Page 99 of Fate of Echoes and Embers
“You don’t agree?”
I wanted to say, no. Issa was an explorer. An adventurer, like me. She was made for the sea, had taken to it remarkably well. But being here, hearing how her people spoke of her, how they revered her… it was a fool’s dream to think, even for a moment, she might leave Hawthorne.
“It is not my place to agree, or disagree,” I said instead.
“You have experience she does not. The benefits of multiple human lifetimes.”
It was true. But that did not make me superior. “Issa has done well with the human life she’s been given.”
“Indeed, she has. And will always have an ally in King Galfrid. We will defend Hawthorne Manor as if it is Aethralis.”
I’d known as much already, but it was good to hear Lyra say as much.
“And for you? Lyra of Aetheria?”
“I serve my king. And Princess Mevlida, now.”
“Your loyalty is admirable.”
“His cause is just. My parents both serve him also, in their own capacities, and believe in his vision of Aetheria. One in which humans play a vital role.”
Sighing, I considered what needed to be done next. “How will Kael possibly retrieve the stone if it sits upon his father’s head?”
Lyra shook her head. “I do not know. But I will help him and Mev however I’m able.”
“What in Elydor’s name,” I asked, more to myself, having turned toward the courtyard just in time to see her, “is Issa doing out of bed?”
41
ISSA
Thus far, I’d visited the kitchens, the servants’ quarters and the armory. It had been surprisingly difficult to track down Edric, who was typically in the keep. I’d been told he visited my chamber earlier, when Marek was with me, but no one had seen him since.
“There you are,” I said.
Edric turned from the entranceway of the stables and ran to me. I embraced him, holding back tears. Grateful he was alive, I thanked the steward for all he had done.
“I’m told you were a voice of calm amid the turmoil.”
Edric pulled me out of view, between the stables and hay supply.
“I’d not recount the events in front of the stableboys. They were particularly shaken.”
Of course they were. They were children, and would carry the scars of seeing the fallen bodies of my people paraded through the courtyard, a particular fact that I could not shake from my mind since hearing it.
“I’m sorry, Edric. For leaving?—”
“My lady, had you been here, you’d likely not be alive.”
My eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“I overheard Draven speaking with one of the Gyorian mercenaries, their leader, on the day after Warren was killed. I’d spare my lady the details of the conversation but… I am glad you were not here.”
I wanted to ask him to recount the conversation, but there was a part of me that did not want to hear it. To hear of Warren’s fate now…
“We knew the Aetherians had arrived. He was nervous, and rightly so. I thought Hawthorne Manor would be no longer after the fighting began. Many of us did.”
“Elydorian battles are notoriously brutal,” I conceded. “But we knew, without Draven, and in the presence of both Aetherian and Thalassari forces, they would likely retreat.”
