The Warrior's Curse by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Author:Jennifer A. Nielsen [A Nielsen, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2019-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

Joth had described the scene outside the palace walls as one of chaos, but until leaving the courtyard, I had failed to appreciate the exact meaning of the word. Thankfully, the snow had stopped falling, but that was the only good news. It might’ve been a dark night but for the many fires set both within and without the walls. I didn’t know whether our soldiers had set them, or the Dominion Loyalists who had come to defend their ash and smoke. Ironhearts were tripping over each other in their bid for freedom, and citizens of Highwyn were attempting to protect what little they had with weapons that were hardly more threat than sticks and feathers.

The Brill appeared to be the only group to have retained their lines, but for the worst possible reasons. A thick row of bodies went straight through the center of their numbers, and most of the survivors seemed afraid to move.

“Is that because of Joth?” Trina asked. “Are they—”

“Dead,” Gabe said under his breath. “Joth and his half-lives tore through them within seconds. He could do the same to any of us, without warning, and we’d have no defense.”

Both looked to me, and I wished I had any answers to offer them. But before I could speak, Basil rode toward me with his halberd in hand. He was still too thin and weak for battle, but I respected his choice to be here. “Is it true?” he asked. “Is Endrick gone?”

“He’s gone.” Though if battling Endrick had been a windstorm, now a season of tornados had begun. “Where is Captain Tenger?”

Basil grimaced, then cocked his head to the left. “Come with me.”

I followed him outside the palace walls to a field of trampled snow. In the center, Imri Stout was standing over two other Brillian soldiers. One of them, a woman with long eyelashes so translucent white they almost glowed in the darkness, looked up and shook her head.

Imri turned to me with a vacant expression. “Even our technologies cannot heal him.”

I pushed through the group to find Tenger on the ground. There were no visible wounds, but his eyes were rolled back in his head and he was mumbling incoherently.

“Loelle,” Trina said. “If I can get him to Loelle—”

“I’ll help,” Basil added.

“Go,” I said. “And hurry.” Tenger had made it through tough scrapes before, but this time felt different, and I was worried.

Basil started to reach for Tenger, then turned back to me and said, “I was here when it happened. Tenger challenged Joth Tarquin to a duel, no magic, a fair fight. Joth just laughed and grabbed him with both hands, holding on until Tenger barely had a breath left in his body. He said that was what Tenger deserved for plotting to kill Kestra … that such an honor must be reserved for himself alone.”

I did a double take. “He what?”

“That’s what he said. I know it’s terrible news, Simon, but I think Joth might be planning to do the same thing to Kestra, and then to each of us.

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