting for you. What took you so long?”
“What took us so long?” Sion shot back as he dismounted. He slowly stalked closer to Maelor. “We just thwarted the Luminari army in Lyramor and destroyed their Purification plan, saving an entire city. Is that really the best greeting you could muster?”
The wind toyed with Maelor’s dark hair. “We have a problem. After you left Ruefield, I interrogated one of the Luminari knights I caught chasing us.”
“By interrogated, do you mean tortured?” I asked.
“Maybe.”
“Well done,” said Sion. “What did you learn?”
“First, the Pater is still alive. Second, he now knows about Gwethel. And third, he’s bringing an army here to kill us.”
My heart slammed. “Here?”
Maelor’s eyes were locked on Sion. “You killed Aelthwin and that other traitorous thrall, but someone got a message to the Order anyway. Someone wanted to tell the Pater where we live. The Order knows we are here, and Elowen, too. The Pater, more specifically, knows his former Raven Lord and Magister Solaris now live in the vampire kingdom of Gwethel, and he knows exactly where to find us. And he’s not in a particularly forgiving mood about everything we’ve done. I imagine especially not after you killed him again last night.”
“When are they coming here?” Sion’s voice was a low growl.
“We have less than a month.”
My pulse roared, and I slipped off the horse onto the mossy path. “And if they attack in the daylight? How are the witches doing with those navka pendants?”
Maelor shook his head. “There aren’t nearly enough. They’re incredibly difficult to make, and it’s not going quickly enough to have a strong army in a month.”
Tiredness seeped through my bones. “Right. So, I need to figure out my death magic.”