Page 175 of The Blade in the Ashes
He’d dropped more times than he’d caught a single one, but my brother was nothing if not a determined individual.
“Theadora is the Goddess of the Veil and Camilla is the Goddess of Madness. And you just happen to be best friends with both of them—”
“I don’t know if I would say I’m best friends with Camilla.”
Elaijah continued on as if he hadn’t heard me. “And Clay is now king, and technically engaged to Elaina, but in love with Theadora, who is married to that ancient guy, Caldrius? Elaina isn’t mad about that though, because she’s become entangled with Camilla.”
I lifted my brows, pausing from strapping the greave of my polished armor onto my left calf. “I hadn’t noticed that.”
“Iris is a member of the Order and obviously very attached to a very dangerous criminal, who seems equally attached to her. And you and Kent are both still in your same positions in the army and both still spending your nights alone?”
He lifted the ball from the ground and began tossing the three in the air again. He managed to catch two before dropping the third again and cursing under his breath.
“What exactly is the point of this line of questioning?” I grumbled, switching to my right leg.
Elaijah snorted, setting aside the balls to glance out the window of the room we were sharing. He lifted his arms high above his head, stretching his back from side to side.
He’d put on more muscle in the weeks we’d been training together. It had been a slow process, but he was definitely getting better at anticipating blows and counter-maneuvering. Daily, he went out to the training yard with the other young soldiers and worked until he was a mess of sweat and blood. His determination to join the oncoming battles still didn’t thrill me, but I was minutely less worried about him. There was a small amount of comfort in knowing that he now, at least, knew how to manage a sword and determine if he was going to win or lose a fight.
And he was coming to terms with the fact that a decision to flee should swiftly follow any realization that you are about to lose a fight.
“That’s strange,” he mused, pulling his left arm across his chest to stretch out his deltoid muscle. “It was such a nice day out a few minutes ago.”
My fingers stilled on the leather straps of my breastplate, and I was at his side in an instant, staring out at the rolling fog that emerged at a steady pace from the far woods. It spread unnaturally, covering the fields where our soldiers trained. Below, from where he stood instructing Mortals on the proper hand grip on a shield, Kent stiffened, glancing first towards the fog and then lifting his head to meet my gaze through the window.
Shit.
We jerked into action at the exact same time.
“Get to the women and children,” I barked at Elaijah, spinning on my heels.
He sputtered, barely catching his sword when I threw it at him.
“Your assigned legion will meet you there,” I told him, my movements quick and decisive as I gathered the remaining pieces of my armor. “Barricade them inside the East Lodge. Secure the windows first, then the doors.”
Elaijah followed me as I started making my way out the winding halls of the primary Manor, my pace unforgiving even as I continued securing the armor to my body.
“Form a perimeter around the house and hold the line. Donotlet them die.”
A sheen of sweat formed over his brow. “I don’t understand.”
It was a tried-and-true tactic, one I remembered well from the day of the battle that ended the Great War. Water and Air Elementals working in perfect harmony to create a fog so thick that it was impossible to see through—impossible to determine where they were coming from.
Iris and Nikolai barreled out of their room, skidding as they stopped themselves from colliding into us. Nikolai was still half-dressed, shrugging on a shirt while Iris palmed a Blade of Arto in each palm. Her loose hair instantly shifted into a tightly plaited braid as thick leather garments covered her body.
“We saw the fog,” she breathed, eyes intense.
I focused on Nikolai. “Clear it.”
He nodded. “I have a few other Water and Air Elementals in my employ, but we’ll need more.”
“I’ll send them to you.”
And that was all that needed to be said. He nodded firmly, and then we were all moving again, adrenaline sending power into each of our steps. Elaijah scurried after us, breaking into a jog as we burst out onto the lawn. Already, chaos ruled around us—soldiers desperately trying to shrug on armor, weapons being passed about quickly, women and children sprinting towards the spot we had designated as their shelter. Ithad only been a matter of minutes, and the fog was impossibly thick, forcing me to squint as I sought Kent.
Nikolai took off at a sprint towards his men, his hands already lifted in the air and his upper lip curled back as he worked to clear some of the fog over our forces.
“Rankor!” Elaijah gripped my forearm, tugging me to face him. His wide eyes were desperate. “What in all of creation is happening?”
