Eona (37 page)

“I don't know.”

Kygo shook his head. “He has nothing to gain by it. Stand beside me,
Naiso.”
He turned. “Everyone get up. Get back. Lord Ido, stay on your knees.”

The others scrambled to their feet as ordered, forming a ragged half-circle around the Dragoneye. Among all the hostile anticipation, only Dela's face was troubled.

“Look at me, Dragoneye,” Kygo ordered.

Ido lifted his head. His top lip was split, bleeding into his mouth and down his chin.

“Where is the black folio? Does Sethon have it?”

Ido's eyes flicked to mine. See, his expression said,
this is all he wants
.

I chewed on the inside of my mouth. Of course Kygo wanted the folio—it was logical. We could not afford to have it fall into the hands of Sethon. Yet some deep part of me—the Dragoneye—did not want it in Kygo's hands, either. But maybe that was just Ido's mind games playing upon me. I could not think straight.

“The folio is safe from Sethon,” Ido said. “My apprentice has it.”

“Bring it to us.”

Ido shook his head. “No. It is safe. That is enough.”

“I do not ask, Dragoneye. I command.”

“No.”

Yuso stepped forward. “Your Majesty, let me explain obedience to
Lord Ido.”

“I understand your enthusiasm, captain,” Kygo said. “But there is no need.” He turned to me. “Force him, Lady Eona. Make him call the boy to us.”

My gut froze. “Your Majesty,” I whispered, turning my head away from the circle of avid faces. “Do not ask me to do that.”

“Why not?”

“You are asking me to torture him.”

He grabbed my arm and pulled me across the clearing. I stumbled after him, his iron grip wrenching me through the thick grass. He stopped and rounded on me. “What are you talking about, Eona? I am only asking what you have done before.”

“I did it before because you threatened Ryko,” I hissed. “I will stop Ido from using his power against us, but I will not use my power for coercion and torture.” I pulled my arm out of his grip. “It should not even be an option. I thought you were better than that.”

“That is a fine line you draw,” he snapped. “Did Ido come willingly with you? Or did you coerce him?”

“I showed him I had the link.”

“So when does it become coercion? When I ask you to do it?”

“Yes!”

“That doesn't make sense.”

“I don't care. I just know that what you ask is wrong. You know it, too.”

He sucked in a breath. “We need the black folio, Eona. Sethon must not get it.”

I pressed my hands to either side of my head. “Kygo, if I force Ido to get the folio, do you think he will train me?” I lowered my voice. “If I am to fulfill the portent and save the dragons, I need Ido's knowledge.” I touched his arm. “Trust me; we will get the black folio.”

He looked across at the kneeling Dragoneye. Ido had raised his head and was watching us. “Every part of me wants to hurt him,” Kygo said, his voice low.

“I know.”

He closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again, the darkness had receded. He took my hand. “All right, we will do it your way,
Naiso.”

I returned the pressure of his fingers. “Thank you.”

Kygo was an enlightened man, his father's son, yet as he led me back to the silent ring of men and women, Ido's taunt in the stable echoed in my mind:
Why haven't you told him?

The Dragoneye watched us approach, his jaw set.

“Captain,” Kygo said. Yuso stepped forward. “We stay here for the day and move out tonight. Bind Lord Ido and put a guard on him. Then report.”

His order broke the tension around the ring of onlookers. Bowing, they backed away from the presence of their emperor, heading, no doubt, toward food and sleep. As Dela walked past me, she touched my arm lightly.

“Be careful,” she whispered, and glanced back at the Dragoneye. “He does not have only dragon power.”

“Get up,” Yuso ordered Ido.

With slow insolence, Ido stood and looked at me as Yuso pulled his wrists together and bound them with rope. The steady hold of his eyes sent a wash of hot unease through me.

“I must hear the captain's report,” Kygo said. He watched dispassionately as Ido was shoved into a stumbling walk between two guards. “But please join me afterward.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” I bowed and backed away as Yuso approached.

I headed toward the clump of trees where food and water were laid out. Although I kept my eyes fixed on the mill of people ahead, I could feel Ido's gaze upon me like the press of a hand along the length of my spine. Dela was right. I had to be careful.

A quarter bell later, I stood in front of Ido. My excuse was a cup of water and a strip of dried beef for the prisoner. But really, I needed to know why he had provoked Kygo.

The morning sun had broken through the clouds and added a burning heat to the heavy air. Ido was on his knees under its full glare, forced into a punishment kneel that I knew was ironically called the Blessing: back rigid, bound hands held up at chin level. Sweat dripped from under his ragged hair and into his eyes. Although his face was impassive, the strain was evident in the trembling along his arms.

I held out the cup.

Awkwardly, he held up his bound hands and took the water. “This is becoming a habit,” he said.

The guard leaning on a nearby tree trunk straightened. “My lady, Captain Yuso has ordered that Lord Ido does not get food or water until he says so.”

“Apparently I'm learning about obedience,” Ido said, his voice hoarse. “The captain is keen to know the whereabouts of the black folio.”

I glanced at Yuso, still in close conference with Kygo across the clearing. Was this Yuso's own idea, or was he under orders? The thought was disquieting either way.

“What is your name?” I asked the guard. He was one of Caido's men; a skilled bowman, if I remembered rightly. He certainly had the shoulders and muscled forearms of an archer.

“Jun, my lady.” He dipped into a bow.

“Jun, do not make the mistake of thinking your captain's orders outweigh mine. I wish to speak to Lord Ido about Dragoneye business.” I waved the man away. “It is not for your ears.”

With an anxious glance at Yuso, Jun bowed again and edged out of earshot. Ido drained the cup and wiped his mouth with his thumb, the action making him wince. His top lip was swollen and the tight rope had already chafed a raw ring around his wrists.

“Sit back,” I said.

He sank on to his heels with a small sigh of relief. “I'm out of condition. My master used to make me hold a Staminata position for hours.” He rolled his shoulders. “We will start your training there: I don't think you have done much Staminata work, and it is the cornerstone of energy manipulation.”

I resisted the tantalizing call of his knowledge. “Why did you provoke Kygo?” I asked, keeping my voice low. “He could have killed you.”

Ido squinted across at the emperor. “His mother and brother were murdered with my help. Of course he wants to kill me.”

In the distance, Kygo raised his head as if he felt our attention, his sudden stillness a clear message.

Ido gave a low laugh. “He doesn't like you being here, either.”

Nor did Yuso. The captain had also looked up, and I could feel the wave of fury from him.

“Why did you provoke Kygo?” I repeated.

Ido wiped the sweat out of his eyes with the back of one bound hand. “At some point, he was going to try to kill me. If it didn't happen now, it was going to happen later, with even more heat behind it. Better that I gave him a reason to unleash it as soon as he saw me.” He touched his lip with a light finger. “Now it is done. He checked his rage. He has missed his kill moment.”

I remembered the vicious brutality in Kygo's eyes at the village inn. I wasn't so sure the moment was lost. “It was a big gamble,” I said.

“No. The dice were loaded in my favor.”

“How?”

“You.”

I frowned. “You knew I would stop the emperor?”

He tilted his head, watching me. “Yes.”

Was I so transparent to him? The thought sent a small jab of fear through me.

“It is obvious that he wants you,” Ido added. “He wants your power—and he wants your body.”

My skin flushed under his blunt words. He made Kygo's desire sound like his own attempt on my body and power in the harem—brutal and self-centered. I remembered the suffocating weight of his body pinning me against the wall, and his hunger for the Mirror Dragon's power.

As if he could see my thoughts, he said softly, “You have good reason to kill me, too.”

“I have many good reasons,” I said crisply. “But I also have a good reason to keep you alive.”

“I know. You want your world of power. That is why I knew you'd stop him.”

I drew back, but he shook his head. “You don't need to pretend with me, Eona. If there is one thing I understand, it is the need for power.”

“I do not
need
power,” I said quickly.

He studied the rope around his wrists. “Need. Want. Desire.” He shrugged. “You and I both know what it is like to have immense power. And we also know what it is like to be truly powerless.” He lifted his hands. “Not this kind of feeble restraint. You know what I mean: true and utter powerlessness. Whether it be the kind we have inflicted upon each other, or the kind that Sethon”—his hands clenched involuntarily—“deals in so masterfully. I will do whatever I must to never feel that powerless again. And you are the same.”

“We are
not
the same,” I said vehemently. “And you are powerless now. I can compel you any time I want. Crush you, like that.” I closed my fist.

He shook his head. “You've missed your kill moment, too, Eona.”

I opened my mouth to deny it, but his knowing eyes silenced me. He was right. I'd had two chances to avenge my master and the other Dragoneye lords—on the night of the coup, and last night. I had failed both times.

He gestured at the food in my hand. “Of course, you could very well kill me with frustration if you don't give me that dried meat.”

With a reluctant smile, I handed over the strip of beef. He crammed it into his mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yuso striding toward us, almost vibrating with rage.

Ido swallowed the mouthful, a quick sideways glance also taking in the captain's approach. “Tell me, Eona,” he said, almost casually. “What is going to happen when you sleep? How will you compel me then?”

I met his keen scrutiny with my best bluffing face. “We are always linked. If you call your dragon, I will feel it.” It was half true: we
were
linked by that single thread of his
Hua
, just as I was linked to Ryko. But I could not feel the connection all the time, and not while I was asleep.

“Always linked?” he echoed. “Perhaps you will feel my touch in your dreams.”

“If I do, it will be a nightmare,” I said sharply.

He laughed, amber eyes at their most wolfish. I turned to meet Yuso's bristling arrival by my side.

“Lady Eona!” The captain's voice was icily courteous. “I have given explicit orders regarding Lord Ido. Please do not interfere.”

“Lord Ido is here to train me, captain,” I said, just as icily.

“He is of no use to me if he is starving and exhausted. Do not deny him food and rest. Do you understand?”

Yuso glared at me.

“Do you understand, captain?” I snapped.

“As you wish, Lady Eona.” He bent his neck in a stiff bow.

“Is that what obedience looks like, captain?” Ido asked blandly, but his eyes met mine in lightning amusement.

I quickly turned and walked away. It would do me no good if either man saw my smothered smile.

One of the new faces—a young man with the flatter features of the high plains people—bowed as Vida poured me a cup of water under the trees. I sipped the tepid liquid, then poured a little into my cupped palm and patted its wet relief onto the nape of my neck. I was glad to be out of the sun, and just as glad to be away from the keen mind of Ido: he played us all as if we were the Revered Strategy Game.

Nearby, Dela sat on the grass, the red folio open and her brow creased with concentration as she traced the ancient script with her fingertips. She did not even look up when Ryko brought her a cup of water. The big man placed it beside her, then sat a few lengths away, a silent sentinel guarding her back as she worked.

I found myself watching Ido again, as if he were a lodestone drawing my attention. Jun had finally escorted him to the shade of a tree a good distance from the rest of us. The Dragoneye sat hunched at its base, his bound hands held awkwardly before him. He looked in my direction; the angle of his dark head held a strange intimacy.

“My lady,” the young plainsman at my side said. “His Majesty wishes to see you now.”

With a start, I turned to face Kygo's level gaze, my skin prickling as if I had been caught doing something wrong. He was seated on a fallen log that had been rolled under the shade of a large tree and covered with a blanket: the throne of a usurped emperor. Even at rest, there was a coiled vigilance in the trained grace of his body.

He pulled the long braid of his imperial queue over his shoulder, and smoothed his hand along its length; something he did, I realized, when he was perturbed. I smiled, and was relieved to see the immediate answer in his face. After Ido's game-playing, the warmth in Kygo's smile was like a sweet balm. Holding back the absurd desire to run to him, I crossed the grass with as much stately poise as I could muster.

“Your Majesty,” I said, and bowed.

“Lady Eona,” he said, just as formally.

For a moment we both hesitated, still caught in the hours spent apart. Then he took my hands and pressed his lips against my fingers. In that quick, hard gesture I felt the distance between us close. And I felt something new: possession.