Page 94 of Fate of Echoes and Embers
“Very well.”
“We would do well to move before they’ve realized you’ve joined us,” Lyra said. “We can get into position before dawn.”
“Which means there’s much to discuss before then.” Adren pulled the map toward him. “First, we should?—”
The tent flap opened.
Adren fell silent as Commander Eirion stepped inside.
“We have visitors.”
38
MAREK
“He’s alone,” the commander said as we walked through camp. Adren and I followed as the others remained with Kieran to continue formulating the plan of attack. One I disliked heartily. “He refused to come any further, insisting we meet him here.”
“Could it be a trap?” I asked.
“No,” Adren said. “Terran is many things, but he is not dishonorable. When he fights, he will do it with fair warning.”
Very little comfort since, according to Kael, his brother was the “only one, besides my father, who could best me, on a good day.”
I saw him clearly, lights from the Aetherian tents behind us offering enough illumination to make the night appear almost day. They didn’t know the meaning of subtlety, I would give them that, at least.
“So it’s true,” Terran said, his voice similar to Kael’s in inflection. Though they were twins, Terran was slightly larger, his hair, shorter. Other than that, it was like looking into the face of my friend. Except, Terran was not a friend. Not to me, and not to our cause. “Defected, again.”
He spoke to Adren.
“Never,” he responded to his prince. “My loyalty has always been to Kael.”
Terran’s harsh laugh sent chills through me. “Loyalty to one who doesn’t know the meaning of the word. Kael is a traitor to our clan.” He shot me a look. “Who are you?”
Disliking his tone, I considered not responding. Better to defuse than instigate. So instead, I smiled.
“Marek of Thalassaria.” I bowed with a flourish. “At your service.”
“I’ve no need of a water-wielder in my service.”
Prince Terran’s demeanor tracked with his reputation. I shrugged off the insult, waiting instead to hear his purpose for being here.
“My grandmother was a Hawthorne.” Adren’s bark matched Terran’s, reminding me why I spent so little time in Gyoria. “I will not see its lady’s inheritance stolen from her. I mean to help her defend it.”
Terran clearly wasn’t prepared for that explanation. His dark eyes narrowed.
“You are?—”
“Half-human.”
Awareness dawned, Adren’s ever so slight aging, an anomaly among full-bred immortals, likely now clear to the prince. His jaw flexed as Terran ground his teeth together.
To his credit, he remained silent, taking in the new information before speaking.
“I would ask why you are here,” he said finally to Eirion. “But Aetheria has always been the bitch to humans.”
Eirion stepped forward.
Adren stopped him. “Do not let Prince Terran’s hate affect the outcome here. He merely does the bidding of his father.”
