Page 32 of The Lost Nation

I cut him off.“Created or destroyed. Yes, I also had basic theory lessons,” I added absently.“So when you sayallmagickal creatures—”

Dareth rolled his eyes. “Lykos. Drakens. Witches. Vampyres. The Nymphs and unicorns. Everyone we can scrounge up. And the demons.”

Ah. I felt my hope sputter and die within my chest.“They’ll never agree...” I said slowly.

Dareth quirked a nasty smirk. “Why, because they’re inherently evil?”

It was on the tip of tongue to say just that, but it sounded ridiculous to say something like that out loud.No onewas inherently evil. That was why we had taken in the half-breed children.

I sighed.“I assume you’ve reached out to the demons with yourtheories?”

Darth gave a long-suffering sigh, succeeding in making me feel petty. “We continue to monitor the situation. After all, our race isn’t as bold as the drakens, nor as desperate as the vampyres. We don’t have ancient magick like the witches, but we do have our wits and will to survive. We’ll be in touch.”

It was as clear of a dismissal as I’d ever received. Dareth furrowed his brow, as if suddenly remembering something. “Oh, and one last thing. Will you give this letter to your queen?”

He passed over a small piece of parchment that had a sloppy pawprint on the seal. I took it with a wry glance. “And who is it from?”

“Our heir, Prince Harald.”

I tucked it into my jacket, my eyebrows raised. “And what business would the prince have with my queen?”

Dareth’s grin turned light. “He wants to be pen pals with the human-girl-turned-draken who held him in her arms like a puppy.”

I managed to turn my shocked exclamation into a cough. “You’re telling me that—”

“You heard our Alpha was being held ransom by the Overlord. That day in your mountain, Severn brought our king and his son along with me—his last remaining guard—to meet our deaths. We are glad your queen had other plans.”

It was a surreal moment. I could barely believe it was real. So many individuals and so many situations, actions and consequences entwining and connecting in ways I had never thought possible.

“I’ll ensure she receives it,” I said faintly.

Dareth gave me a salute, and melded back into the forest. I gave a shrill bird call, and minutes later Surie was there. I tried to wipe the dumbfounded look off my face and replace with something more serious.

“Learn anything interesting?” She asked lightly as she held out her hand. I grasped onto it and she pulled me up onto her broom.

“Of course,” I said. “I never do anything that isn’t worthwhile.”

She rolled her eyes, and she set our course across the sea. As we flew I thought furiously about what and how to tell the others. It wasn’t storming Thad’s fortress that worried me the most—it was how in the world we would band all of Dorea’s magickal creatures together in one common purpose.

Chapter 16

Benedict

Iwas knee-deep in plans to storm the demon fortress. Ronan’s news and the kidnapping of Xana left an empty, festering wound in my heart that demanded I take action. I needed to retaliate—to let Thad and my people know that this island wassafe, and that anyone threatening that safety would die.Sometimes I wondered if I was truly doing it for my people, or for my own sake.

My days were intolerably busy with sending missives and letters, trying to contact allies and creatures who hadn’t been heard from since before the Demon Wars. The air witches flew out over Dorea, looking for the unicorns and the nymphs. We were unsure if there were any vampyres still around, but the witches had promised to keep their eyes open.

I refused to think about theotherpart that Ronan had mentioned—that we would need demons to assist us in dissipating the magick. I figured if we absolutelyhadto, we could always force a few prisoners to assist during the ritual.

Wren had withdrawn from all conversations about planning the ambush, not wanting to hear another word about it. She wouldn't hear anything against Thad, and was angry we planned to storm his fortress. She thought it would be easier to simplyask, but I'd laughed atsuch a childish suggestion.

Then she stormed away from our treehouse, and hadn’t come back.

That was two days ago, and my draken was pressuring me to make things right. It wanted Wren in our bed—in ourlives, especially if she became pregnant soon. And it wasn't just my inner draken. I knew I was in the wrong, and that I shouldn't have laughed at her. After all, she was only trying to do what she thought was right.

I reached out to Astrid, who sent word back confirming that Wren was staying with some of the witches in their village.

I sighed heavily, and Ronan lifted his head from his work. “She’ll come back when she’s ready.”

---