“Help Valek or help you,” Janco said.
“I think he suspected something might happen to him and didn’t want you unprotected. So we stuck to the plan and followed you.” Ari handed me a jug of water.
I gulped the liquid.
“Not that we did any good,” Janco huffed. “When we reached the meeting site, the horse and cart were gone and we figured we would track you. She had to stop sometime. But—”
“You lost your way,” I finished for him. Ari probed the deep gash on my right forearm. “Ow!”
“Hold still,” Ari said. “Janco, get my med kit from my pack—these cuts need to be cleaned and sealed.”
If I’d had any energy, I could have healed the wounds on my arms with magic. Instead, I endured Ari’s administrations and admonishments. When he pulled out the pot of Rand’s sealing glue, I asked him about the Commander’s new chef to distract myself from the pain.
“Since Rand never made it to Brazell’s for the transfer of cooks, the Commander promoted one of Rand’s kitchen staff.” Ari frowned.
I grimaced as Ari applied the glue to my cut more from remembering Rand than from the burning in my arm. Rand had lost his life protecting me, but I wouldn’t have been in danger if he hadn’t set me up for an ambush in the first place.
“The food hasn’t been the same,” Janco said with a sigh. “Everyone is losing weight.”
When Ari finished wrapping my arms, he pulled something from the fire. “Janco got a rabbit.” He broke off a piece and handed it to me. “You need to eat something.”
That reminded me. “Kiki needs…” I moved to stand up.
Janco waved me down. “I’ll take care of her.”
“Do you—”
“Yeah, I grew up on a farm.”
I had gnawed every bit of meat off the rabbit’s bone when Janco came back covered with horsehair. He seemed to be in a better mood. “She beautiful,” he said about Kiki. “I’ve never had a horse stand so patiently to be rubbed down and she wasn’t even tied!”
I told him about the honor she gave him by changing his name from Rabbit Man to Rabbit. “Unprecedented.”
He gave me an odd look. “Talking horses. Magic. Crazy southerners.” He shook his head.
He might have said more, but I could no longer stay awake.
The next morning, I told my friends about Alea and the clan on the plateau. They wanted to go after her, but I reminded them about Valek and the need to find Ferde. My heart lurched when I thought of Valek. Even with a night of sleep, I still didn’t have enough energy to find out what had happened to him.
The rest had roused me. “We need to get to the Citadel,” I said, standing.
“Do you know where we are?” Ari asked.
“Somewhere in the plains,” I said, shouldering my backpack.
“Some magician you are,” Janco said. “Do you even know which direction the Citadel is?”
“No.” Kiki came and stood next to me. I grabbed her mane. “How about a boost?” I asked Janco.
He muttered under his breath, but offered his linked hands for my boot. When I had settled onto her back, I looked down at him. “Kiki knows where to go. Can you keep up?”
He grinned. “This rabbit can run.”
Ari and Janco packed their gear and we set off at a trot. All those laps around the Commander’s castle had kept them in top physical condition.
We reached the road, and I heard Janco curse and grumble about being lost only a mile away. When we approached the Citadel’s gates, we encountered the four Master Magicians. They all sat on horseback. A well-armed Calvary team accompanied them.
I smiled at Roze Featherstone’s look of astonishment, but sobered at Irys’s cold stare.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“We were coming to either rescue you or kill you,” Zitora said. She flashed Roze an annoyed glance.
I met Irys’s gaze, questioning. She turned away and blocked my efforts to reach her mind. Even though I had known she would shun me for going off alone, her actions still tore at my heart.
Not bothering to conceal the satisfaction in her voice, Roze said, “Because of your dangerous disregard for the well-being of Sitia, you have been expelled.”
The least of my worries. “Is Opal safe?” I asked the magicians.
Bain Bloodgood nodded. “She told us a woman held her. Was she connected to the killer?”
“No. We still need to find Ferde. He doesn’t want me. He must have taken someone else. Has anyone been reported missing?”
My announcement caused a considerable stir. Everyone had assumed that Ferde was holding Opal. Now they needed to change tactics.
“We’ve been searching for him for two weeks,” Roze said, putting a stop to the chatter. “What makes you think we can find him now?”
“The last victim would not have been kidnapped,” Bain said. “Let us go back and discuss this. Yelena, you will be safest in the Keep. We will talk about your future when this whole mess is resolved.”
The Magicians headed toward the Keep. Ari, Janco and I followed. I thought about Bain’s comment. My future would be nothing without Valek. I caught up to Bain and asked about him.
Bain gave me a stern look, and I felt his magic press against my mental barrier. I relaxed my guard and heard his voice in my mind.
Best not to talk aloud about this, child. Cahil and his men captured him two nights ago, but Cahilwould not release Valek to the Councilors or Master Magicians.