“Doran.” She swatted his arm again and he snapped his eyes to hers. “You’re not going to talk me out of this. Let’s go.”
He huffed in frustration, dropping from the tree. Delphia and I glanced at each other before following him down.
“I can only throw the blind in a five or six-foot radius so you two will have to stay relatively close by. If you step outside of that radius, you won’t be hidden anymore.” We nodded in understanding and stared at her, waiting for cover. “What?” she asked, looking from Doran to me. “Oh, we’re already invisible. You can see within the blind, just not from the outside.”
Taking a deep breath, we moved toward the encampment. Anxiety churned in my stomach. As we neared it, a human passed by and we all tensed. I stared at his face, just a few feet from mine, and he seemed none the wiser as he strode by. Releasing a shaky breath, we continued forward down the path through the tents. My feet sank into the muck and I glanced back, wincing as our feet left fresh prints in the mud.
“They can see our footprints,” I whispered. They both peeked back at the ground and a suffocating blanket of tension settled over the group. “Try to step in footprints that are already there.” They nodded and we slowly made our way in silence.
We searched every pathway, every tent. There was no trace of General Starrin anywhere. I glanced at Delphia—sweat soaked her hairline and her jaw clenched with effort. With a heavy sigh, I tapped them on the shoulder and jerked a thumb back to the tree line.
She held the blind up until we reached the trees and released it, dropping her hands to her knees and breathing heavily. Doran moved to her side, placing a hand on her back as his eyebrows pinched together in concern. She stood up, waving a hand at him.
“I’m fine,” she panted, wiping her hair from her forehead. “I’ve just never covered so many people for so long before.”
Doran shot me a hard look.
“Where is he?” I demanded, clenching my fist before running my hands through my hair, pacing. “It makes no sense. He’s never been hard to spot before.”
He has never been hard to spot before. I whipped back to Doran, eyes wide.
“He’s not here.” I stalked back to Doran. “He’s not here. Why would he…” My heart stopped. “He knows.”
The blood drained from Doran’s face.
“There’s no way. How could he possibly know?” he insisted, following behind me as I paced again, scorching a trail in the pine-covered ground.
My eyes darted around aimlessly, searching for answers that weren’t there.
“It doesn’t matter. That is theonlypossible reason he would sacrifice his daughter to me. If he didn’t want her anymore.”
“Rogue.”
I turned and could see the gears turning behind his eyes.
“He’s snuck a spy into Draig Hearth once already…”
My chest was tight. Too tight.
“He didn’t just sneak in a spy. He snuck in an assassin,” I uttered as my blood went cold. Icy panic speared through me.
“Go.”
Snapping my wings out, I shot to the sky in one swift motion.
* * *
My muscles were screaming as I slammed into the courtyard, sending a cloud of dirt into the air around me. The startled shouts of the guards were barely audible over the thundering in my ears. Marching up the steps, I flung the front doors open, slamming them into the wall on either side.
I ascended the entryway steps two at a time, turning toward the keep’s door just as Ara stumbled out, clutching at her side. We locked eyes and a gasp of relief escaped her. I ran to her, catching her just as she staggered, and she grunted as my hand met with something warm and wet.
Slowly dropping my eyes down to her abdomen, I pulled my hand away to see the blood soaking through her shirt.
No.
“Who did this? Iaso! Guards! Get Iaso! Now!”
She gazed up at me, placing a palm on my cheek. Her hand was cold. It’s too cold.