you!”
“I’m not the leader anymore. You are. I trained you well, Amo. You’re ready even if you don’t think you are.”
Amo shook her head, anger and denial filling her eyes. She snarled, screaming in frustration as she and Tabitha moved to pick me up. Once on my feet, I exhaled, coughing and sputtering as black blood leaked from my lips. They tied me to Chivalry, and he neighed, whining as he brought his head back to nudge me. Consciousness slipped from me the moment he moved forward, with Amo leading his reins.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I awoke to someone slapping my cheek. My eyes focused, and I saw Amo hovered over me, her wide green eyes filling with relief. Apparently, I wasn’t dead yet. She gripped my chin, prying my stiff jaw open, forcing water down my throat. I coughed violently, watching her.
“Why the hell did you stop?” I demanded, but it was barely even a whisper.
“Because you’re my fucking family,” she hissed, her eyes holding mine. “We also have no idea where we’re going.”
I nodded, reaching for the map. Amo’s hand touched mine, and she shook her head slowly. I studied her eyes as she lifted a small vial between her fingers.
“A large bird delivered this a couple of minutes ago. There was a note with it,” she explained, producing it with a look of unease.
I blinked, dropping my eyes to the note she held in one hand and the bottle that sat between her fingers. Sitting up, I held my hand out for the message. Unrolling it, I laughed at what Torrin decreed.
“He says I don’t get to die unless it is by his hand. Arrogant prick. Do you think that means he likes me?” I asked seriously.
Amo stared at me, holding in her laughter until it burst from her, half-sobs, half-laughter. Her green eyes held mine, and her hand with the tonic moved forward.
“It could be poison,” she warned.
“Hmm, maybe. It would be a really shitty thing to give someone dying of poison more poison, wouldn’t it?” I asked, using my teeth to remove the stopper. I downed it while she watched, sitting back on her haunches with worry in her gaze.
“I think he likes you, but then he’s a male. Maybe his endless hunting for us is his form of flirting?” she asked, and I sat back, smiling as the tonic entered my system. “Maybe even foreplay?” I laughed, coughing until I almost threw up the antidote.
“Chivalry?” I asked, and he neighed, nudging my head.
“He won’t let us feed or water his stubborn ass. He hasn’t left your side since we stopped.” Amo’s eyes slid to the horse that neighed in complaint.
“Go eat and drink, Chivy. We need to move soon,” I ordered, moving my head before his tail slapped where it had been lying. “How far behind are Torrin and his men?” I asked, and Amo looked away. “Amo, how far?”
“Maybe an hour, maybe less now,” she admitted, handing me dried meat and water. “Eat, and then we will move. You need your strength. You should also check the map; see how far we are from the place they’re holding Landon.”
“The place we hope they’re holding him? There are over sixteen prisons with the symbol of the moon. We’re merely nearing the first one.” Granted, it sucked, but the possibility of Landon being at the first one was slim.
I chewed the tasteless meat, gnawing at it while the others moved in around me. My stomach roiled, and I gagged, leaning over to vomit. Amo handed me a water skin, and I washed my mouth out as Tabitha kneeled, offering me a mint that I accepted to ease the nausea.
“Send Scout out to see if he can find Torrin and his men, Amo. I need a moment,” I admitted, knowing that I had to give my body time to accept the tonic, which was working to nullify the poison. “Five minutes for it to kick in, and another if I have to throw up more poison,” I explained, watching as Tabitha held up fingers to the others, who were tending the horses.
Torrin had saved me, but I was certain there was a more sinister reason for him doing so. One, he needed someone to help him find the library because if the rumors and lore were right, you needed darkness and light to open the doors.
Only light could read from the Book of Life, while darkness read from the Book of Death. He needed me alive, and after having