Page 5 of The Blade in the Ashes
“Dinner?” she asked with a raised brow.
I nodded, feeling the steadiness of resolve falling over me. “Dinner. I go to dinner, and I bide my time until I have enough power to kill Hyrax.”
Chapter Two
Clay
I’d forgotten what silence sounded like.
It had been three days since we had fled the castle, using the underground tunnels to make our way back to Hyrax Manor. We’d arrived in the dead of night, to the sounds of the injured and dying. Groans, screams and cries that seemed never-ending. A symphony of agony. It was the first thing I heard in the morning and the lullaby that played as sleep found me each night.
Three whole days of listening to the sounds of my people suffering as my Dragon roared in protest.
It was unbearable.
A knock at the door echoed, and my command to enter was almost unintelligible through my dry throat. It had been ages since I’d taken a break to eat or drink something. I forced my throat to clear and repeated myself, “Come in.”
Elaina pushed her way inside, a plate of boiled potatoes in her hands. She glanced down at it with an apologetic shrug. “I’m sorry to say that this is all I can offer you right now. We’re running low on food supplies.”
My head dropped into my hand, and I pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger, the calluses hard against my flesh. Thatwas yet another problem to add to the growing list. I looked around for some parchment to jot it down, but...
The room was a mess. I’d spent most of my time since the battle in the bedroom Thea had claimed as her own. But in the chaos of the past few days, the space had become littered with maps, discarded clothes, emptied plates and dishes, and various weapons. Even the quilt on the bed I forced myself to lie on each night was halfway onto the floor.
Tidying up would also need to be added to the list of priorities.
“I don’t need it,” I said over my shoulder, continuing to look for my list. “Offer it to someone who does.”
She grasped my shoulder, turning me forward to meet her frown head-on. Wordlessly, she shoved the plate towards me.
I couldn’t help but notice the way her shoulders hunched as she did.
She looked exhausted. A low bun held her hair at the nape of her neck, but tangled tendrils were escaping at odd angles. She wore an apron over her dress, and dark splotches of dried blood seemed to stain every part of her. The circles under her eyes were as dark as my mood.
“How are you doing?” I asked her, forcing some gentleness into my tone as I took the plate and set it aside.
She shrugged with a sigh before rolling out her neck and pulsing her fingers against a knot on her left shoulder. “Most are on the mend now.”
I raised a brow at her. That wasn’t the answer to the question I had asked.
When we returned to Hyrax Manor, we found it already crowded with many who had fled the battle. Elaina had taken charge of the masses, tending to the injured while giving orders to the rest. She’d stepped so naturally into the role that no one had ever questioned her authority.
“There’s enough to worry about, Clay,” she reminded me. “Don’t addmeto that growing list in your head.”
She’d always been like that—so self-sacrificing. Elaina was always willing to prioritize others above herself. It was a rare quality among rulers.
“You would have made an excellent queen,” I told her softly.
She wouldn’t be a queen now.
Not when I no longer had a kingdom to offer any future bride.
She inhaled deeply before reaching out for my hand to offer a gentle squeeze. “We’re going to get through this.”
Empty words.
Not a promise. It wasn’t a promise she could make, after all. It wasn’t even a promise I could make.
We were facing a God. The last time Hyrax walked the Mortal Realm, it had taken the other Gods fighting with both the Mortals and Descendants to defeat him.
