What have you done? The Sun rushed forward and held the womans head against her chest. She was the only hope I had of getting out of here.
No, you have me. Tallis hitched the strap of his pack. I dont believe you backed yourself into a valley without a way out. Show me how you planned to escape and I wont continue to fight this woman.
Chandrani comes with us.
He smiled grimly. If she can walk.
She hated him. Kavya had thought herself immune to hatred beyond her loathing for Pashkah. That loathing came from the knowledge that her life was not her own so long as he lived. She couldnt behead him and risk taking two minds into her own. Anyone she hired to kill him could accept double the payment to lead Pashkah right back to her. And she wouldnt risk Chandrani, her only reliable calm in a world of chaos. The woman had offered to kill him several times, as repayment for a bleak night in Mumbai ten years ago when Kavya had beheaded Chandranis murderous twin sister. Afterward theyd held each other and cried in both relief and grief.
That was an Indranans deepest burden, to genuinely love and hate ones mortal foe. Kavya lived with the constant dread that the brother shed adored as a childtogether with Baile, the three of them inseparablewas eager to steal her from this world, when she still had so much to do.
But Tallis of Pendray . . .
The Dragon-damned Heretic. She hated him without reservation.
She helped Chandrani stand, although the woman outweighed her by a good forty pounds of muscle. Im sorry, the woman said, her voice rife with pain. I heard your shout, but your mind flickered in and out. I couldnt focus to find you. Then . . . then there was chaos.
The fault was mine. I was dazed. Couldnt concentrate after I called for you.
Chandrani offered a watery smile. She only smiled for Kavya, which represented their unshakable bond. I wouldnt be able to concentrate in the company of that lonayíp bastard either.
I still need you, Kavya whispered, her face flushed. Please. For me. We need to escape.
Chandrani steadied herself with gratifying efficiency. No one in Asia was a better, more sacrificing warrior. Her honor and dedication had kept Kavya alive far longer than shed expected as a scared, homeless twelve-year-old girl.
Kavya glared once more at Tallis before turning toward the altar.
Tallis followed. Shed expected his presence, but he seemed unusually willing to follow . Not grab and demand. He was connected to her in ways that he resented. What was it about his past that had produced such a strange combination of bitterness and . . . protectiveness? Even affection? An untenable sense of his innate aura was the closest she could get to reading his mind.
Despite the physical bullying, shed never gotten the impression that he aimed to do her harm. When he called her goddess, his tone was sarcastic and acidic, but shed heard something near to reverence. Years of hearing it from her followers meant she recognized unconscious awe. He didnt realize how much he gave away by insulting her with that particular word.
She struggled through the crowd, dodging frantic hands that beseeched her for helpor held her backbut she wore a tight smile. Here shed thought herself incapable, or more arrogantly, above using her physical senses. Tallis was right that shed become complacent.
What had she expected to happen? That Pashkah would simply let her go? The properties of a psychic Maskmany Masks, in her caseonly extended so far. She couldve hidden forever had she lived an unassuming life, especially had she emigrated. But because Dragon Kings could no longer bear children, she wouldve lived day to day without purpose. A useless hermit.
Anger swelled in her chest, fighting for a place where her aching breath huffed. Pashkah would not take this from her, and neither would Tallis of Pendray. Whatever she needed to do to escape, she would do. She was the only person able to reveal Pashkahs treachery and reunite her people.
Raghupati was dead. Omanand was dead. She mourned the loss of two men willing to make a difference, standing beside
her and perhaps helping to bear a few of her decades-old burdens.
Thankfully, the Black Guard had scattered into the crowd, leaving the altar a solitary heap of rock.
Tallis grabbed her arm. Let me go first.
By all means.
The deepening shadows of evening meant his features were harder to discern. The color was gone. Shed liked his hair, tipped with a silvery sheen, and shed liked his deep blue eyes. Too bad. She was stuck with a deranged Pendray whose looks were a hindrance to her ability to concentrate.
A distracted Indranan courted death by a ready sibling. And so the cycle of death and madness continued.
Creeping through the archway, Tallis kept his back to the altar and circled to the rear. His stealth was impressive. He was in tune with himself and the vagaries of the physical worldtypical of the Pendray, as was his stubborn lack of sense. That came standard with their kind.