Page 239 of A Dawn of Gods & Fury

That which is coming.

That sounds like a warning. After Jarek nearly died, I now weigh everything Oredai says. But it also triggers something Aminadav said to me, about the horn being bone ripped from his head. A gift with a specific purpose. “And what does it do?”

He flashes his jagged teeth.

She who trusts the elders will walk in the light.

Another nonanswer, but I expected as much from him. I don’t trust the elders, but I affix it to my head, anyway. It claws at my scalp. “Listen, if something should happen to me—”

There is only one ruler of Ulysede, and it is the Queen for All.

“That’s not what I was going to say but … Take care of them for me?”

His black eyes roam the mortals on the steps.

They are the people of this kingdom, Your Highness, and I protect the kingdom. No threat shall enter.

With that, the Cindrae pivot on their heels and march away.

“What did he say?” Zander asks.

“The usual. Things that don’t make sense.” But I do feel a little better, knowing Oredai will watch over them all.

Rubbing my neck with an affectionate hand, he calls out, “We must leave now.”

Atticus kisses Gracen one more time and then takes the steps down, looking ready to choke on his emotions.

With a last wave at the sea of worried faces, people who have become like family to me, we ride for the gate and the war that waits beyond.

Shouts of alarm sound midmorning as I’m devouring a bowl of vegetable stew and a slice of bread in Lyndel’s tower, oddly famished given the constant state of turmoil. My appetite disintegrates as I run after Zander along the bridge to the rampart and get my first clear look past Lyndel’s outer wall.

A light drizzle falls as we watch Malachi’s army move like a dark, slow wave over the grassy hill. A wave of ants that never ends, never breaks. For hours, it keeps rolling forward and spreading, until the land as far as we can see is alive with the enemy.

We’ve seen this army before, more than once, and yet now that they’re here, with Malachi at their helm, it feels more ominous. This isn’t a fly-by on a dragon, a hit-and-run attack. They are at our doorstep, and they aren’t leaving until someone is defeated.

And their mass is terrifying. I roam the pale faces of the soldiers sharing the wall with us, trying their best to appear brave and confident. They had only heard of the coming force, but they hadn’t seen it until now.

I know what they’re feeling because I’m also feeling it—a surge of hopelessness that grows stronger the longer we stand here and witness this unfold.

Eldred Woods is a blur from here, but Atticus said they would be watching through their conjurer’s seeing stone. Just in case … “Caindra.”

From the mountain ridge behind Lyndel, the three dragons launch into the sky with piercing roars to perform a wide loop. A signal to the other side that they can’t miss but also a reminder to everyone that we are not weak.

My affinities crackle under my fingertips, begging to be unleashed with bolts of fire and devastating gusts of wind, but it’s far too soon. Malachi hasn’t appeared. So we stand with forced calm, seeing the enemy fall into place.

“Have you ever seen anything like it?” Lord Rengard scratches at his chin.

Lord Telor leans against his cane. “This is beyond my comprehension.”

“The Fate of Fire has had many millennia to prepare,” Lucretia purrs from behind Jarek. “He has prepared for almost everything.”

“What hasn’t he prepared for?” Jarek asks.

“The Queen for All.”

I shake my head. “You give me far too much credit. His fire hit my shield once yesterday, and I could barely hold it.”

Her lips pull back with a brilliant smile. “You were not wearing your crown.”

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