Page 140 of A Dawn of Gods & Fury

“Serenis said the internal damage from the beast might be too severe to heal completely.”

“Maybe I can try?”

“Good luck. He will tell you that you’ve wasted enough of your energy on him.” Zander stretches his lean, muscular arms over his head before pulling me into his chest for a brief embrace.

I sink against him, enjoying the feel of his body, even if for a fleeting moment. I imagine that’s all we’ll get for the next few days, at least.

His lips press against my temple. “How do you feel? Did you rest?”

“Surprisingly, yes.” I found a cot, sure I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but the next thing I knew, Jarek was shaking my shoulder to stir me awake. “I’m better.” Shielding Lyndel from Caindra’s fire nearly drained my affinities. Whatever I had left, I sapped healing Xiaric and creating that shield for the parley.

But the elemental threads ripple beneath my skin once again hours later. “Maybe next time I’ll block the giant flying bolts instead of an angry mother dragon.”

He chuckles. “We need to avoid a next time if there is to be a city left.”

“How is the planning going?”

“Honestly?” His hazel eyes rake over the drawing. “I wish my brother were here. He is far better than me at strategizing battles. He could see a pitfall and would pivot before anyone else knew what was happening.”

I remember that day at the royal hunt, in the tents, where they hovered over a map of Eldred Wood. Zander deferred to Atticus’s recommendation to use Gully’s Pass for their nethertaur hunt.

But he hasn’t always taken his brother’s advice. I also remember them trading blades in the castle sparring court. It was basically a pissing contest of egos. “I’m sure you and Lord Telor will come up with the right plan.”

Zander bites his bottom lip. “What did you wish to speak to me about?”

“I just … Something doesn’t feel right about all this.”

“About what? Reclaiming Lyndel?”

“No, about why Malachi would bring an army through the Nulling just to have them seize a city so close to the rift.”

“He knows we will fight to reclaim it and lose soldiers in the process.”

“Then why not attack us from behind while we’re focused on the rift? Or in the morning, right after we’ve been fighting all night?” I remember the dawn after Hudem when the eastern army arrived, everyone bloodied and battered. If they had come to fight, we would have lost thousands of soldiers, even with Caindra’s help.

“It doesn’t seem like the wisest move if he aims to deplete our strength,” he agrees. “Perhaps he wishes to defeat our spirit as well. Lyndel is iconic. It has never fallen. Losing it to the enemy so swiftly is a blow to Islor’s morale. Did you see those soldiers when we arrived earlier?”

“Yeah.” A mixture of shock and anger painted their faces. “But his army is now surrounded in a fortified city … for what?” My gut burns with warning. “What if this is to distract us?”

“You think he has something bigger planned that he wishes us not to see?”

“It’s Malachi. He’s a god. For him to plan all that he has, just to come here and sit in a castle, sending out letters, while his beast army sits behind that wall?”

Zander scratches his chin in thought. “There is no way to find out what he is up to, short of going to Cirilea to see what we can learn.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

He shakes his head. “It’s a bad idea. I narrowly escaped last time.”

“You weren’t discreet when you showed up.” I give him a knowing look. “But if we were to use the nymph door …” I let my words drift.

“Malachi will have the nymphaeum heavily guarded.”

“Probably, which is why Jarek and Abarrane would come with us. And if it’s too dangerous, I pull us right out of there in an instant.” I shrug as if it’s not a big deal. Meanwhile, my pulse pounds in my ear, and I know he can sense it. “Those doors are meant to get answers, and that’s what we need. Answers about what Malachi is planning, what his angle is.”

Zander’s jaw tenses, but I can see the flittering thoughts behind his eyes, the calculation. “The guards could prove useful for information.”

“Malachi will assume we’re occupied with retaking Lyndel. We could be in and out before he had any idea we were there. Plus, we could ask about Annika.”

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