Page 71 of MidKnight
I couldn’t help my smile even as I rolled my eyes.Fine. You win.
I turned to Connor. “We’re going to have to let Quinn play naughty with our minds while we screw.”
Connor just crooked an elbow and tucked my hand into it. “Anything you want, Your Majesty.”
“Well, I definitely want that. But who says we have to make things easy on Quinn? Let’s go see whatever else you want to show me first. And then maybe do something romantic. And a snack. We might need a snack, too.”
Dove!Quinn whined.
I just shot him back a mental image I had of Fuzzy taking a huge, disgusting berry-infused dump. Only I tried to imagine Fuzzy in Quinn’s quarters instead of the garden.
I was grinning stupidly at Connor over my cleverness when Quinn mind-yelled at both of us.
Sarding shite!
What is it?I asked.
Soldiers. Cheryn soldiers disguised not to look like soldiers. And there’s a huge group of them.
Where are you?
Camped near the shore. I’ve been searching for those ‘ill princes’ who are nowhere to be found.
Quinn sent us a mental image of thousands of armed men sneaking through the trees. Behind them, the ocean frothed and spit. A cog, sails unfurled and whipping in the wind, bobbed in the shallows. Small rowboats carried groups of men to the boat.
Quinn’s perspective suddenly flew up above the trees and I realized he’d drunk a bottle of Flight. More ships came into view. In the distance, in the old hills where Rasle lay, a volcano belched steam into the cold air.
I met Connor’s eyes and knew he could feel my fear.
It looked like Cheryn was preparing for war.
Chapter Seventeen
My mind wavered between fear for Quinn and utter confusion.
Connor and I turned to stare at each other. Immediately, without discussion, we made our way back to Declan’s chambers.
We arrived in Declan’s room just as Ryan burst in, Shiter and Fuzzy on his heels. Ryan tried to shoo the animals away, but Shiter darted under the bed. And Fuzzy just stood on his hind legs growling until Ryan relented.
“Fine!” Ryan slammed the door to Declan’s room shut and Connor sealed the passageway behind us.
Blue fluttered from Declan’s bed canopy down to settle on my shoulder. Fuzzy plopped down on a bear skin rug in front of the fire, oblivious to the irony of his bed choice. His snores soon rumbled lightly through the room.
I turned from the animals to stare at Ryan’s dark expression.
“What the hell is going on?” Ryan asked. “Sultan Raj is moving soldiers to the shore? The ships? He must have done that quickly. Or had the ships disguised. I haven’t had any reports from my scouts about this.”
Quinn replied to all of us.My people are stationed at the palace. I heard talk about a pleasure cruise. That must have been a sarding code word. I’m gonna head down the coast and let you know what I see.
“Maybe my scouts have been paid off. There’s a lot of those fake coins floating around. Maybe they’re from Cheryn. Do we think they’re going to attack us?” Ryan asked.
Quinn’s response was instantaneous.It looks like they’re loading the boats. Not unloading from them. Besides, any attack on us would better be done via land or air.
Declan shook his head in disbelief, “Are they suicidal? If they try anything out in the ocean against anyone, Sedara will smash them. It has three times the ships anyone else does and considers the water basically an extension of its territory.” He took one of the ancient coins I’d brought him and flipped it between his fingers, watching it go end over end.
We all stood silently, trying to puzzle out who the country to the north might attack.
“Maybe Sultan Raj is trying to make a bunch of power plays?” I threw out, “He did supposedly send his sons down here and we ended up assaulted. Attacking us when my mother was ill, and I was newly returned was smart. Strategic, even. Maybe he wants to take the continent? Maybe he isn’t going across the sea but down the shore to attack Rasle? Should we warn Isla?”
