Page 79 of The Storm of the Empire

“Oh, that’s easy for you to say now. How about all the times you went off looking for Kol on your own?” She closed her mouth quickly, but it was too late. The words had already come out.

Nyx stood and gathered her in his arms. “I know you’re worried about Luka, but he chose to stay, and not only that, he’s tough and smart. He will be fine while we figure out a plan of action. He knows how to protect himself.”

“If he’s with Faolan, they will be okay,” Jaxus added. Worry was evident on his face too, but he had confidence in his friends. Both of them. It was like a knife to my gut.

“Are you sure you trust him?” Had I acted too hastily, leaving Luka there in such dangerous circumstances? Was I wrong to doubt him even though all the signs were mounting up against him? I was left knowing that if something happened to Luka because I had abandoned him there, I would never forgive myself.

“I need to brief the King and get my counselors,” Nyx said, getting to his feet. He went to the dresser for some parchment and pens and returned, silently scratching out a list in his loose scrawl.

When he had finished, it covered the most basic points:

Dragon’s Bane

Priests

Dragon Eggs

Damona Island—West Side hidden port.

Undead

Faolan

Supplies

We all looked the list over, taking in the information.

“Did I miss anything?” Nyx asked.

I thought through the events. “The prisoners?”

Nyx nodded, adding that to the list. “What in the Goddess’ name are the priests handling prisoners for? Are you certain they weren’t being transported by the guard? They handle all imprisonment through the Twelve Kingdoms.”

“I know that, but Luka said they were collected from the temple in Runerth and were on the manifest with the rest of the priest’s cargo.”

“Who were they? Was there any information?”

“No, none. We barely saw them for a moment, but they looked in bad shape. Dirty and hungry looking, I guess. They were in shackles and led to a holding place on the ship we didn’t have access to. When they were taken off the boat on Damona Island, one of the dock hands was told to put them with the others, so there must be more being kept in that place. Do you think they are turning them into the undead?!” I shook my head, trying to stop it spinning out of control. “By the Goddess, this never seems to end!”

We spent several hours working on what little intelligence we had. It was the first time I’d ever been involved in such things in the palace, since my ryderless status had never allowed me to be a part of it all. But I had plenty of experience from training schools and being raised by one of the most decorated dragons in history.

There was tension in the room. Nyx did not feel like we had enough to sell the King on a raid, but he was determined to bring him a plan to convince him. But before we even got close, an alarm sounded for the healer’s wing.

TWENTY-SIX

HAZEL

Kiera quickly left to assist, and when the bells continued, Nyx got up to look out across the courtyard.

“Something big is happening over there. Maybe we should take a look.” Nyx wore a frown, seeming more concerned than usual.

“Do you think something happened?” I asked. “Maybe a dragon is injured?” Not much got the palace this worked up. They were used to injuries and battle wounds.

A fist hammered on his office door.

“Come in,” Nyx called, striding across the room to meet whoever it was.

An out of breath healer burst through and took in all our stunned faces. “General, you must come immediately.”

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