Hell be in the next tent. She needed to lie down, but she forced her burning feet to keep stumbling. She couldnt give up.
Allegra knew when she reached Drummer. Only traces of the green spell still vibrated within her, but it was enough, for he burned like a flame. She knelt behind the tent where she sensed him and hacked at the cloth until she could squeeze through the hole. Inside, darkness surrounded her. She tried to stand, but pain jagged through her feet. So she crawled. The soft rugs under her hands and knees soothed her bruises and cuts.
Her hand hit a mound.
Allegra jerked back, sitting on her haunches. She heard someone breathing, slow and ragged. Stretching out her arm, she touched a cushion, then several others. She felt farther, and her hand brushed across a blanket. She froze when she realized her palm was resting on the back of a person lying in front of her.
Turning her concentration inward, she focused on a new spell, the simplest of all. When she opened her eyes, dim red light surrounded her. A man lay sprawled on his stomach, asleep, his face turned toward her. Yellow curls fell across his eyes. It had to be Drummer; he was probably the only man in Taka Mal or Jazid with hair that color. A blanket covered him to his waistand whip marks crisscrossed his back and arms. Her tears gathered again, this time for him.
Allegra recognized him, though they had never met. The same hills and valleys she called home had nurtured his mage gifts. He looked just like the other youths where she lived, with the handsome features and boyish face. He had the slender, lithe build of an Aronsdale man rather than the height and musculature of Jazids native sons. He could have been a farm boy from down the road. Except he was here, in agony, imprisoned while invaders used him as a pawn in their machinations to wrest the throne of his adopted land away from his wife and child.
When she saw the bloodied bandage on his left foot, which stuck out from the blanket, she almost threw up. She laid her hand on his forehead, and found him burning with fever. Dismayed, she closed her eyes, concentrating. She crooned softly, weaving an orange spell to ease the misery of his injuries.
It wasnt enough. Drummer needed a blue mage who could heal, either Jarid or Iris, possibly Aron. She felt as if a weight were crushing her. He couldnt walk, and she couldnt carry him. She would have to drag herself out of here, find a cart and an animal to pull it, bring it back, put him in it, cross the great Quaaz Basin and climb up the hills to the encamped Aronsdale army. She folded her arms across her stomach and rocked back and forth, knowing she couldnt fix this, that this man with such luminous mage power could soon die.
Light flared across the tent.
Allegra froze, then shielded her eyes with her hand. Her spell died, but it was too late. Two men entered the tent, holding a torch that threw huge shadows on the walls. General Ardoz and Colonel Bladebreak.
“I dont see the light anymore, Ardoz said.
Bladebreak indicated Allegra. “It was around her.
As they walked over, Allegra felt as if she were falling off a cliff with nothing but jagged rocks below. She tried to scramble to her feet, but her movements were slowed by pain and fatigue, and she barely made it up by the time Bladebreak reached her. He easily caught her around the waist. He held her with one arm, her front against his side while he handed the torch to Ardoz.
“No. Allegras voice cracked.
“Come now, Allegra, Bladebreak murmured while Ardoz put the torch in a nearby stand. “Its all right. Youd better sit.
She resisted when he pushed her down, but her legs buckled. He set her so she was sitting sideways to him, between his legs, her side against his chest. He pushed her knees up to her chest, then put his own legs around her, one pressing her shins, the other her spine, then slid one arm around her waist and put the other around her shoulders. She had always liked it when Markus held her that way, but now she thought she would hate it forever.
Bladebreak pressed his lips to her temple. “Were you waiting for us, hmm?
“Stop it. She tried to push him away, but he brushed aside her hands.
“Why is she here? Ardoz asked. He knelt next to Drummer and laid his palm against the princes forehead.
“Maybe Dusk wanted them together. She must have been with him. Shes wearing his shirt. Bladebreak touched one of her wrists, then her ankles. “Thats odd.
“What? Ardoz unslung a drinking bag from his shoulder and uncapped a narrow spout at the top.
“She isnt restrained, Bladebreak said. “She could have just walked out of here.
“I cant walk, Allegra said. “My feet are injured. She had the desperate hope that if they thought Yargazon had left her here, they might not mention her to him.
Ardoz tilted the water bag to Drummers lips, trying to get him to drink. “Hes burning alive, the general muttered.
Bladebreak spoke against Allegras ear. “You put us to sleep that night, didnt you? Before we even got started, you knocked us out. He ran his tongue around her lobe. “You shouldnt have done that.
“Dont. Allegra turned her head away.
“Why do you all grab her that way? Ardoz asked. “Leave the poor girl alone.
Bladebreak lifted his head. “They do that to you, these witches. Make you want them. He indicated Drummer. “Admit it. You wanted to come in here to see him.
“I want him to live, Ardoz said curtly. “If he dies, we have no hostage to trade for Markus.
Bladebreak brushed Allegras hair back from her face. “You should have listened to Jasmine, he told her. “Shes never suffered. I protect her. But you fight, you disrupt, you resist. You taunt us with your defiance. What did you expect to happen? You have to pay the price for your behavior.
She wondered who protected Jasmine from him. “No matter what you do, she said in a low voice, “Ill never bend to your will.
“Think again, girl, he said. “I can do what I want now.
“No, you cant, Ardoz said. “Shes Markuss consort. He took a cloth off a nearby pile and dampened it. Then he laid the compress on Drummers forehead. “Why is it that the women who cause such turmoil, the ones who bring down dynasties and change historywhy are they always the ones who make the men who want them the most miserable?
Bladebreak grunted. “The dragon only knows.
“You cant have her, Ivan.
“I never said I wanted her, Bladebreak said crossly, though he was still embracing her. “But Ill tell you thisMarkus is better off without her.
Ardoz looked upand Allegra knew. He hid his reaction well, but her mind was sensitized from her mood spell. Markus may have promoted Ardoz and then let his memories of the general fade, but Ardoz had never forgotten.
“Markus needs her, Ardoz said. “And if he needs her, he will have her. So leave her the hell alone.
“Fine, Bladebreak muttered. He motioned at Drummer. “You cant have him, either.
“Dont be absurd. Ardoz dampened another cloth and cleaned a cut on Drummers back. “I want him to live, thats all.
Bladebreak snorted. “Right.
“You dont want him to live?
“You really think he might die?
“His fever is worse, Ardoz said. “Dusk pushed him too hard during the interrogation.
“Hes as weak as a girl, Bladebreak said. “A child probably knows more about the queens army. They obviously dont tell him anything. Hes just her pretty, captive consort.
“Either that, Ardoz said, “or he held out against even Dusk.
“A trained officer couldnt do that. This minstrel would have crumpled right away if he knew anything.
Ardoz indicated Allegra. “Would you have thought she could do what shes managed? Or that the fire opal priestess could have been so strong? These mages, they look soft and pretty, Ivan, but I think they have steel inside.
Bladebreak snorted, what sounded like disagreement. He kept her trapped between his legs, caressing her body whenever Ardoz wasnt looking. Allegra wanted to slap him, but she knew if she struck, he would hurt her, and she didnt think she could take any more. Ardoz continued to treat Drummers wounds. From the last shreds of her spell, Allegra could tell his ministrations helped the prince.