Page 61 of Clash of Kingdoms

My eyes narrowed.

“I respect your decision, but now you need to respect mine.”

I wanted to lash out and order him to listen, but then I remembered that he’d had my back in that battle, that he’d risked his life for me and my family, that he only wanted to help. “You’ll need more than the three of you to be successful. Whatever lies in wait there will be bigger than the three of you.”

“I know,” he said. “We’ll have to take more men.”

“You’ll need men like me and Ian.”

He regarded me in silence. “I’d rather Harlow lose one of us—not both.”

“That crystal isn’t your burden, Aurelias. It feels wrong to allow you to risk your lives.”

“I didn’t ask my brothers. They volunteered. And if these demons aren’t defeated, they’ll travel to other lands and destroy those too. And who’s to say the next one won’t be ours? This mission isn’t completely altruistic.”

“I think it is, but you’re trying to mask it in selfishness.”

He stared.

I stared back. “I’ll return when I can.”

“I admire your dedication to your people. My brothers are the same way.”

I let the compliment hover in the air between us.

He turned away and prepared to walk off.

I didn’t want to say it because it made me uncomfortable, but I forced it out. “And I admire your dedication to my daughter.”

FOURTEEN

HARLOW

We were all on edge.

We didn’t sleep or eat. We didn’t pass the time with conversation. All we did was sit in silence and wait. There was no point in us being in the same room together because we didn’t speak to or even look at one another.

My grandmother spent her time looking out the window and to the city of HeartHolme beyond. Mother chose to pace, her arms crossed over her chest, dressed for battle with her sword on her hip.

The air was so heavy, I could barely breathe.

I’d asked Aurelias to protect my father, but now I feared I would lose them both.

My mother suddenly halted in mid-pace, her hand moving to her chest like she might collapse.

“Mother?” I tried to get out of my seat so quickly that I knocked over the chair and tumbled to the floor. I crawled forward and got to my feet, almost tripping again in the process. When I reached her, I grabbed her by the arm.

Her eyes were closed, but tears streaked down her cheeks like rain from a storm.

“Mother…?” I was scared, more scared than I’d ever been.

She opened her eyes and gasped for breath. “Father is okay,” she said as more tears fell. “He’s okay…”

Grandmother and Aunt Avice came over to us in a rush. “What about Ian?” Grandmother asked.

She nodded. “Storm said he only has a few scratches and a gash on his arm.”

Avice clutched her chest and nearly dropped.

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