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Once the general’s blood stopped flowing, I felt something in my neck relax. “Let’s go.”

Thirty-Two

Unfortunately, the battle didn’t end quite so easily. Soft footsteps approached the room we were in, and I didn’t hesitate, readying myself with a throwing knife. When Bemishu’s man came through the door, I launched it, sending it straight into the man’s eye. He went down screaming, and that was enough time for me to land on top of him, pull the blade free, and plunge it into his neck.

I could hear more footsteps. Not all of the men had fled the sand crawler, which meant we were trapped in an enclosed space with men whose only chance at redemption had just died at our hands.

“We need a way out,” I said, looking between the twins.

Topi looked up at the ceiling, squinting.

“There should be an escape hatch here,” Pito explained.

I followed her gaze, and saw just the slightest unevenness in the metal. There were no handles, but it must activate with electricity, like the secret passages in the Mountainside Palace. Bemishu’s last bolt—the one I had kicked wide—must have accidentally activated it.

That was one bit of good luck, because based on the number of footsteps I heard pounding down the corridor, if we had to fight, I would be relying on animalia magic.

Reaching up, I dug my fingers into the narrow gap between the panels, yanking hard until it loosened and came free. It fell inward, and I gestured at the twins.

“Hurry.”

Lacing my fingers together, I indicated for Pito to put her foot in my hands, helping push her up through the opening. Topi followed quickly. Then there was somebody at the door, and I leapt up, grabbing hold of the edge and swinging onto the outside of the sand crawler.

The sand was red with blood. It absorbed so quickly that all that was left was the color and the bodies. At a single glance, I could tell that we were winning; animalia strength against the desperation of Bemishu’s men was no contest.

Tallu stood with General Saxu, wielding his electro magic as though he were a dragon. No one got close enough to even taste the blades of his Dogs. Still, I could hear shouting in the sand crawler behind us. We needed to move before one of Bemishu’s men climbed out and we were fighting those behind us and in front.

Sliding down the side of the sand crawler, I landed easily, the sand taking most of my impact. I jumped out of the way, gesturing for Pito to follow. She did, and Topi turned, stabbing at one of her father’s men who had climbed out after us before she leapt down, landing on her back.

She yelped in pain, and I shouted for Pito to pick her up. My sword was still drawn, and I slashed at the soldier who had turned when we landed. He yowled, drawing his own blade, and I was lucky he was not an electro magic user. I could hear the twins behind me, limping toward the edge of the battle. I stepped back, following them, and Bemishu’s man approached.

I had hoped that once we began retreating, he would let us go, but I had underestimated how recognizable I was.

“The emperor’s consort!” he shouted, drawing the attention of the men around him. “They will have to stop if we have the emperor’s consort!”

He launched himself forward, and I met his blow, grabbing one of my knives and stabbing up into his stomach. A dozen men turned toward me, their eyes hungry, their faces narrow with desperation. Well, if they were paying attention to me, they weren’t paying any attention to the twins.

I glanced over my shoulder just long enough to check that Pito and Topi had almost made it to where the last of the fighting was. They could creep along the edge, back to the goblin stronghold, or simply wait it out on the other side of a sand dune.

I, on the other hand, was going to have to fight the back half of Bemishu’s army by myself. Three men attacked me at the same time, and I swept my leg low, kicking sand into their faces. One reared back, and I buried a throwing knife in his throat. The other two were more careful, one circling me while the larger ran straight toward me. I brought my blade up, slashing it against his throat, then down again. His armor was thick, and my blade did little against it until I found a seam at his hips. I plunged my blade in, hitting bone and yanking out with a spray of blood.

The man at my back moved then, but I hadn’t forgotten him. I rolled, pushing myself up after he passed me, sweeping his feet with my leg. He went down hard on the sand and I landed on top of him, kicking the back of his head and then sweeping my leg up to kick hard at the other man’s hip where I had already done the most damage.

He screamed, going down and clutching his leg, unable to stand. I raised my sword, plunging it down into the back of the soldier I stood on top of. His armor was not nearly as thick as his companion’s.

More men turned toward me, the sound of battle drawing them in. They saw a single man fighting against their forces and assumed I was easy prey. They might have even been right.

I had rest and food on my side, but I was fighting under the direct sun, the heat exhausting me more than the actual fighting.

I could keep going, but Yorîmu had not trained me to be a fool. This was not a situation I needed to succeed in when all I had to do was wait for the goblins and Saxu’s forces to win.

“Naî!” I shouted.

A dragon’s roar answered me, and she plunged out of the sky, landing heavily in front of me. The men froze, and Naî blew out a cold breath of air in warning. I climbed up her back, patting the side of her neck when I was seated. She pushed herself into the air again, spiraling over the battle.

My initial assessment had been correct. Bemishu had numbers on his side, but the borrowed animalia strength more than made up for it. His men might be desperate, but Saxu’s men had watched as the Mountainside Palace burned.

Even the men that had been with Kacha wanted our victory as proof that they were now on the winning side.