Endure - Sara B. Larson Page 0,28

besides the hammering of my pulse until the snap of a twig on the other side of the wall I hid behind made me flinch. Someone was heading right for me. I lifted my sword, preparing myself.

A man rounded the corner, and I jumped forward and then froze, with a gasp lodged in my throat. It was Eljin.

“What took you so long?” I hissed, lowering my sword.

Eljin had stiffened when he saw me jump forward with my blade raised, but now he just lifted one eyebrow. “There was a sign of struggle near the stables. I was trying to find out if Rafe and his men were still there.”

“And … are they there?”

“I don’t think so. You need to come look at this.”

Warily, I followed Eljin through the darkness toward the stable. The air was so thick with humidity, it coated my skin, slicking it with sweat. I kept my sword out, just in case.

When we neared the stable, there was no sound of neighing or any other noises a barn full of large animals would make. Eljin led me around the side of the building and pointed at the stable door, where it hung off its hinges, broken. The ground was stained with blood, and when I peered into the black interior of the barn, it was to find the stalls empty.

I turned back to face Eljin, my stomach sinking. “They stole the horses.”

Eljin’s expression was grim. “It appears that way.”

“We’ll never catch them now if they’re on horseback.”

I was tempted to punch the door but knew that would just bruise my hand and do nothing to ease the frustration and anger that churned in me.

“Perhaps we should turn back —”

“No.” I cut him off furiously. “We have to keep going. I can’t just abandon him.”

“Forgive me for asking …” Eljin started hesitantly. “But you’ve accepted Damian’s proposal of marriage, correct?”

I nodded, still trying to subdue my emotions and figure out what we should do now.

“So you love him.”

I nodded again.

“Then why are you risking yourself like this for Rylan? I understand that he is your friend, and a fellow guard, but you are going to be the queen of Antion. Damian needs you. His kingdom is under attack from all sides, and his best guard — and fiancée — isn’t at his side.” Eljin held up a hand when I tried to cut in again. “Just let me finish. Chances of saving Rylan were slim to begin with, but now that they have horses, there is no way we’ll intercept them before they reach Dansii. If he survives the journey, I have no idea how we’ll find him. And if we find him, how do you propose we rescue him? It’ll be us against a kingdom known to use black sorcerers. And after what happened at the palace yesterday, I’m quite concerned about what other dark sorcery they’ve managed to come up with. Is it truly worth all this risk to continue?”

“Rylan is more than just my friend or a fellow guard. He … he was almost like another brother to me. It’s my fault he’s hurt. I can’t leave him to his fate or I’d never be able to live with myself.” A myriad of emotions twisted through me, tightening my stomach into knots.

Eljin’s gaze was unwavering, searching for some answer that I wasn’t sure I had. “Is that all?”

Was that the only reason? Because I’d hurt him, and I didn’t want to live with the guilt if he died? I thought of his wide, easy smile, of the way he looked at me, the gold flecks in his brown eyes making them practically glow with warmth. I thought of the hundreds, if not thousands, of times we’d sparred, of the countless times we’d fought together and protected each other. We had both lost our entire families to a war that had never been necessary to begin with. It was technically my fault Rylan’s brother, Jude, had died. He’d sacrificed himself to help me stop Iker. But Rylan had never held it against me.

“I can’t let him die because … because I love him, too,” I finally admitted quietly.

I loved Damian with my whole being, my very soul. He was my fiancé and would hopefully be my husband one day. But I did love Rylan as well. Although it wasn’t the same kind of love, I realized that didn’t make it any less important. The thought of his death was unbearable.

Eljin’s face was a mask, betraying nothing