Oath of the Alpha - Eva Dresden Page 0,8
“I’ve thought much about what you said to me during our last talk. Watching how you treat the girl, how you act around her, I thought more on it, especially my words.”
“Is this your way of apologizing for making the same accusations you just told Endi were none of her concern?” Er’it found no relief in tugging the ruined trousers free, less in sliding on a new pair. Falling hard onto a pillow opposite Tor’en, Er’it pulled on his boots.
“Not in the slightest. What I am saying is that I see things differently now.”
“What in the name of the Hat’or—”
“Shut your mouth and listen, Er’it.”
Er’it opened his mouth for a scathing response but found he hadn’t the energy for it. As angry as he was, even Tor’en’s nonsensical rambling could incite enough rage to begin an argument. Instead, he fell back into the large cushion at his elbow, pushing at the tray of dried meats and water someone had left for him.
“In her moments of need, she goes to you, Er’it. I do not pretend to understand the violence that you share at night, but I’ve never heard her cry for you to stop. Quite the opposite. She is drawn to you in ways none of us understand, least of all you. And I see that it is much the same for you.”
“I am not drawn—”
“You never let her leave your side. Become angry when others come too close or dare to touch her. I see the way you stare at her when you think no one else is watching. Now you’re driving your men past the point of reason to find her.”
“She is the key to the power I must possess and nothing more!” Er’it didn’t believe his vicious statement any more than Tor’en, the wry quirk of the mage’s lips grating over his nerves as he shoved the tray. The sturdy metal stuttered over the floor, sloshing water and scattering stiff mahogany strips over the varnished silver.
“She’s come to mean much more than what you claim, my friend. I still say you teeter at a precipice, threatening to fall into the darkness of your power. Yet I believe that Aida has a far more important role to play in your destiny than a meager sacrifice, no matter the power promised you in those insane ramblings of mages long dead.” Tor’en linked his fingers between upraised knees, his bushy brows soaring upwards as he waited.
“You’re forgetting my visions,” Er’it murmured, casting his gaze toward the door flapping in a gentle breeze. He swore he could smell her still. No doubt her fragrance was ingrained in every fiber, but he imagined the wind brought it to him, guiding him toward her.
A foolish, dangerous notion.
“Could they have been giving warning and not sanction, Er’it?”
“I cannot question deities. They showed me victory and the path I needed to get there.”
“A path bathed in blood.”
“Fitting, when you think on it,” Er’it said, a bitter laugh scalding his throat as he lurched to his feet, measuring the tent with stiff strides. “Born in blood, I’ll end this cursed place with it, especially if I do not find her before…”
“Before what?” Tor’en angled his head back, squinting up at Er’it with his lips sucked in between his teeth.
“Just before.” Er’it shoved his way past the dangling canvas of the door and out into the brilliant sunshine that held no warmth for him. An ache he could not and would not acknowledge began building beneath his ribs as he shouted orders at the lingering soldiers to get back to work.
Dusk descended and threw eerie shadows through the trees, making the cleared brush seem ominous, threatening, as it rustled in a brisk wind that picked up the odd cluster of leaves and earth. Scattering it through the air in a silent wail, ravaged and broken, it beseeched the brightening stars for revenge.
“I am losing my mind,” Er’it hissed as he fell to his knees for what felt like the hundredth time. Clutching the axe handle as it slipped in his clammy grip, he climbed back up and took another swing at the menacing shadow lurking before him. “It’s just a bush, not a spirit.”
They’d gone well into the woods, finding tracks from the bandits’ horses just as the sun kissed the horizon. His men were falling over, weak and exhausted. Having sent the warriors back, only he and Ath’asho remained, Tor’en appearing at intervals to force them to pause and drink if they would not take more