Am I throwing away a man who’s everything I’ve been waiting for? Loyal to the core. Loves me unconditionally. Willing to give up everything for a future together.
Or is he playing me for a fool?
We are about to find out. Because if he truly loves me, he’ll forgive me. He’ll give me a chance to find out if I could ever love him back.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Alwar is kind enough to lure the Flier to the ground so I don’t have to climb the weird glowing tree to get to it.
I’m grateful until I see the creature up close—a pleasure I was denied the last time one of them carried me to Benicio’s palace in their razor-sharp teeth.
From far away, Fliers appear to have dark, soulless eyes, but up close, their eye sockets are empty cavities. Holes that go right through the head.
“How do they see?” I ask Alwar as the thing perches on the ground in front of us, Master snarling and circling it like a fierce predator.
“With those.” Alwar points to a cluster of spiderlike eyes on the tip of its nose.
“And the eye sockets?” I ask.
“Those are its nostrils where it breathes. Their mouths are connected only to their stomachs.”
I lean in a little, crinkling my nose as I catch a whiff. I recognize the smell—the rotting-meat aroma. Sort of reminds me of how goats smell exactly like they taste. All goaty. Fliers smell like roadkill and taste the same. Don’t even get me started on their “nectar” or eggs. Death warmed over with shit sprinkles.
“And where am I supposed to sit?” I look up at the massive, winged creature with a sooty crust all over its body.
“There.” Alwar points to the short scaly legs with razor-sharp talons.
“Where there?”
“You straddle its ankles and hold on.”
“No thank you.” I step back. “I’ll walk.”
“It is a five-day journey if we walk,” he points out. “And you need your strength.”
I glare at Alwar. “Okay. Then I’m walking. With you. We’ll arrive to the palace together.”
I hear Tiago grumble something that sounds like “weak human.”
I glance over my shoulder at the murderous giant tied to a tree. “Looks like the traitor is awake,” I say, knowing Alwar’s going to give Tiago a massive ass-whooping later. He deserves it.
“Lake, I will be there in two nights for the feast, along with the other kings. I can travel much faster on foot if I do not have to worry about giving you a concussion as I run. Go. Eat. Rest. Prepare for the Blood Battle.”
He’s right. I’m going to bleed to near death, and I’m still a set of bones. I just don’t understand why he’s so confident that things will be different with Benicio this time? Just because we’re following some Proxy Vow rituals?
“You’re sure it’s safe?” I ask.
“Yes. There will be many witnesses in the palace, making preparations and arriving for the Blood Battle. He will not make a move to harm you in front of so many. It would risk his position.”
I nod. “Okay. Fine.” I grab my backpack with limited supplies.
One of the women thumps over and hands me a huge bota the length of a surfboard filled with water. I try to take it, but it must weigh hundreds of pounds.
Alwar grabs the pouch and empties out most of the water. “You still have enough inside to last a few days. Drink all of it.”
“Thank you.” I push the strap over my shoulder. I must look ridiculous. “Are you sure I should do this?” Everything inside me says if I do, I’m never going to see him again. Not because something’s going to happen to him, but because it’s going to happen to me.
“I am. Travel safe, my queen.” He kisses the top of my head.
The gesture gives me just enough reassurance to step toward the creature that reminds me of a very large chicken pulled from a campfire. “If you so much as lay a tooth on me, I will gnaw off your leg. Got it?”
The thing makes a high-pitched noise through its nostrils. Snot flies everywhere, including on my face.
Gross. I wipe the goop from my eyes. “I can’t believe you guys eat these,” I say to Alwar.
“Your kind eats far worse.” Alwar points to the talon, urging me to get on.
I beg to differ, but that’s a conversation for another day.
I grab hold of the Flier’s ankle and wrap my knees around it. The skin isn’t flaky like I expected. It’s actually bumpy, like it’s been rolled in rock salt.
The minute I’m in place, the Flier spreads its wings and starts sprinting.
What the hell! I bounce violently, trying to hang on. Why do they never warn me?
In a few seconds, we’re up in the air.
“Stay awake! Do not sleep. He will not hesitate to place you in his mouth if you fall off.” Alwar waves enthusiastically, like I’m taking a wonderful trip in first class, to a tropical destination.