Sisters of Shadow and Light by Sara B. Larson

Author:Sara B. Larson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

TWENTY-FOUR

ZUHRA

The woman marching toward us seemed ageless—and more than a little terrifying. My father’s warning that her gruffness was just bravado did little to reassure me as her piercing blue eyes landed on me and widened momentarily before narrowing. Her hair was the color of fire, brilliant shades of red and orange, streaked through with strands of white ash, and her skin was an even darker olive than my father’s. Her glowing blue eyes stood out starkly as she stormed up to where I tried not to cower next to my father and Raidyn.

Rather than attempting to escape what appeared to be the building fury in the Paladin woman descending on us, the rest of the battalion subtly drew closer to their leader and to me—though that was more by default, I assumed, than by a desire to protect someone they didn’t even know.

“Adelric, that is a human,” Ederra bit out by way of greeting when she halted a few feet from where we stood, her eyes flashing in a way that made me want to duck and cover my head.

“Yes. And she is also your granddaughter” was his succinct response.

A strangled noise came from my throat and I flushed. I attempted to smile—but my lips twisted, only one half even lifting, as I flinched back from the fury on her face. Great first impression, Zuhra.

“Hello,” I tried again and then snapped my mouth shut when my grandmother’s eyebrows lifted, her burning eyes raking over me. Raidyn coughed next to me, but I had a sneaking suspicion he was really attempting to hide a laugh. I’d never had the urge to elbow someone in the stomach before in my life, until that moment. Focus, I coached myself. You have to impress her. This woman holds the power to get you back to Inara.

I opened my mouth to try once more, but before I could speak, Ederra curtly announced, “I don’t have a granddaughter,” and turned her back on me.

It took me a heartbeat to snap my mouth shut and try to erase the devastation surely evident on my face. The sunshine on my cheeks was warm, the light breeze balmy, but I wrapped my arms tightly around my waist, suppressing a sudden shiver.

I don’t have a granddaughter.

It only took two more heartbeats for me to make a decision.

“Zuhra—”

I couldn’t tell if it was Adelric or Raidyn who spoke over the thundering of my heartbeat and the rush of blood in my ears, but I ignored the troubled tone and rushed after my grandmother.

“Wait!” I shouted.

She paused halfway across the field and glanced over her shoulder at me, her eyes wide but her lips downturned.

“You don’t have to want me,” I panted when I finally reached her side. “Just help me get home, please. Help me get back to Inara—to my sister. The rakasa got through and if she’s not dead yet then she will be s—”

“What?” Ederra’s hissed question cut through my pleadings. “What rakasa? What is the meaning of this?” Her voice rose as she looked over my head.

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