Capture (25 page)

The sky began to lighten as they hurriedly picked their way through the forest. Nykin stumbled far too many times, too preoccupied with looking for Hatak’s men to concentrate on where he was going. They hadn’t seen anyone since the soldiers passed by although they’d heard enough noise to suggest they were still being chased.

They’d been going for about three hours, by Nykin’s reckoning. The sun was steadily climbing in the sky, dawn well and truly past. It hadn’t taken as long as they’d originally anticipated, despite having to double back sometimes to avoid their pursuers. He knew it was tempting fate, but Nykin couldn’t help feeling that, just maybe, they’d managed to evade Hatak and his men after all.

The trees were starting to thin out, so the clearing and the village should be close by. Nykin’s heart rate sped up as he thought about finally being free and seeing Fimor again.

He should have known better.

“Nykin?”
Fimor’s panicked voice filled his head, and Nykin jerked to a sudden halt.
“Athisian and Rodethian soldiers attacked the Stone Palace
.
There were too many for the palace guards to handle on their own… the riders aren’t going to make the clearing in time!”

It took a moment or two for Fimor’s words to sink in, and as a result, Nykin wasn’t paying attention when Ryneq suddenly dropped to his knees and scrabbled to hide behind the nearest tree. He gestured frantically for Nykin to get down, but Nykin was still processing the fact that the dragon riders—whom they were depending on—weren’t waiting for them in the clearing, or even on their way. Nykin finally registered what was happening around him and immediately dropped to a crouch on the forest floor. But by then, it was too late.

Sharp, cold steel pressed against the side of Nykin’s throat and his blood ran cold at the familiar voice he heard behind him. “Hello, Nykin.” Strong arms hauled him to his feet, and the edge of the blade cut further into his skin. “You weren’t thinking of leaving me behind, were you?”

Hatak pulled Nykin back against his chest, turning his head to the left and forcing him to watch as Hatak’s men held Ryneq at knifepoint. “Do you think I’m stupid, Nykin?” Before Nykin had a chance to decide whether to answer or not, Hatak ordered his men to take Ryneq, and they started moving toward the abandoned village. “Did you really think we didn’t know?”

Nykin’s heart thundered against his chest as Hatak pushed him forward. “Know about what?” Nykin tried, because Hatak might suspect it was a trap, but he had no way to know for sure.

Hatak actually laughed. “Your plan, Nykin.” He leaned in close to Nykin’s ear, the feel of his warm breath making Nykin shrink away. “I know all about your desperate little attempt to free your king.”

Nykin cast a quick glance over at Ryneq, frowning when he noticed how… unconcerned Ryneq looked with everything.
Fuck
. Ryneq was expecting Eldin and his dragon riders to be waiting for them when they cleared the trees. Nykin’s stomach dropped with the realization they wouldn’t be, and he had no way of letting Ryneq know.

“But how?” Nykin knew he should probably keep quiet and continue to play dumb, but the words were out before he could stop them.

“Did your
lover
not tell you?” Hatak laughed again, and Nykin flinched. “Of course he didn’t, because you and Ryneq aren’t actually lovers, are you? I suspect that you’re just a means to an end, Nykin. Convenient, but nothing more.”

Nykin’s gaze automatically landed on Ryneq. He was two paces in front of them, looking back over his shoulder at Nykin. He glared at Hatak and then back over at Nykin with the smallest shake of his head, and Nykin knew that Hatak was wrong. “I have spies at the Stone Palace, Nykin,” Hatak continued, shoving Nykin again. “I knew about your plan before you even left Torsere. And did you really think that all those guards could leave the palace without us noticing? You must have known we’d have people watching?”

Nykin stumbled, his shock at Hatak’s revelation making him clumsy. Ryneq had told him Hatak was watching the palace, but not that he had people on the
inside.
The thought left a nasty taste in Nykin’s mouth, and he wondered what else Ryneq hadn’t told him.

Nykin struggled to wrap his head around what all this meant. “Why did you go along with it, then? Why not just kill me when you found me?”

They were almost at the edge of the forest now, and Nykin could just make out the abandoned buildings through the trees. Hatak called his soldiers to a stop.

“Oh, I was tempted, believe me. But where’s the fun in that?” Hatak whispered. “It was worth keeping you alive to see what other information I could get out of you.” He tightened his grip, and Nykin flinched as the blade nicked his skin. “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting you to actually escape. You were far too injured to attempt it, and Ryneq would never have made it out on his own.” Nykin swallowed the lump in his throat. “It appears I didn’t do as much damage as I thought. I must be losing my touch.”

Nykin hurriedly tried to distract Hatak from following that line of thought any further. “But if you knew about the plan, then you must have known that Cerylea was never going to be there, so why let us continue?”

“Because she’s there now.” Hatak laughed when Ryneq stumbled in front of them at hearing that Hatak already knew. “Besides all of that, I wanted to see what lengths the king would go to to convince me that you two were together.” His voice dropped lower, crawling over Nykin’s skin and making him shudder. “The scenes in the forest were
particularly
convincing.” He stepped back away from Nykin but kept the sword at his throat.

They’d almost reached the edges of the forest when Hatak looked over at one of his soldiers. “Go and see if the dragons are there, or if they’re still occupied at the palace.”

Ryneq’s head snapped around to look at them, his mouth falling open.

The smugness was apparent in Hatak’s voice when he spoke. “Oh, did I forget to mention that part? Since your plan left Torsere with less soldiers to guard it, Seran is busy attacking the Stone Palace as we speak. I imagine your precious dragon riders will be busy for quite some time.”

When the soldier returned moments later and confirmed there were no dragons in sight, Nykin watched Ryneq’s shoulders slump a little before he caught himself. Nykin met his eyes, and the steely determination took him by surprise. He’d felt sure Ryneq would be panicking by now, but he stood strong and tall, exuding confidence, as if this was all part of their plan.

“Let Nykin go,” Ryneq said, his voice even. “You have me. You don’t need him.”

Nykin wanted to protest. He wouldn’t leave without Ryneq, but the hard look Ryneq threw his way stayed his tongue.

“That’s very true.” Hatak wrapped his hand around Nykin’s throat, his fingers loose, almost stroking over the skin. “He’s served his purpose, for both of us.”

Something in Hatak’s voice made Nykin’s blood run cold, and he
knew
. This was it.
“Fimor!”
Nykin called desperately for his dragon. He could feel the sword at his side.
“I need you!”

“We’re on our way, Nykin.”

“Let him go.” Ryneq was shouting now, struggling to get free.

“Maybe I was wrong, Nykin.” Hatak’s fingers tightened, pulling Nykin flush against him. “Perhaps the king does care for you after all. That will make this all the sweeter.”

Nykin heard Ryneq’s desperate cry at the same moment the tip of the blade pierced his back. It slid in all the way to the hilt, with the end protruding out of his stomach. For one glorious moment he felt nothing, shock keeping his body from acknowledging what had just happened. But then white-hot pain lanced through his side, radiating out with crippling intensity, and he felt his legs start to buckle.

Hatak withdrew his sword and Nykin collapsed to the ground, a broken sound falling from his lips matched by a deafening roar from above.

“Fimor….”
Nykin closed his eyes, his hands struggling to reach the wound to try and stop the blood from spilling out.

“Hold on, Nykin. I’m coming.”

“N
YKIN
!” R
YNEQ
watched in horror as Nykin slumped to the ground, dark-red blood seeping out between his fingers. The roar from above grew louder, and Ryneq knew exactly who was coming. He could almost feel the rage emanating from Fimor with every roar.

“Bring him!” Hatak ordered, pointing to Ryneq, as he stepped over Nykin’s still form and out to the edges of the clearing.

Ryneq stumbled as the soldiers roughly dragged him around and after Hatak. He tried to pull out of their grasp, looking back at Nykin’s body on the ground. “You can’t just leave him,” he hissed, wincing as the soldiers tightened their grip and pulled on his shoulder.

“Why?” one of them replied, shoving at Ryneq until he was forced to turn away and walk forward. “He’s as good as dead.” Ryneq clenched his fists and anger bubbled up inside him. They were leaving Nykin to bleed out on the forest floor, and he was helpless to do anything about it.

“Cerylea!” Hatak shouted out, snapping Ryneq out of his thoughts. “If you want your brother to remain in one piece, I suggest you show yourself.” The rest of Hatak’s soldiers stayed back in the trees, waiting for the order to attack.

Fimor was close, and his roars were getting louder still. Hopefully that meant the other riders weren’t far behind him. Ryneq had no idea how many of his guard were waiting beyond the clearing, but Hatak had brought a lot of men with him. The dragon riders needed to get here fast, and Ryneq had to somehow buy them some time.

“Do you know what you’ve done?” Ryneq hissed. He was pushed out into the open, a knife at his throat and one at his side. He strained his neck to look over at Hatak. “Nykin is a dragon rider!”

“What?” Hatak’s gaze shot back to where Nykin lay. “You lie, Ryneq. There was no mark.”

“Hidden with elven magic,” Ryneq sneered as Hatak’s confidence started to falter. “Didn’t your spies tell you that?” Hatak paled a little as Fimor roared again, the sound echoing loudly around the clearing. “And that is his dragon.” Ryneq held on tightly to the fact that Fimor was still up in the air and looking as strong as ever. It meant Nykin was still alive.

“He won’t attack us while I have you,” Hatak shot back, edging closer to Ryneq.

The men holding Ryneq were starting to look decidedly nervous, their eyes flicking between Hatak and the sky above the abandoned village. When Ryneq looked up he saw why—the unmistakable outline of a dragon was circling up there, getting lower with each pass.

“Cerylea!” Hatak called again and brought his blade up to Ryneq’s throat. “This is your last chance.” He pressed down just enough to break the skin, and Fimor roared again. “Time’s up.”

Ryneq braced himself for the cut of Hatak’s knife. He didn’t want to die, but he wasn’t going to beg his sister to give herself up just to save him. His dragon riders hadn’t made it in time to help either him or Nykin, and his chest ached as he thought of Nykin’s body left on the forest floor, but he had no doubt Hatak and his men wouldn’t be leaving here alive. He squared his shoulders, ready to face his death, when the door to the nearest house flew open and everything seemed to happen at once.

Cerylea rushed out first, flanked by Nysad on one side and Morkryn on the other. The elf prince already had his bow drawn, and the arrow struck before Ryneq registered what was happening. The soldier on his left dropped to the ground with Morkryn’s arrow buried in his chest. Ryneq lurched to the side, pulling out of his captor’s grasp as another arrow flew past him. Hatak scrabbled for cover as arrows landed all around him. He yelled for his men to attack, but Ryneq could already hear the sound of fighting behind them.

“Ryneq?” Cerylea sounded frantic as she called his name, but the relief at hearing her voice was almost overwhelming. He crawled away from Hatak, trying to get out of the line of fire and into the clearing.

“I’m okay,” he shouted back, ducking low and to the left, keeping out of the archers’ way. He looked up to see Cerylea surrounded by palace guards and elves. Faelon and Avelor now stood beside Morkryn, bows drawn and firing arrows repeatedly into the forest.

“Ryneq! Behind you!”

Ryneq glanced over his shoulder as he ran toward Cerylea and the others, cursing the fact that he hadn’t picked up a weapon from one of the fallen Athisians. Hatak had followed him. He watched as Hatak faltered, one of the elven arrows lodged deep in his thigh, and he landed heavily on one hand. A huge shadow passed overhead, and before Hatak could get back up, he was engulfed in a ball of flame as Fimor swooped down low and flew over the clearing, narrowly avoiding clipping Ryneq with one of his wings.

Ryneq cursed, quickly ducking down and then rolling out of the way, gagging slightly at the smell of burning flesh. The accompanying roar sounded desperate and broken, and it pulled at Ryneq’s heart as he realized what it meant. Fimor landed heavily in the clearing, shaking the ground as he collapsed. Ryneq scrambled to his feet and rushed over to him, praying it wasn’t too late.