Chapters (46)
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
Kyra wrested her arm away and pivoted to run. She made it five steps before Pashla tackled her to the ground. Kyra kicked and struggled, yelling incoherent insults, but the clanswoman was more than her match.
“Kyra, listen to me.”
Kyra made a few more halfhearted attempts before she succumbed to exhaustion.
“I know this is hard, Kyra. You grew up with humans,” said Pashla, “but you have to let it go. Sometimes, a few humans have to be sacrificed for the good of the clan.”
Kyra choked and spit. “How can you just say that?”
“Think about it, Kyra. There is always some sacrifice. What about the meat we eat every day? The animals had to sacrifice their lives. This is no different.”
“You keep talking about humans as if they were something else,” said Kyra. “But I’m half human. Have you forgotten that?”
There was a long pause.
“Yes, I have,” Pashla said quietly. “And you need to as well. For better or worse, you are with the clan now, Kyra, and you must live under its laws. Consider your human self dead by James’s hand. If you want a second chance at life, you have to take it as a daughter of the Makvani.”
Thirty-six
T H I R T Y - S I X
Tristam struggled to swallow the lump in his throat. Don’t think about Martin. You’re a knight, Tristam. Act like one.
They searched him for weapons and confiscated the knife in his boot. Leyus dragged him up by his collar and grabbed him by the shoulders.
“Look at me.” The Demon Rider shook Tristam until he raised his head. “James wants you alive. This will be easier for both of us if you do not struggle.”
A Demon Rider tore off Tristam’s tunic. They bandaged his shoulder wound, bound Tristam’s hands in front of him, and pushed him against a tree. Rough bark dug into his back as Leyus tied him to the trunk, then walked in a slow circle to inspect his knots. A few times, he pulled the bindings tighter, and Tristam gritted his teeth as the ropes dug into his arms.
“Rest well, knight,” Leyus said.
Leaving one cat to guard him, the Demon Riders retreated into the forest. Tristam waited until he was sure they were gone. Then he slumped against his ropes, closing his eyes as a wave of grief washed over him. For a long time, he stood there, fighting despair. Martin was dead, and he was captured—all for a girl, who for all appearances didn’t need rescuing. The image of her, uninjured and unbound amongst the Demon Riders, flashed again through his mind. What an idiot he’d been.