“Keep pushing,” I gritted out, sparing a momentary glance to the males walking and wielding.

No one relented on their magic, though each poured sweat faster than I was. Tunics clung to chests as they dug one foot into the ground, then another, fighting the uphill battle as much as the horses. On my other side, Izgath and his charges fared no better. The wooden boxes in front of me blocked my view, but it was unlikely that the wagons ahead of us ascended with any more ease.

What seemed like such a short distance from our perch on the side of the road now felt like an eternity. My every thought, every ounce of energy I possessed, was focused on one more revolution, one more step, one more drop of magic.

Should these horses and our magic fail, we’d be crushed beneath the weight instantly, helpless as the wagon continued to tumble down the side of the mountain. Moving off to the side would force me to twist in the saddle, putting even more pressure on Blaeze’s ascent.

Shouts rang out from ahead, but I ignored them. The shadows slipping from my palms were graying, and the tiniest bit of my crafted form slipped away.

“Vagach!”

“Vagach!”

“VAGACH!”

On the third ring of my dead husband’s name, I recognized Izgath’s voice. Whipping my head to the side, I caught his worried gaze. His garnet eyes roamed from my face to my hands and back. “We’re almost there.”

I nodded, needing to save every drop of energy for my magic. Izgath shouted at two of his males to assist me, and tears nearly sprang to my eyes. The two angled themselves in my direction, not difficult when Izgath’s wagon was moving faster than ours. More inky shadows mingled with the rest, and I allowed mine to fall away, chest heaving. But my breathlessness would do no one good.

“Just a little further,” I called out. It was as much an encouragement for myself as it was for the males pouring magic into a forceful wall behind the wagon.

“I see it!” one of Izgath’s soldiers shouted.

The driver steered the supply wagon to the right, and the males automatically shifted the placement of their magic to support that side, maintaining the forward momentum. Within a few revolutions, we flattened out, and the wagon jolted, the horses still pulling with all their might. They slowed to a crawl, and I pulled back on Blaeze’s reins, stopping him while I surveyed what we had accomplished.

From this plateau to the one below, the road appeared to be vertical. How the wagons descended without crushing the horses was a mystery, but I was grateful to have summited without incident.

Dromak and Uzadaan directed the wagons to form a perimeter around the chunk of land we’d sleep on that night, while others pulled supplies from the stationary ones and arranged places to eat and places to sleep.

Izgath was among the ones pitching tents. I dug my heels into Blaeze’s side and directed him through the throng of males, trying to reach him and rush the process along. Already, my feet were shrinking in the boots, and if it weren’t for the muscle I had developed from riding all these weeks, I likely would have lost both. I gripped my mount’s belly like my life depended on it.

Because it did.

Izgath must have sensed my rising panic, because he doubled his efforts as I stumbled to the ground. “Get inside,” he hissed, using his shadows to raise the canvas.

“Sure, I can handle the poles inside the tent,” I said a little too loudly and hobbled inside, leaving my horse aimless among the chaos. Izgath tossed them to me, then allowed the flaps to close behind them. I dropped my magic immediately while also fixing the poles so Izgath wouldn’t have to drain himself any more than necessary.

Within moments, the tent stood sturdy and strong, and I breathed a sigh of relief. From outside, Izgath’s voice drifted in, along with the din of a settling-in camp. “I’ll take care of Blaeze and bring you some food. Try to rest.”

“Thank you,” I whispered back, hoping only he heard me. Though with the increasing volume and the others’ proximity, I wasn’t sure my words reached him.

Heeling out of my boots, I readied the tent for occupancy for both of us, unrolling the mats we’d sleep on, spreading blankets over them, and scooting bags out of the way so there was room to move. At least the tents offered to the Vezető were larger. Those belonging to the recruits were barely large enough for one male, let alone two. And with my small frame, my head did not brush the ceiling, though Izgath’s did, and he normally had to duck to move about. Jaku’s tent was the only one tall enough to move freely.

When Izgath finally returned, he carried two plates piled with food. The smell assaulted my nostrils and elicited a loud growl from my stomach. I pressed my lips together to hide the laugh that wanted to bubble free. Grasping the edge of one of the flaps and stepping out of view, I freed space for Izgath to enter without disturbing his prizes. Then, I secured it in place again.

“Thanks,” he said, offering a plate to me. I accepted it with a nod. Understanding settled in his garnet eyes as he too heeled off his boots and settled cross-legged on the floor. “If you speak in a whisper no one should be able to hear you,” he told me. “It’s pretty loud out there.”

I mirrored his position and rested the plate in my lap. “Are you certain?”

Chewing on a strip of dried meat, he nodded.

My chest loosened, and I tucked into my food as well, too hungry to converse. In minutes, both Izgath and I had finished our meals, and my stomach protested when I swallowed my last bite. “I needed that,” I admitted, rubbing my belly.

“If you need more, let me know and I’ll get it for you. I told Dromak and Uzadaan you were worn out after that last push so you wouldn’t train tonight. Though they were thinking about skipping anyway. No one fares well at this part in the road. Better to rest and acclimate than push the recruits too hard.”

“Can you really call us recruits anymore?” I grinned, settling the plate close to the entrance and then lying on my side. I propped my head on my closed fist, my attention never leaving Izgath.

“Perhaps not,” he replied. “You certainly don’t fight or behave like freshlings anymore. In fact, most of the villagers from Stryi took to army life faster than I presumed.”

“That’s because we’re used to hard labor. The capital has to get its food from somewhere.” With my free hand, I played with the end of my braid and the leather strip that bound it in place. Izgath’s eyes snapped to it, then roamed over the curves of my body before returning to my face.

“You truly are a beautiful female, Assyria,” he said, a smoothness to his words that had become almost as comforting as the scent of Bordova roses.

Heat bloomed across my skin despite the colder air in the mountains. Izgath set his plate to the side, then mirrored me in his position on the ground. His garnet eyes reflected the lust and apprehension in my burgundy ones.

“Thank you,” I whispered, gaze drifting to where my fingers twisted in my hair.

“Ever since we left Stryi, I’ve felt this…draw to you. At first, I thought it was because my magic read strangeness from you. But now that I know the truth, I wonder if it’s the Fates pushing us together,” Izgath murmured. “We’re not mates. The bond would have been sealed the moment our eyes locked. And yet there is an undeniable pull from me to you. Don’t you feel it?”

“Yes,” I breathed, because it was true. “The Fates…who knows their plans for me, for us, for you. I’d always thought that the Reaper had cursed me with Vagach for a husband, but now, I’m starting to think the Weaver has a different path in mind for me.”

Vagach was merely a stepping stone to put me on this insane trajectory, hurtling toward a war that had felt like a distant story more than anything. Maybe, just maybe, I wasn’t meant to be the wife of a Kormánzó and fill my womb with offspring. Plenty of the girls from my village aspired to have a brood of their own and a loving husband. Many accomplished that and were utterly, blissfully, sickeningly happy. I wanted that feeling for myself. Perhaps my destiny waited beyond what I’d always been told was my purpose, and all I needed to do was stretch out and claim it.