Page 120 of These Fractured Bonds

“And you didn’t see this coming? There wasn’t any movement reported to you?” Leo asked, but his tone hadn’t lost its edge, and it came out accusatory. Yareli frowned at him.

“The report reached me too late. I was there yesterday for fuck’s sake, and there was nothing amiss.”

“What of your trusty general you left in charge?” Leo retorted. “What became of him?”

Yareli cringed, reminded of Sir Hua’s admonishment of the Keepers’ leadership and their self-imposed helplessness. She wished Leo would cease his blame.

“Leo,” Erick said sharply.

But Augrys didn’t falter. “I suppose friendship only stretches so far. I have been away for so long, I missed the signs. It was my mistake. Though I doubt I could have changed my father’s mind, the vital information may have allowed us time to coordinate a response.”

Yareli’s stomach dropped. He had been away because of her; he had failed because he was occupied playing babysitter for her. Guilt gnawed at her, and she bit her lip.

She opened her mouth, asking, “What can we—”

An explosion rocked the room. She grabbed onto Leo, and they looked at each other in stunned silence. The trembling faded; she followed Augrys to the windows and gasped. Smoke, summoned by the roaring flames underneath, curled upwards in the sky. She met Augrys’s eyes; it was just like the Keepers’ Village attack.

Her door banged open, flying off its hinge as it slammed on the wall. Allyah walked in, the ground under her shoes sizzling. Her hair was tied up, and she wore a sleeveless golden shirt and pants, ready for battle.

“You need to leave,” she declared.

“You’re under attack,” Yareli protested. “We can help.”

“Obviously. But we don’t need it. We received this.” She tossed a scroll at Augrys, who caught it with one hand.

He scanned it, looking up in alarm and saying, “Who else knows of this?”

“No one. It came to me first, luckily.”

“What does it say?” Yareli demanded.

“It seems someone misses their toy and wants her back badly enough to incur the Fire Court’s wrath,” Allyah drawled.

Tuom. His obsession knew no bounds, chasing after her even in her dreams. Yareli was tired of his shit.

“And you’re not turning me over?” she asked.

Allyah looked at her then, blinking lazily. “The circumstances have changed. To give you over now is foolish. You must have something they want. Though I can’t say I know what that could possibly be.”

Yareli’s eyebrow twitched, but she smiled. “Don’t tempt me, or I might just hand myself over to see what it is.”

“You wouldn’t dare. I’d sooner throw you in my dungeon than let you risk my court.”

Augrys placed a hand on Yareli’s shoulder, quieting her retort, and interjected, “Allyah, now isn’t the time for barbs.”

Another explosion went off, quieting them. The argument passed with the reminder of the urgent situation they were in.

“How bad is it out there?” Augrys asked Allyah.

“Initial reports indicate this is a strike force with larger units approaching from the east and south. All Nox, so far.”

The interaction fascinated Yareli; they were no longer Augrys and Allyah, knives at each other’s throats, but generals at war.

Allyah continued. “We’ve placed Andhar on lockdown, and are evacuating non-combatants as we speak. In order to leave, you’ll need to use our emergency runegate located under Tonio’s villa on the other side of town. I trust you can make it there on your own. Augrys, take some of our evacuees with you. We’ll collect them after we’ve defeated the morons who thought they could bring Andhar to its knees.”

She spun on her heels, readying herself to leave, then paused. She directed her steel gaze at Yareli and said, “And you must break your core. Stop relying on others to save you. Save yourself.”

And although that was the closest thing to advice that she had given her, Yareli gave her a look of reproach, rolling her eyes. Allyah said nothing and departed from the room as another detonation went off in the distance. Yareli turned back to the window, eyeing the growing battle. The flames called to her, and she shivered. Not for the first time, she wondered if she was destined to walk a path of flames.