Page 40 of A Dawn Of Blood

Lorcan frowns. “You can’t be serious.”

“I want you out of here, Lorcan, right now.”

He remains seated for a moment, looking around in search of support. When he doesn’t find it, he grits his teeth, gets up and storms out of the hall.

“Now,” Nuala says as soon as he’s gone, “do we all agree that going on this quest is our best course of action right now?”

“It’s been thirty five years,” Jaeger says, “and this is the first we’re hearing of something that could actually kill him.”

Everyone seems to agree.

“Then let’s do it,” Nuala concludes. Then, with butthurt hesitation, she adds, “It’s just that, Lorcan does have a point.”

And that couldn’t be more correct, but… “I might have a plan that would both take care of Cain and buy us enough time,” I say.

Chapter 28

Cain

It’s in front of my tent that Koenig finds me, standing with my hands clasped behind my back and my eyes narrowed at the Academy.

“General,” he tells me as he salutes. “We’re detecting signs of life again.”

I nod, fighting the smirk as I turn my focus back onto the wretched place. For the past forty eight hours, this has been my main source of annoyance — the fact that I’d figured out she’d left but not where she’d gone.

Now? Now it no longer matters.

“Give the first line the signal. We’re starting,” I tell my right hand.

He salutes and gets moving.

This unusual tremor of excitement fills me as I wait for the men to execute the order.

I watch them bring out the magic ram and start attacking the Academy below.

Unless she wants to die, that should get her crawling out in a matter of minutes.

But half an hour passes after the attack and there’s still no movement whatsoever.

I tell Koenig to increase the force.

Nothing.

My jaw working, I tell them to increase it some more.

“Still nothing,” Koenig comes to report. “Would you like us to do a full blast?”

I grit my teeth, thinking. There’s no doubt as to the effect that would have. It would kill everyone inside, along withher. And, unfortunately, I need her alive.

“No,” I tell Koenig. “I’ll take care of it.”

As soon as the words are out of my mouth, Koenig disappears, just in time not to be knocked down by my shadow wings as I clench my muscles and kick my feet off the ground.

I come to hover above the entrance into the Academy, fixing my eyes below. It’s my shadows that I send down there, feeling for signs of life.

Not a minute goes by and they start getting out, throwing weak magic at me.

Excitement floods me and I signal to my men to surround them, my eyes scanning the group for her likeness.

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