Page 179 of Flame and Sparrow

“Yes.”

“It’s near the northern territories?”

“Even farther north than the protected cities Kinnara and her clan claim.Miralith. That is the name those desolate lands are sometimes called by…most believe they’re haunted—as are the mountains hedging them in—so they stay far, far away.”

Miralith.

So now I had a location.

Was this the point of attack that Dravyn and the other Marr had not been able to pinpoint for whatever reason? And if I could get there, somehow, would I be able to do anything about it from the mortal side of things?

Andrel fell silent, studying me. Waiting for me to ask more questions. Hoping I would, maybe. Eager for a chance to wield his knowledge like a weapon against me, to make me feel reliant on him as I had been far too many times in the past.

I felt like a dog begging for scraps, and I hated it. Fury and stubbornness pursed my lips together for longer than I should have let them—long enough that Andrel left me and went back to his chair, resuming the relaxed position I’d first found him in.

After a moment, he even picked up the book he’d been reading and started to flip through it once more.

Cautiously, I returned to my chair as well, trying to extend the illusion that everything between us was business as usual.

After a few minutes, he glanced up at me and said, “Is there anything else you’d like to know? Or something you’d like to letmeknow, perhaps?”

I went very still.

“Anything you might have learned before the gods cast you out?”

“I learned a lot of things. You’ll have to be more specific.”

“Fair enough,” he chuckled. “I just can’t help feeling as though you might be keeping some of those things to yourself, that’s all.”

“I’m not hiding anything from you,” I said, too quickly. “I’m just trying to figure out where I fit into all these plans you’ve revealed—how I can contribute to them.”

He got to his feet, stretching. “Well, perhaps you simply need some time alone to think through your next steps.”

“Perhaps.”

“I’ll leave you to it then, shall I? I need to go speak with Cillian about some matters, anyway.”

I waved goodbye as he headed toward the hall, hoping my relief didn’t show.

“It’s nice to have you here again,” he said, pausing at the door and glancing back. “We’ll talk more soon.”

I agreed, offering the most sincere smile I could dredge up from the dark and muddied depths of my broken heart. He beamed back, the sight making my skin crawl and my breaths turn rapid and shallow.

As he stepped into the hall, I found the courage to call out one last question: “What are you planning to do if we truly manage to shatter the wall between the realms?”

He paused and looked back at me once more. His smile remained, perfect and unbothered, but I instantly felt as if I’d gotten too reckless with my questioning.

“Let’s talk more soon,” he repeated, too cheerfully. With that, he left, closing the door behind him.

Dread settled over me like an uncomfortably heavy, itchy blanket, sinking me deeper into my chair.

I sat there for another hour, absently staring out the window, watching the sky shift from rosy twilight to a dark shade of indigo while reciting the things I’d learned to myself.

I now had a location to target—that was the biggest thing. I knew where they were concentrating their efforts, and I had an idea of what type of weapons they were planning to unleash. Now I just had to figure out how I could possibly stop them, and maybe fix the damage they had already done.

By myself, with no real weapons, a thousand questions and uncertainties ravaging my mind, and dozens of eyes watching every move I made around this mansion.

“Nothing to it,” I muttered to the wolves around the fireplace. “It’s basically impossible for me to fail, right?”

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