the shadow and bone

Chapter 4

TEARS OF FRUSTRATION welled in my eyes as Ivan dragged me out of

the tent and into the late-afternoon sun. He pulled me down a low hill to the

road where the Darkling's black coach was already waiting, surrounded by

a ring of mounted Grisha Etherealki and flanked by lines of armed cavalry.

Two of the Darkling's gray-clad guards waited by the door to the coach

with a woman and a fair-haired man, both of whom wore Corporalki red.

"Get in," commanded Ivan. Then, seeming to remember the Darkling's

order, he added, "if you please."

"No," I said.

"What?" Ivan seemed genuinely surprised. The other Corporalki looked

shocked.

"No!" I repeated. "I'm not going anywhere. There's been some kind of

mistake. I—"

Ivan cut me off, taking a firmer grip on my arm. "The Darkling doesn't

make mistakes," he said through gritted teeth. "Get in the coach."

"I don't want—"

Ivan lowered his head until his nose was just inches from mine and

practically spat, "Do you think I care what you want? In a few hours' time,

every Fjerdan spy and Shu Han assassin will know what happened on the

Fold, and they'll be coming for you. Our only chance is to get you to Os

Alta and behind the palace walls before anyone else realizes what you are.

Now, get in the coach."

He shoved me through the door and followed me inside, throwing

himself down on the seat opposite me in disgust. The other Corporalki

joined him, followed by the oprichniki guards, who settled on either side of

me.

"So I'm the Darkling's prisoner?"

"You're under his protection."

"What's the difference?"

Ivan's expression was unreadable. "Pray you never find out."

I scowled and slumped back on the cushioned seat, then hissed in pain.

I'd forgotten my wounds.

"See to her," Ivan said to the female Corporalnik. Her cuffs were

embroidered in Healer's gray.

The woman switched places with one of the oprichniki so that she could

sit beside me.

A soldier ducked his head inside the door. "We're ready," he said.

"Good," replied Ivan. "Stay alert and keep moving."

"We'll only stop to change horses. If we stop before then, you'll know

something is wrong."

The soldier disappeared, closing the door behind him. The driver didn't

hesitate. With a cry and the snap of a whip, the coach lurched forward. I felt

an icy tumble of panic. What was happening to me? I thought about just

throwing open the coach door and making a run for it. But where would I