Rune Knight: Book Two of The Empress Saga

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Enfri's heart ached for Ban.

The glimpses she had caught of his eyes through his visor told her much. His pain was tremendous, his anger great, and his sorrow devastating. Ban now dueled his brother, a man Jin said he once adored, and fought to kill him. Enfri couldn't even say that it was wrong.

I'm starting to think I should never have left Sandharbor, she thought miserably. I'm becoming less and less a sky woman every day.

Enfri and the others hadn't gone far. She didn't want to move Pacifica further than absolutely necessary. The spellfire burns were serious and needed immediate attention. Deebee and Moon had set her down on the green carpet in the hallway.

It hadn't been long since they withdrew from the study, and the sounds of combat from within had been silent for some time.

"Speak unclouded," Moon shouted into the armsman's face. "Room is empty. What path has Death Fire and black penitent taken? Is Murder Hand ended and cleansed with blood?"

When the armsman came fleeing out of the Lord Regent's study, half mad with terror, Moon pounced and had him flat on his back before anyone else could blink. Enfri was astonished. She hadn't known that Moon could handle herself so well in a fight.

The boy shook his head. He lay on his back with Moon's hoof planted firmly on his collarbone and one of her wicked, little daggers pressed against the bridge of his nose. "I don't know where they've gone," he all but shouted. "They were in there a moment ago."

Deebee placed her hand on Moon's shoulder. "Calm yourself, girl," she said gently. "The battle has simply moved elsewhere."

"No path but through door," Moon said, her voice shaking. "I would have sighted him. Ban is gone!"

At Deebee's encouragement, Moon released the armsman. The boy didn't give Enfri or the augurs so much as a backwards glance as he scurried off. Enfri wagered that he'd reach the northern frontiers of Melcia before he stopped running.

Moon's reaction to the situation was telling. That tension Enfri noticed between her and Ban was starting to become clear. Somewhere between wendigos and now, Moon had grown feelings for him.

Poor thing. Enfri resolved to give Ban a piece of her mind if she found out he'd strung her along. If Enfri was to have knights, there were to be strict standards of conduct she'd make them adhere to.

However, that wasn't what was important now. Pacifica needed Enfri's undivided attention.

The princess was hurt badly. Awful, blackened, and cracked burns traced over most of her exposed skin. A good amount of her scarlet hair was singed down to the scalp. Still, it could have been worse. Pacifica was wearing the sturdy dress she had taken out into the city to meet Ban, and it hadn't caught alight as readily as other fabrics would. Enfri gave thanks to the winds that it wasn't as bad as it might have been.

Lammlyth told them that it had been the duke's spell that struck down Pacifica— a spell that had been meant to kill the augurs. The princess had saved them in defiance of their oracles. Triumphant, Pacifica had changed fate.

But what has it cost her? Enfri thought sadly.

Pacifica would carry the scars of her victory for many years.

Enfri didn't have much in the way of supplies or reagents. She only brought what she considered the essentials when she left the palace earlier in the day. What she did have was mostly used during all the fighting. The remainder of her belongings were still in her room in the Romov wing, and that was too far to risk retrieving them.