Page 132 of Fate and Flame
“I want every single soldier, every sea fae, every drac in motion as soon as possible. I don’t want that bastard on my land. Brax, see it done. Kai, you’re with him. Get them to the border lords’ properties. The dragons will keep everyone safe. I guarantee those two got through while we were fighting the first wave of Autus’ attack. The battle was a distraction so his hunters could come.”
I took a long, deep breath and felt the makings of war settling over me. This was it.
“King Fenlas?” Nadra stood beside Temir, her arm linked through his. “I think I can help with the Marsh Court. I’m from there and was an apt courtier. I know a lot of them. If I could just try to talk to them—”
My fists tightened at my side. “No, absolutely not. It’s dangerous and you are not trained. It’s not going to be like having lunch with the court ladies.”
“I’ll go with her,” Rhogan answered, standing and letting his wings spread. “I’ll make sure she is safe.”
I looked to Gaea and raised a brow.
“I’ll take them. We have to try,” she said.
She’d used my own words against me. She knew how valuable Nadra was, but we’d need those additional numbers. The last correspondence we received told us Autus had just over forty thousand soldiers. And now he was mobile.
I nodded subtly and looked to Fen.
“Greeve goes too,” he said. Discussion over.
The room emptied, Temir stayed back, as did the Weaver, Kai and Gaea.
“I’ve sent Nadra for the serum, but there’s something I’ve just thought about. Have you talked to Oravan?”
“The blacksmith?” Fen asked. “Not that I can recall, other than pleasantries in passing, why?”
“He made the sword for Autus’ recipe to trap Ara, so maybe the king said something to him that could help give clues to the lost artifact you’re trying to find.”
The Weaver slithered closer. “Lost artifact?”
“It’s a long story, but basically, Autus thinks he can bind my power to him if he finds certain items. But he won’t find them all,” I said nonchalantly, though I knew it drove Fen mad.
“What’s the artifact?” she asked, lowering her voice.
“We don’t know. That part was vague. Just something from the southern kingdom, that’s all we know.”
“Where have you searched?” She looked only to Fen now.
“I’ve been searching books for anything touched by a god or forged in powerful magic, since that seems to be the connecting factor.”
“The naga ruins. They are full of ancient artifacts, I’m sure most of them are gone by now, but certainly if something is hidden, that’s where it will be.”
“What makes you so sure?” I asked.
“Because I’m the one who brought the temple down,” she said, as if she were speaking of the weather.
I realized the only thing I really knew about her was what Kai had mentioned about her in the forest.She’s a legend in the south. She’s the one who killed an entire horde of her own kind to try to help her lover escape.
“It’s worth looking into,” Fen decided. “For now, I’ve got to go deal with Umari’s prisoners. Temir, you better come also.”
Leaving the others behind, the three of us hustled through the familiar levels of the castle and back to that hideous room from before. I’d watched a traitor bite off his own tongue in this desolate room. I’d hate to think of the other memories these barren walls carried. Greeve had both fae tied to the wall this time. He wasn’t taking any chances. We checked them for jewelry of any kind, and Fen was quick to remind everyone to shield their minds. He nodded to Temir, and the healer walked forward, placed his hand on one of them, and then stepped away as the high fae with pale skin slowly opened his bloodshot eyes. The lump on his head from where Umari had struck him remained.
“Who are you?” Fen asked, casually leaning against the wall, arms crossing his broad chest in a terrifyingly calm tone.
He smiled but didn’t answer.
“I won’t bother wasting my time.” Fen nodded to Temir.
Greeve cleaved forward, grabbed the fae by the hair, and held his head back as Temir administered his serum. The fae’s face turned red, rage moving through him as he realized Temir was in the room. They loved to hate him in the north.
