Eona - Alison Goodman [114]
Yuso stepped forward. “Is His Majesty safe?” he demanded, breaking Caido’s thrall.
“He is waiting with the rest of my men at the rendezvous,” the resistance man said, but his attention had shifted to the ruins of the palace wall. He squinted into the billowing smoke, then pointed to the dark shapes of soldiers climbing cautiously over the shattered stonework. “More are coming. We must go!”
“They do not learn, do they,” Ido said. He whirled around to face the palace, then pressed his hands outward. The gravel riding track buckled and exploded upward. I ducked as the earth split with a tearing roar along the palace wall, opening up underneath scrambling, shrieking soldiers and consuming them in a sudden collapse of dirt and stone. More and more earth fell away in a thundering rush as the huge crack spread beyond the palace boundaries, ripping the gardens in half until the two sides were separated by an impassable, gaping chasm.
The rumbling died away, leaving an eerie silence and a heavy cloud of dust. Then the screaming started; men shrieking in pain and terror.
Ido looked across at me, then started to walk away. The captain lunged for him, but Ido clenched his fist, and the ground heaved beneath the Shadow Man. Yuso staggered and landed on his back with a pained grunt.
“Lord Ido,” I yelled. “We have a deal. You said you would train me.”
Although his gaunt face was hollow with exhaustion, power still threaded across his amber eyes. “What did you expect, Eona? That I would trot behind you like your islander dog?” He gestured at Ryko who had started to close in on him, alongside Vida and Dela. Ido raised a warning hand, stopping their wary approach. “If you want to learn, Eona, you must come with me. On my terms.” He smiled, and I felt as if the weight of his body was already on mine.
“You know I would never go with you. Never!”
“I know how much you want your power—it is like a hunger in you,” he said. “And I know that without me, you will never have it. So make your choice. Learn how to raze palaces to the ground, or be a useless girl without the steel to follow the path of her power.”
I stepped forward. He was right—I did want my power, so much that it was like a constant ache within my spirit—but he was so very wrong about me not having steel.
With savage anticipation, I rammed my Hua outward, seeking the silvery pathway into Ido’s will. I felt my life force roll over another pulse, a familiar heartbeat sliding under mine in a rush of unstoppable energy. Ryko.
Beside me, the islander dropped to the ground, gasping. I faltered; I had not even thought of him.
Ido crouched, sensing the threat. I saw the burst of silver across his eyes as he gathered his power. No time for hesitation. I punched my Hua through his exhaustion, the taste of him flooding my mouth in a rich wave of pulsing orange power that drove him to his knees.
What are you doing? His fury was like the cut of acid.
I fought to draw his heartbeat to mine, his resistance like a roar through my blood. Slowly, like hauling on a heavy net, I pulled his life rhythm closer and closer to my own. He struggled, the pounding of his rage fighting the grip of my Hua. Slowly, he forced his way through my power and staggered to his feet. The battle cost him: his pulse slid under mine—one beat of unity—then broke free again.
Instinctively I sought more power. Ryko. He writhed on the ground nearby, his frantic energy waiting to be tapped. I grabbed at it, drawing up his bright Hua. Ryko screamed, a terrible rattling sound, but I could not stop. The sudden surge of energy within me leaped like a howling beast and hammered Ido back to his knees.
Sweat soaked the back of the Dragoneye’s shirt as he tried to fend off the savage onslaught, every desperate block ripped apart by the teeth of my power. It was dark energy, raw and shrieking, and it