A Queen of Gilded Horns (A River of Royal Blood #2) - Amanda Joy Page 0,109

fighting tomorrow were. Bedrolls were laid out beside the stalagmites jutting up from the cave floor. An elder woman sung a Khimaeran folk song, banging a hand drum against her hip. Children of various ages ran around the cave, playing.

Searching the crowd for Isa, I spotted Kelis’s cap of red-brown waves first. At my request, Kelis was going to stay with this group when the fighting began tomorrow. I was glad of it, another eye on Isa, another sword to safeguard them all.

Behind Kelis, Isa sat on a wool blanket next to Daischa. Otho sat up between them, playing with a set of well-worn blocks. When he tried to shove one into his mouth, Isa gently took it from him.

At my approach, Daischa rose and gathered Otho into her arms. “I’ll give you two some privacy.”

Then she gave Isa a long, significant look I could not decipher. Isa returned it with a reluctant nod. Daischa, rope braids swinging, wandered over to the singing woman, leaving us alone.

“Can I sit?” I asked, awkward suddenly.

Isa lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Go ahead.”

“How are you?”

“All things considered, not terrible.” Isa smiled and it was not her usual radiant one, or the grin that was more a baring of teeth. It was wilted at the edges; she looked as tired as I felt. “Shouldn’t you be off scheming?”

“There’s nothing left to figure out. Either our plan works tomorrow or we fail. That’s why I wanted to speak with you.”

“Oh?” Isa cocked her head, curious.

“Aketo asked me if you would look after Daischa and Otho tomorrow, in case anything should go wrong and Throllo’s men find these caves.”

Isa’s eyes narrowed. “Of course I will keep them safe.”

“That isn’t why I came, though. My request is a bit more significant. I want you to take them far from here if anyone attacks this place. Don’t fight, just use your magick to get them out.”

“You’re that worried?” Isa asked, color draining from her face.

She’d been there during our first meeting about the rebellion. She knew the odds were stacks against us, as they always had been. “Seven hundred soldiers, Isa. Even if we divide them, if they overtake us at the manor, there will be no one to protect you all. Will you do it?”

Isa nodded, but she looked distracted.

“Isa, I need your promise. Even if after this, we end up back in Ternain at each other’s necks, please keep them safe.”

Our eyes met. Isa’s bottle-green eyes were shiny with unshed tears. “All right. Yes. I promise. I’ll keep them safe.”

ISA

It shouldn’t have been this easy, sneaking out of the cave.

She waited until night fell and impenetrable darkness blanketed the cavern. Once she was certain Kelis slept soundly, she reached into the woman’s mind and tugged at her aura until Isa was certain she would not wake. Casting a glamour so that anyone whose eyes passed over her would see nothing, she picked her way through the cave. It was the same route she had followed with Aketo and Dthazi that first day in Sher n’Cai. It seemed impossible that only a few days had passed since then.

When she reached the tunnel where the khimaer force slept, she had to use more persuasive magick to make sure none were woken as she stepped over their sleeping bodies.

The only trouble came at the end of the tunnel, where Yayazi stood guard. The heavy slab of stone that served as an entrance to the cave system was firmly shut. Isa stood waiting, hoping a solution would come before morning, when Yaya bade one of her companions to open the door and do a routine check of the street.

Isa slipped out as soon as they rolled back the stone, heart thudding in her chest. Once she caught her breath, she walked through the town. She had taken note of the map of Sher n’Cai during the meeting the morning after she was stabbed and followed the streets that would bring her closer to General Sareen’s manor.

When a soldier came stumbling out of an alley a dozen feet ahead, Isa had his mind in her grip in an instant. Take me to the General, she whispered into the man’s mind. His face went slack but he nodded vigorously and led Isa away.

EVA

The first sign of something ill came at dawn.

Not a single Queen’s Army soldier came to inspect the Aerie.

After a terse discussion between Dthazi and Yaya, it was decided we would have to go forward with the plan.