Page 53 of Three Scorched Kingdoms

“Does that decision-making extend to whom I allow in my meetings?” I ask.

Thorne smiles. “It does. Though I wonder why you wouldn’t want a witness to be present for a strategy session that could so easily be misquoted against you later.”

“Who would—” I bite back a snarl as understanding dawns.

Esma.

Then again, it could just as easily be Thorne himself at this point.

I glance at Myantha, who meets my gaze steadily before offering a slight dip of her chin. I can only hope that gesture means she’s a true ally here and not someone who would backstab me for my crown when the moment arrives.

“In that case, let’s begin,” I say, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand.

The sooner I win this war, the sooner I can regain my throne. First order as king—exile the traitorous council members.

With a furious nod at Leo, I step back as he pushes to his feet and points to the map in the center of the table.

“This map reflects the horde’s updated location,” Leo begins.

All eyes turn to the map and the carefully placed miniatures that represent the orcs.

“Wait. That’s on this side of the mountain range,” my mother says.

I nod. “Yes. They’ve broken through our lines and made it across the valley.”

“They’re dangerously close to Misthaven,” Myantha says, concern lacing her words.

“Within a day’s march,” Leo says grimly. “Aries and I did what we could to slow them down.”

“Whoa. Hang on. What did you do?” Paige asks.

“We torched some of their ammunition carts,” I say without looking over at her.

“And I’m guessing, to do that, you had to get within range of their retaliation,” she says flatly.

I glance over to see her glaring at me with arms crossed. Damn. I knew this was coming. “We were careful?—”

“Did you inform anyone that you were launching an air strike?” she presses.

The room is utterly silent.

“We had to slow them down to give us time to reach the village before they did,” I tell her quietly.

She huffs but doesn’t argue. I exhale, relieved it wasn’t worse. Through the mate bond, I send silent reassurance. It’s met with grudging acceptance, and I have to bite back a smile at that.

Finally, I look back at Leo just in time to see him smother a grin before he goes back to the map.

“As you can see,” he says, “the horde is far too close to Misthaven, which is a valuable stronghold for us.”

“Are there civilians in that village?” Blossom asks.

“Great question.” Leo swings his gaze to Myantha and Thorne. “I think the council has been handling those matters until recently.”

Thorne meets my brother’s stare coldly. “Yes,” he answers. “At last report, there are still civilians in Misthaven.”

“You haven’t evacuated?” Paige asks sharply.

Thorne turns to her, his assessing sweep meant as an obvious insult. “Not to my knowledge.”

---