Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1) - Emily A. Duncan Page 0,64
he said.
She looked like she was going to question him, but Malachiasz shot her a thin smile and tapped one of the pins on his jacket. He outranked her—he probably outranked everyone here—and she fell silent.
Malachiasz grabbed Nadya’s wrist and pulled her away from the camp. She let him, fully aware it was all part of the show but also that he was clearly enjoying it.
Neither of them had addressed what had passed between them in the clearing. She didn’t think they ever would. She just tried to ignore the stutter in her heart that was intrinsically tied to his hand around her wrist.
That initial danger behind them, now they had to make it to Grazyk before the real test began.
Tranavia was not what Nadya expected. There were lakes and rivers everywhere. They had to ferry across some, the boats run by haggard, elderly men and women, too old to fight at the front. But Tranavia was beautiful. The water clear and bright, studding the land like gemstones, untainted by the scourge of war that burned across the Kalyazi countryside.
On one of the many Tranavian boats they became acquainted with during the trip, Nadya leaned against the railing, gazing down into the water. Rashid was perched precariously at her side when Malachiasz came up next to her.
“It’s lovely, isn’t it?” he said.
“It is.”
He was quiet, staring out across the water. There was a fondness in his gaze she had never seen before.
“It hasn’t been particularly kind to me,” he said. “But Tranavia is home. It’s wild and vibrant and tenacious. Its people are bullheaded and innovative.” He glanced at her. “I’ll save it from destruction.”
It was something they had in common—though she felt a pang of guilt because her actions would lead to Tranavia’s fall. Her gods wanted it punished for its heresy and she would see that done. Even if it put her at odds with this strange, beautiful boy. But she could see he cared, deeply, the same way she cared for Kalyazin, and she could respect that.
He wordlessly unhooked the spell book from his hip and handed it to her.
She hesitantly took the thick, leather-bound book from him. She would have held it between two fingers, but it was too heavy for that. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t be seen with that, and you need to appear like a competent blood mage.”
She wanted to drop it in the water. She rested it against the railing, away from her body. He rolled his eyes, unhooked the belts that kept the book at his hip, and handed her those as well.
“I’ll have to tear through it without using the spells,” she said. While ruining a blood mage’s spell book had always been a private goal for her, she would have preferred it not be his.
He tapped his temple. “They’re my spells. I can rewrite them anytime.”
“Are you going to come into the palace with us?” Nadya asked.
Here was what they had not addressed: just what Malachiasz’s role would be once they reached the capital. He had dodged the question before in a way that made Nadya suspect he would simply disappear on their arrival.
“I will remain nearby,” he said. He frowned and it furrowed the tattoos at his forehead. “It would not be uncommon for a slavhka to travel with a blood mage acting as their guard. It won’t necessarily give me optimal reach of the palace, but I can certainly make do.”
Nadya pursed her lips. That was a sound part for him to play and she found she had no arguments. “You won’t get yourself caught by the Vultures?” She was still worried about what he had said about them not being able to act against their king’s orders, even if the magic on him had eased.
“Worrying about him is a rather pointless endeavor, I’ve found,” Rashid noted, nudging her with his elbow.
“You think I’m worried about him?” Nadya said flippantly.
Rashid shot her a disbelieving look. When she glanced at Malachiasz out of the corner of her eye, he was casually watching the water.
“I’m going to go see if Parijahan needs anything,” Rashid said. “We should be on the other side of this lake within the hour.”
Nadya wanted to pull him back, tell him not to leave her alone with Malachiasz, but Rashid was already gone.
“I’ve never had someone worry about me before,” Malachiasz mused.
Nadya contemplated pitching herself into the water.
“Well, don’t look to me to be the first,” she replied.