A Breath of Sunlight Page 25

  Calle held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut. Terror loomed over him like dark red clouds, ready to release its drops of blood. Trepidation teetered beneath him, and he knew one wrong shift of his body might expose him to his death.

  “Skaja, block him now,” Inari ordered, and he heard Skaja’s wings cut through the sky in front of the griffin. A shadow passed over his eyelids, and he opened them slightly to find her feathers blocking him from view.

  They descended lower, lower, lower until the griffin’s feet touched the earth. The unexpected jarring impact flung him off the beast, and he crashed to the ground. Skaja quickly helped him up and spread her wings wide to hide him. Inari pushed him even further behind the griffin. Even one flying beast and two valkyries did nothing to make him feel safe on an island filled with women’s hatred of men.

  “Skaja, Inari, I see you have returned,” a female voice said, freezing him to the spot. A small crack appeared between Inari and the griffin, and he dared to peek through. A fierce-looking woman stood at the front of a triangular formation with five others flanking her. Like Inari, she wore feathers in her short brown hair, but fur on her body. She wore little clothing, exposing her arms, legs, and stomach, as if she weren’t afraid to get hurt.

  Or as if she knew no one could touch her.

  “Paula,” Inari said with a nod of her head.

  “Who did you bring with you?” the valkyrie leader asked.

  Slowly, Skaja drew her daggers. Paula’s jaw clenched as she stared at her young pupil, but she made no move for her weapons. “I know you are angry about how I lied to you, but I did it for good reasons. Where have you been? You’ve been gone for weeks.”

  Calle touched the hilt of his sword. His heart hammered inside him as if trying to quickly build a shelter from the inevitable. He wasn’t ready for this. But he had no choice now.

  Skaja answered, anger and hurt in her tone. “I met my mother. And my father.”

  Paula’s entire body stilled. “Who took you there?”

  “A man. A kind man. A man I have claimed, and perhaps the only one who can stop Liam’s troops from attacking the island and killing more valkyries. I advise you to listen to what he has to say.”

  Both she and Inari stepped aside, and the moment Paula’s eyes landed on him, she inhaled sharply and drew her sword. On instinct, he drew his as well and raised the weapon when the valkyrie leader rushed forward to attack, but Skaja jumped in front of him and blocked it with both daggers.

  “What are you doing?” Paula shouted in her face. “He’s a man!”

  “He’s Prince Calle! King Liam’s brother.”

  Paula’s eyes widened and she stepped backward, though she kept her sword raised. “Now it’s your turn to lie. Prince Calle is dead.”

  He cleared his throat, as he wanted to do the talking without further implicating the woman he loved. “Have you not heard the rumors? Or listened to any of Liam’s men you have killed? The king sent his troops here because he thought the valkyries captured me from the Pits.”

  Fire blazed in Paula’s eyes as she snapped her head in Skaja’s direction. She seemed to have put all the puzzle pieces together all too quickly. “Tell me all of this is a direct result of the blood oath you are forced to serve.”

  “It was at first.” Skaja edged toward him until her fingers brushed his, and then they intertwined. Fear rolled in his stomach. Was she trying to goad them? “But Calle released me from my oath a short time ago.”

  Before giving Paula a chance to reply, he said, “Liam has not only made a fool of you, but he has wounded and killed your sisters. He needs to be overthrown, but I don’t have enough men. I humbly ask for your help.”

  The woman’s jaw ticked as if he hit a nerve, but she still threw her head back and laughed. The valkyries behind her laughed as well. “I would be doing Liam a favor by killing you, wouldn’t I?”

  Skaja dropped his hand and stepped in front of him again. “I won’t allow it.”

  “No?” The valkyrie leader grinned as she looked from him to Skaja, and to the valkyries standing behind her. “Skaja, you have disappointed me. You’ve broken our sister code. You’ve saved a man. Brought him to our home. And you are willing to kill us to protect him.”

  Calle swallowed, and despite his brave front, his hands trembled.

  Paula continued, “I have not forgotten your hand in this, Inari. Here’s what will happen.” She stuck the tip of her sword into the ground and leaned her weight against it. “I will aid you, Prince Calle. If you defeat the garguaran in the arena.”

  Skaja’s face paled, and the sight of it caused burrs of dread to stick to the lining of his stomach.

  But the valkyrie wasn’t done speaking, “If you somehow manage to conquer the beast, I will grant you aid and spare your life and those you forbid us to kill. But if it kills you...” She turned her head toward Inari and Skaja. The fire of anger demolished the sadness in her eyes. “Inari, if he dies, your punishment will be to kill Skaja.”

  Now Inari’s face paled, and as if her legs trembled, she caught herself against the griffin’s harness.

  “Do we have a deal?” Paula asked.

  His hand trembled as he stuck it out to her. There was no going back now without horrible repercussions. “Deal.”

  Instead of shaking it, she spat at his feet and turned her back to him. “Drop your weapon. Place your hands behind your back.”

  He did as he was told, and the moment his hands touched his lower back, three valkyries seized him. His breaths came in short, ragged gasps as they trapped his hands with a rope and roughly tied a blindfold around his eyes. One of the valkyries kicked him behind the knee, and not able to catch himself, he stumbled forward and crashed face first against the dirt.

  The sound of feet rushed toward him, but Paula barked, “Touch him at all, Skaja, and he will fight the garguaran with his eyes bleeding out.”

  A whimper escaped Skaja’s throat, the only indication of her presence. Aside from the small sound, her heart beat in tandem with his. With fear, terror, concern, and...defeat.

  She didn’t think he could do this.

  What, exactly, was he about to face?

  He clambered pathetically to his feet in his temporary blindness, tripping a couple times on his way up. Someone grabbed the back of his shirt and shoved him forward. He stumbled but managed to stay on his feet this time.

  The scent of pine and fresh river water suffocated him, as if every fiber of the island squeezed the breath from his lungs. Taunts and hisses followed him, but he didn’t know whether they were human, fae, or something else entirely. His shoes scuffed against dirt, then grass, then rocks, until finally they gritted permanently into hard sand. Steel doors creaked open with a long whine, and with one final shove to his shoulder, he stumbled and crashed into a floor made of sand.

  No one untied his hands. His eyes remained blindfolded.

  The steel doors squealed shut with a slam.

  “I decided not to blind you,” Paula said, her voice now coming from somewhere above him, “only because Skaja refrained from touching you. But know this, Prince Calle. I will not fight beside a weakling. If you want our aid, you must be smart, resourceful, and a fine warrior. Skaja, come here. I will bind your hands to the railing. If he dies, you must watch it. If he falls, you mustn’t try to help.”

  Skaja made no protest, but he felt her heart beating like the thrum of a rabbit being chased by a wolf. Or was that his heart? He hadn’t had enough practice with the bond to tell for sure.

  “I love you,” Skaja said miserably.

  Slowly, he picked himself up and tried to locate her despite the blindfold. He could have wept with joy at hearing those words from her lips. “I know.”

  A strangled sob escaped her throat, but otherwise she said nothing more.

  Crash!

  Something large and heavy hit what sounded like a metal door. Calle’s breath quickened, and he desperately tried to free his hands but to no avail. He attempted to draw on his magic, but in his fear, it acted weak like a muscle he hadn’t exercised in a while. The magic warmed the rope around his hands, but then it sputtered out and died just as quickly.

  A cool shiver raced down his spine, telling him he was in the shade. If he could calm down enough or find direct sunlight, he might be able to free himself.

  The earth shook with a mighty cry.

  He felt like the rabbit now, blinded and cornered by an unseen beast.

  Another metal door squealed on what he assumed was the other end of the sandy prison, but he didn’t wait to find out what might come out of it. He started running the way he’d come, and his shoulder slammed into a wall.

  Awkwardly, he rubbed up against the wall, feeling for something sharp. He hissed when a small object cut his collarbone. The creaking door grew louder, as did his desperation. Spinning around, he rubbed the rope that bound his wrists against the sharp object, assuming it was the hinge of the door.

  The earth shook again as the beast roared, before it rumbled like a stampede of wild horses.

  Right toward him.

  He abandoned his vain efforts at freedom and dashed in another direction, sand flying up with each footfall.

  Smash!

  The creature hit the wall he’d deserted, and judging by the rumble following the crash, it was large. Very large.

  Once again, the ground thundered with deafening footsteps, and the vibration rolling through the sand caused him to stumble. He wasn’t going to last long against this creature. He had to think. And fast.

  Again, he reached for his magic, but it shied away from him. His monumental fear scared it into the deepest, darkest pit within himself. Instead, he reached for Skaja through the bond. Her heart beat slower than his, if only barely.
He latched on tight, hoping she would understand his need.

  Something heavy smashed into him, and he cried out as his feet left the air for mere moments before he crashed on the sand, rolling, rolling, rolling until he hit a wall. Thud.

  His head ached. His mind spun. Fire rolled through his shoulder.

  He climbed to his feet through the pain and pumped his legs as fast as they would allow despite his hands tied awkwardly behind his back. Something warm and sticky dribbled down his side, and his clothing quickly became soaked.

  That wasn’t perspiration. It was blood. His own blood.

  The garguaran roared, causing further dizziness, and he momentarily lost his sense of hearing, his ears ringing. He tripped over an object in the sand in his blindness, and his body shuddered with excruciating pain.

  Bam!

  What seemed like a large paw hit the ground right beside his head. A gust of hot, sticky breath hit him like a furnace, reeking of rot and blood.

  His heart catapulted to the skies as he rolled to the side and to his feet, only for his head to brush the underside of...of...something very, very large.

  No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t calm down. His magic refused to work.

  He smashed his bound wrists against the creature, but to his horror, the blow bounced off like a harmless fly. The shock of the hit reverberated up his arms and into his skull. It stunned him enough to give the creature time to shift its body, and once again, something hit him and sent him flying across layers of sand. Shouts and jeers drowned his hearing, likely coming from what sounded like dozens of valkyries.

  Desperation clung to him like the blood in his clothing. The moment he struggled to his feet, he reached out to Skaja again. Please help me.

  Although they couldn’t speak mind to mind like he was able to with Maisy, he felt Skaja tug back.

  A sense of calm rushed into him as if he dipped himself into a cool lake. The rapid pulse in his blood calmed into a languid beat. For a single moment, the terror disappeared, the hopelessness vanished, and his magic crept out from its dark prison. He grabbed a hold of it, and it willingly burned through his body, concentrating at the base of his wrists. His skin grew hotter and hotter until the rope began to sizzle.

  Snap!

  The rope fell from his wrists, and he threw his blindfold off.

  Only for the terror to threaten to return.

  The garguaran wasn’t a mere creature—it was a beast.

  It was the size of a house with a large, round belly, head-sized scales for armor, and spikes all along its back. Its snout curved into a wicked growl, showing teeth sharper than the jagged spires towering from the Heulwen cathedral. Its long tail stretched across the sand, flicking back and forth with astounding strength.

  The creature snapped its tail in his direction, but this time he ducked beneath the attack and ran toward it. Magic pooled in his hands, the shimmering gold forming a solid handle which stretched into the length of a sword.

  He smashed the weapon against its hind leg. He stabbed the beast beneath its belly. His sword bounced off harmlessly. The plated scales were made of indestructible material. The armor was impenetrable.

  As if annoyed at the small man poking and prodding at its belly, the garguaran huffed and stomped its feet in agitation. The ground rumbled beneath Calle. He struggled to stay upright, and when it started to lay down as if wanting to crush him, he jumped out from beneath it, dragging his sword along its side.

  Not even a scratch.

  The creature roared and snapped its sharp teeth at him, narrowly missing him.

  And just like that, it leaped to its feet and pounced. Sand flew in all directions. In moments, Calle found himself on his back, pinned by the terrifying creature. His previous calm shattered as he struggled to free himself from its massive paw. His shallow breaths escaped in gasps. His heart beat frantically as his fingers dug through the sand to locate his sword.

  The garguaran’s teeth snapped downward as his fingers closed around the hilt of his weapon. He stabbed upward into its mouth and lodged the tip between two of its enormous teeth.

  Its pained roar shook the skies.

  While it gnashed its teeth and reared up on its hind legs, Calle scrambled to his feet and raced across the sand to the opposite side of what appeared to be a fighting arena until he stood in a patch of sunlight. Tall, fortified walls stretched high into the air, with spectator seats at the very top. He met Skaja’s eye. Her wings trembled with terror. For him.

  She didn’t think he could survive this. He briefly wondered how many others before him hadn’t. He wasn’t sure he could survive either.

  Unless...

  His gaze snapped to the creature’s mouth. It gnashed its teeth together as if trying to dislodge the sword, but only managed to drive it in deeper.

  Now his own body trembled in fear as he considered what he must do.

  He met Skaja’s eye again and placed his hand against his heart, letting her know he loved her. He wasn’t sure he could survive this. But he had to try. For Skaja. For his people. For himself. Many people would die if he weren’t successful.

  When the creature began to charge at him, he widened his stance. One by one, he threw balls of fire at the gigantic monster. The fire bounced harmlessly off its scales, but one of the flames entered its nostrils.

  It screeched and thrashed its head from side to side, but it continued charging. The ground rumbled like an earthquake swallowing the island whole. He threw another ball of fire directly into the creature’s mouth.

  Right as it snapped its jaws around the entirety of his body.

  And darkness engulfed him.

  Skaja screamed.

  She tugged at the chains around her wrists, but no matter how hard she tried to break free, she remained bound. The metal dug into her skin, the hard edges cutting at her until blood ran down her fingers.

  Another wailing scream escaped her as she kicked at her chains. Through the blur of her tears, she glanced down into the arena only to find Calle gone. The garguaran had eaten him.

  “Please, no!” she sobbed. “Release me. I beg you!”

  In her desperation to escape her chains, she flipped herself over the side of the railing and pulled as hard as she could, her feet braced against the wall. The metal cut deeper into her wrists, blood now dripping into the sand far below.

  “Stop that, or you’re going to lose both your hands.” Paula and another valkyrie grabbed her and heaved her back over the railing, fighting against her screeching and flailing.

  “Calle!” she screamed. She kicked Paula in the stomach and elbowed the other valkyrie in the jaw before several more pinned her against the railing to hold her steady.

  Paula smashed Skaja’s face against the cold metal, forcing her to stare at the garguaran below. Tears of defeat trailed down her cheeks, unfettered sobs escaping her throat. The beast paced back and forth, its limbs twitching as if from discomfort.

  “You brought him here,” the valkyrie leader said in a menacing tone, “now you must face the consequences. This gives me no pleasure, Skaja. You have been my right-hand woman for a long time. But rules must be upheld. Not even you are above reproach.”

  The beast twitched some more and let out a whine. It gnashed its teeth and swung its head.

  “What was so wrong with aiding him?” she sobbed. “Now you both have lost.”

  “Whether or not the prince lived, we have won. If we aided him, we would have won. If he died, we would have won. It is not my fault he was a mediocre warrior.”

  Now the beast lay on its side, panting and whining.

  Several tears fell over the brims of Skaja’s eyes and splashed onto the railing. “You have taken everything from me, Paula. If you didn’t feel as if you owed him anything, what about me?”

  Paula’s grip on her loosened slightly as if from surprise or guilt. “That’s not fair.”

  “It is. The least you could have done was tell me the truth from the beginning. You never gave me a choice. I would have liked one.”

  “And what would you have chosen?”

  She barely managed a one-shouldered shrug, and she winced against the pain of her restraints. “I don’t know.”

  More tears escaped her eyes as her heart felt a tug of hopelessness. Of desperation. Of defeat.

  Of panic.