Gilded Serpent by Danielle Jensen (top 10 novels txt) 📕

about the weather feeling off, but he couldn’t spare any more thought for it as the Rowenes soldiers had risen.

They pissed on their fire to put it out, then mounted their horses and started toward the mountains.

Reaching down to shake Sonia’s shoulder, he murmured, “They’re on the move.”

Alert in an instant, Sonia crawled next to him, both of them peering from behind the rock that was their cover to watch as the group headed down the trail, their path illuminated by moonlight.

“Let’s go,” he muttered.

They kept back as they followed the clack clack of horse hooves against rock as they wove through the treacherous mountain passes, riding for hours and well into Anukastre territory before the group dismounted. Slipping off the side of his horse, Killian left the animal and moved forward on foot, Sonia at his heels.

They passed the horses the soldiers had left behind, following the scuff of boots against rock as the men picked their way down a path lined with cactus and boulders, moving onto the dry plains skirting the edge of the desert itself.

Ahead, Killian picked out the lights of fires, which, as they moved closer, illuminated a large grouping of tents surrounding a few small stone buildings. A village.

Then a scream filled his ears, and a second later, shadows ran between the buildings.

Swearing, Killian broke into a run, weapon in hand, bursting into the village a heartbeat later. The Rowenes soldiers were attacking the villagers, cutting down defenseless men and women, blood spraying.

“Stand down!” Killian shouted at them, and the men whirled around to stare at him. And that was when he saw the bands tied around their arms. Bands marked with a rough illustration of a black horse.

“Lord Calorian,” Dwyer blurted out, the villagers taking advantage of their distraction to escape into the darkness. “What are—”

“Under whose orders are you here?” Killian interrupted, fury coursing through his veins. Because he knew.

Dwyer a step back, lifting his weapon. “An eye for an eye, sir. That’s what Lady Ria says.”

Lady Ria, whose false tears and pleas to protect her people had turned him into not a protector but a murderer.

“Killian!” Sonia caught hold of his arm. “We’ve got company.”

Hooves raced toward them, and a heartbeat later, a group of Anuk warriors burst into the village, the boy he’d fought in the ambush at the lead.

“Murderer!” the boy screamed, pointing a finger at him. “Kill them!”

The last thing Killian wanted to do was fight the Anuk. But he also had no intention of dying, because that would mean Ria getting away with what she’d done. So grabbing Sonia’s arm, he broke into a run.

They tripped and stumbled through the darkness, heading toward the mountain path and their horses. Behind, the screams of Ria’s men filled the air, the Anuk cutting them down before giving pursuit.

He and Sonia weren’t going to make it.

The Anuk were on horseback, and with dawn beginning to light the ground, the riders were giving their mounts their heads.

“I’ll hold them off.” He pushed Sonia ahead of him. “Get back. Tell the people what Ria has done. And if they won’t listen, ride to Teradale and tell my mother that Ria’s started a war.”

That I’ve started a war.

“You go!” Sonia gasped. “You’ve a better chance of making it back.”

He glanced behind, seeing the riders were nearly upon them. An arrow whistled past him. Then another. And another.

Bending, he picked up a rock and threw it, catching one of the archers in the shoulder hard enough to knock him back.

If he could just get to a place where the path narrowed, he might be able to hold them off. Might be able to buy Sonia enough time.

An arrow scraped across his shoulder, drawing a hiss of pain from his lips. He bent to pick up another rock and threw it.

And when he whirled back around, it was to find six riderless horses galloping toward him and Sonia. He dived into her, knocking her between two cactuses just as the wild-eyed animals passed, and both of them stumbled to their feet and raced up the steep path.

To find Finn holding the reins of their horses at the top of the incline.

“What are you doing here?” Killian shouted.

“Saving your neck, Lord Calorian.” Finn bowed, then leapt onto the back of his horse and galloped down the trail, Sonia on his heels.

Swinging into the saddle, Killian looked back to see the Anuk still trying to get around the loose horses on the narrow path. But as he watched, the Anuk boy met his gaze, lifting one hand to level a finger at Killian.

Dread abruptly filled his stomach, sickening and thick as tar, his heart skittering and then plunging into a wild beat of terror.

But it had nothing to do with the boy. With the Anuk. Or even with Ria.

Lydia.

She was in danger.

And there was nothing he could do to help her.

 48LYDIA

Lydia woke with a start, struggling to pull herself from the depths of a nightmare even as she wondered how long she’d been asleep.

Wrapping her blankets around her freezing shoulders, she blinked at the lamp on the table, still exhausted from pulling the blight from Lena’s body and from days of little rest.

But it had been worth it.

There was a cure, and once a tender was found, she had faith that the blight could be driven from the land. Not that finding a tender would be an easy task, as none were left in Mudamora. Serrick would have to approach the kingdom’s allies for assistance, which would take time.

But at least there was hope.

Rising to her feet, Lydia pulled on her clothing, intent on discovering how Serrick had reacted to the news of the cure. She had wanted to be the one to deliver the revelation, but she’d been too weak, so Dareena had gone with Lena and Gwen in tow as her witnesses. And other than Killian, there was no one Lydia trusted more than the High Lady to ensure the King took this development seriously.

Leaving