Page 200 of Sunsplitter

“Heed your daeyari, vavraesa,” Avroz warned with a condescending flash of fangs. “Or I’ll remind you what real claws feel like.”

Antal growled at the threat.

“Don’t bare your teeth at me, yzir virso,” Avroz growled back. “Youenable this.Youhumor the whims of this creature, who has no sense for where her kind belongs.”

“Where Ibelong,” Fionamara shouted, muffled against Antal’s chest, “is with my foot so far up your ass, it will make your antlers itch!”

“Enough.” Avroz returned to calm, addressing Antal, as if a human wasn’t shouting death threats from his arms. “You’ve tracked down the truth. Now, you’ll never speak of this. You’ll return with me to the Twilit Plane, accept your nomination to the Daey Celva. As we agreed.”

“Never speak of this?” Fionamara’s laugh split the air like anaxe. “Rot in the Void, daeyari. You think we’re going to ignore what you did—”

A clawed hand closed on Antal’s wrist.

Avroz yanked him away from her, Antal’s steps stumbling through the snow.

“I’ve had enough ofboth of you,” Avroz said. “Stay here, vavraesa.Behave. Your Lord Daeyari will return once he’s done his duty.”

She tensed. Ready to rage. Ready to hurl herself at another immortal she shouldn’t have to fight, her fury a sword Antal’s coward heart didn’t deserve, all his desperation focused on meeting her gaze and shaking his head in silent entreaty.

Please, don’t.

Please, this wasn’t worth another fight.

Please, he’d watched her nearly die in his arms, he couldn’t survive that again.

Fionamara froze, hair messy over one eye, the other wide in… confusion? Worry? Anger? Antal couldn’t say.

The Winter Plane vanished, as Avroz pulled him into black.

Antal didn’t fight the teleport. He let his father drag him along, Curtains and Shards flitting by too fast for numbed thoughts to register.

It was late, on the Twilit Plane.

Purple dusk seeped through the windows of the sitting room. All was quiet. Calm. Almost welcoming.

Apart from Avroz’s claws around Antal’s wrist.

They’d left Fionamara on the Winter Plane. Antal tensed, waiting for her to appear, to Voidwalk after them and lunge at his father with all her reckless vengeance. Subtler, Avroz did the same, watching the corners of the room with a low tail flick.

Seconds dragged.

She didn’t come.

Relief settled over Antal like hoarfrost. He’d heard the threat when Avroz had ordered her to stay behind, saw a lethal glint in his father’s eyes.

When no snarling human appeared, Avroz released Antal’s wrist.

“I’ve spoken with the Daey Celva,” Avroz said. “Whileyoudisappeared from your own ceremony, to dress up your pet with false Sunsplitter bands. They’re prepared to receive your nomination. We’ll meet in two days’ time.’

He spoke calmly again. As if nothing had happened.

“That’s it?” Antal growled. “You expect me to just go along with all this?”

“As we agreed, Antal. You’ll join the Daey Celva. I’ll overlook yourlapse injudgmenttonight, and support your system of corpse eating.”

“Or I could tell the Daey Celva what you did.”

Antal’s threat hung in the space between them. He tried to stand firm, as ferocious as Fionamara would be—still cracked at the edges.