Page 67 of The Blade in the Ashes
“A gift from the God of Death,” he explained in rushed, curt words.
I nodded, smiling my thanks to the staff member who brought us glasses of wine.
“I’ll never adjust to how green your kingdom is,” Veric mused by the windows where he looked out at the lawn, his eyes tracking a cat that moved along the tree line. “Or how many stray animals just walk around.”
He cleared his throat, clapping Damon’s shoulder as he took a seat next to him. We fell into a tense silence, Camilla lifting her brows expectantly as she glanced between Damon and me, waiting to see who would make the first move.
“I heard you paid a visit to Hyrax.” I watched Damon as I spoke, taking in every twitch of his fingers and rise of his chest. “You can imagine my surprise at seeing you here now.”
He took in my words in measured silence, pursing his lips and watching me with the same intense scrutiny. “You don’t want to ask about her first?”
Yes.
How is she? Is she okay? Is she safe?
I shrugged, twirling my glass in my fingertips. “She wouldn’t want me to.”
Even Camilla tilted her head in acknowledgement of that. Even she knew Thea had learned to play this game better than most, and she wouldn’t want me sacrificing an inch of leverage before I had to.
“Your Majesty.” Veric shifted in his seat, turning to address Damon. “Perhaps it’s best for everyone if we simply announce that we mean no harm.”
Camilla, across from him, glared at Veric with a mad kind of look in her eye. “Those are words that best come from the mouth of the prince, not his attendant.”
Veric’s eyes flashed golden for the briefest of moments. “I’mnothis attendant.”
“You’re also not someone with the power to propose a truce!” Camilla snapped back, leaning forward even as Elaina placed a hand on her elbow.
I recognized the look on her face. Her eyes were narrowing in the way they typically did before she was about to spew venom.
Venom on my behalf.
To defend not just her king, but her friend.
Like she used to do before the world went to shit.
I cleared my throat, and she took my silent order, closing her mouth with a heavy sigh. A look of silent communication passed between her and Elaina before she rested back in her seat, crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest as she continued to glower at Veric.
“Veric is correct,” Damon announced when things seemed to settle. “We mean no harm. We’ve both pledged ourselves, and all of my forces, to Theadora.”
I kept my face neutral, not showing the way my heart surged at the mention of additional forces. “You have men?”
“My parents bowed to Hyrax, taking most of the Tenebrisian forces with them, but I have a small contingent loyal to me.”
“How many?”
“Five thousand.”
Only five.
The Tenebrisian army was fifty thousand strong during the Great War. Five thousand wouldn’t match the forces the Emperor and Empress had pledged to Hyrax.
Not to mention, he also had the Athenian forces that had defected to his rule.
Five thousand simply wasn’t enough.
“We flew ahead of them, but they’re marching this way. They should arrive in a few days.”
A beat of silence passed, and I turned to Camilla and Elaina, a question in my eyes.
