Page 36 of Flight of Fate

Very well, then. “Think about it.” I gesture in the air with my free hand, the other—the one on the side where Ayna is nearly piercing my leathers with her claws—resting on the pommel of my sword. “The attack in the north was meant to draw us out. It makes sense that Ephegos would positionweakersoldiers there, basically sending in mere grunts to keep us occupied and weigh ourselves in safety as we pick them off with an outrageous number of our own men. Do you think it’s mere coincidence the soldiers started mocking us about thatother danger?” At least, I’m not giving away anything they haven’t already noted on their own.

“There were no Crows joining the battle,” Kaira comments as if she’s only realizing this now, and part of me wants to wipe the streak of blood on her forehead away as I dare a glance at her. I force my attention on Myron, onRogue, on the Fairy General who’s piercing me with intent eyes that inform me he’d do anything to break the shields around my mind and dig up those answers himself. Perhaps I should let him and be done with it, but then I’d risk the wrath of the magic of bargains and never seeing that fire-spitting little part-Flame ever again. And I really do want to see her again. Again and again, and more of her every time I lay eyes on her.

The only way of containing my need to get closer is to slam down the mask of the uncaring bastard I’ve learned to be. Recently, though, I’m no longer so sure it’s still who I am, so the mask has been changing in an agonizing process, which has everything to do with wanting to be good enough—for my court, for the female who looks at me with ambivalence whenever I catch her staring.

“No Crows, that’s correct. At least, not on Erina’s side,” I confirm, and I would know. I scanned the skies for any signs ofEphegos’s flock. “Because they weren’t with the army. Ephegos sent them to Aceleau instead. To wait until we departed north so they could sneak into the city.”

“And you know that for a fact?”Ayna prompts through the miraculous mind link Kaira has been keeping up without faltering. Impressive little Flame, but something more than that—I can sense deep in my gut that there’s more to Kaira than meets the eye. It’s been calling to me like a melody I don’t enjoy yet can’t ignore.

“I know that because I paid attention,” I say, preserving my stoic facade as best I can, even when all I want to do is grab the Flameling and shove her against the wall. It strikes me that this isn’t the first time this urge has befallen me, and I need to grind my teeth against the instincts screaming at me to explore the danger the female presents. Not to the others but to me. To the version of myself I’ve carefully built over millennia. “No one told me this would be happening, and had you asked me five hours ago, I wouldn’t have known, wouldn’t have guessed. I thought Gus was the message and the attack was the pending retaliation. But I was wrong.” I don’t enjoy admitting it, but it’s the truth, and IwantAyna to know the truth, even when I’m walking a thin line here. “Gus was the hook to deliver Erina’s offer, but he never expected Rogue to accept.” All eyes snap to the Fairy King as I use his nickname for the first time … and find it rolls off my tongue more easily than Recienne. “He wanted us distracted with trying to catch his guerrilla units so we wouldn’t look too closely at what else is happening in this realm.”

“And what’s that?” Kaira prompts, her brown eyes near-glowing with intensity as she seems to try drawing the answers straight from the bottom of my mind. My shield flickers in response, ready to dance with her power, but I rein it in. No dancing for me.

“I have no idea.” Again a truth I struggle to accept. “I can only guess.”

“Tell us your guesses, then, Herinor,” Rogue orders, and I find my head bowing under the weight of his authority. His kindness and caring for his people. For his court. For his friends.

“He sowed fear with Gus’s message to make us revolve around the possibility of an attack from the north, and we responded just as he wanted us to. We threw our resources there, leaving Aceleau seemingly well protected with an army camping at its doorstep. But we were wrong.”

Before I can explain why, Tori picks up my thought and rolls with it. “They were monitoring the city. Somehow, they have spies in Aceleau—perhaps even in the palace—or they couldn’t have known when to strike. Had they only reacted once we met them in battle, we’d have seen units spearing south. Tata would have caught them with her soldiers. Even Crows in bird form they’d have picked from the sky with their magic and arrows.”

“As Kaira said, there were none.” Why it warms my chest and stomach that Kaira looks upon me with something other than that ambivalence as I remind the general she already pointed that out, I don’t want to acknowledge, or my calm would be out the window.

“Because they were already in Aceleau,” Sanja throws into the collective musing. “Crows are perfect spies. Even I have problems distinguishing you lot when you’re in your bird forms—no offense, Ayna,” she amends with an apologetic glance. “I’d recognizeyouanywhere.”

“None taken.”At Ayna’s silent response, the Fairy Queen’s lips twitch as if they are having another wordless conversation none of us is privy to.

“They couldn’t have made it into the palace, though,” Rogue objects. “Not without being forced to shift into their fae forms.” When all our heads turn toward him, he shrugs, a hint of thewicked king returning. “I placed a shield around the premises that forces fairies of all sorts into their humanoid forms. It’s not a classical ward like the one around the city as much as a unique spell that can’t be as easily broken. A protective measure I developed a long time ago to be able to sleep soundly.” He doesn’t say it, but his words imply that it’s a relic from the time when our peoples were at war. “Of course, I recently exempted all of you from it so you can pass in any form you wish. It’s an honor I grant any ally of mine.”

The sheer power it takes to create such a shield and keep it upright day and night—for centuries—is more than I believed the male with the golden eyes capable of. Then, I fought him and his legions in the Seeing Forest during the Crow Wars. I know what it’s like to be on the other side of that line.

“So no Crow spies in the palace,” Tori repeats. “Unless any of you want to share something with us.” He glances from Myron to Royad to Silas to me, and I don’t care what he implies. I didn’t betray them. Neither did my king or Royad or Silas. But when Tori pins Kaira, I see red.

“She’s not a spy.” The words are out before I can bite my tongue, and the surprise on Kaira’s face almost splinters my self-restraint. I clamp down on the thoughts straining to manifest in my throat, that Kaira is perfect. And perfect doesn’t have room for being a traitor.

“He’s right, I’m not,” the perfect female echoes, baring her teeth, and a grin blooms on my lips—I can’t help myself.

“Can you say you didn’t betray us without risking the wrath of ancient magic?” Tori demands, not the friend scared of his friends turning against him but the general needing to know what he’s dealing with.

None of us hesitate when we tell him we didn’t betray them. That we aren’t spies. Rogue, Sanja, Clio, and Tori don’t bat an eyelash when we need to phrase it particularly so it conveys thetruth, that we haven’t betrayed them since we became allies. Of course we did in the past. We made bargains and found ways around them—like staying in the Seeing Forest.

“So the spies weren’t you, and Ephegos’s Crows couldn’t get into the palace. Perhaps they got into the city anyway,” Clio sums up the situation, her vigilant jade eyes darting between Myron, Royad, Silas, me, and Tori as she paces in front of the dais. “What did they want? You say it’s a message that they can get to us anywhere and whenever they want, but what else was Ephegos looking for? Was the mission sanctioned by Erina, or is Ephegos going rogue?” At her choice of words, she glances at the Fairy King. “Sorry, brother.”

He dismisses her apology with a wave of her hand, kissing the top of Sanja’s head instead of speaking whatever is on his mind.

“He does have ulterior motives. Of course he does.” This truth I can easily tell, even when I don’t know Ephegos’s endgame. “Whether the attack on Aceleau was Erina’s idea or if Ephegos did that for his own gain, I wish I knew. It would make things easier.”

Ayna’s claws dig deeper into my leathers as if she intends to squeeze the truth out of me, but her voice is gentle in my mind as she thinks,“Was anything destroyed?”

All eyes turn to her.

“We haven’t checked the entire city, though so far, it seems it’s the people of Aceleau that were targeted,” Recienne answers, that anguish flickering in his eyes again. A feeling king, one ready to slaughter for his people, ready to risk his own life to protect his realm. A hint of respect flares in my chest that makes it easier to bear seeing his male-pretty face.

“It was only the western district, you said?”Ayna pushes. Tori confirms with an efficient nod, and I can almost see thewords forming in her mind before she speaks them.“What’s in the western district that’s of value to a Crow Traitor?”

Twenty-Three

Ayna

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