Prince Lerek sat back on his haunches and spread his hands in a defeated motion.
“I’m… I’m sorry,” he said, his voice cracking.
Terena stared at him a moment. She began breathing heavily, fast, her chest rising and falling alarmingly as Rydon tried to comfort her.
“What? What?” Terena whimpered, clutching Rydon’s sleeve with one hand as she wiped furiously at her face. “Tell me!”
The prince hung his head for a moment. Everything seemed suspended. Rydon swore under his breath at Lerek’s cowardice.
“He’s been taken,” Gabriol said, trying to soften his words with an awkward pat on her shoulder. Ren jerked around, her eyes confused.
“Taken? Taken where?”
Rydon glared up at the prince who was watching them, dumbstruck. “Well?”
“I don’t… I don’t know. I… we got down to the dungeons and he was already gone. Serephina?—”
Terena moved, jumping to her feet as her eyes focused, glaring daggers at the hapless prince. “Serephina? What’s she to do with my brother?”
Lerek exhaled and shook his head. Rydon cursed again. The prince was in shock.
He grabbed Ren’s sleeve to turn her attention back to him.
“Xoran betrayed you. Us. I don’t know the details but he must have told her of our plans. She said she sold Croak and then left her men to kill Gabe and Prince Lerek.”
Terena became so still, Rydon exchanged an uneasy glance with his friend.
“She sold him?”
Rydon winced at her whispered words. “Aye.”
“Where? To whom?”
Rydon glanced at the prince again and gave a short shake of his head. “We don’t know.”
Terena turned to Lerek who stared back at her as if she’d just spat in his face.
“You don’tknow?”
Lerek shook his head vigorously. Rydon rose to his feet. Gabriol ran to the doors with his sword drawn as shouting and cries rang out, getting closer.
Ren laughed. The laughter grew in volume until she threw her head back, eyes shut.
She screamed at the ceiling and every window in the room blew out.
Lerek’s hands shook,shielding himself from the spray of glass as he huddled near Orry’s body.
Silence thickened around them after Terena’s rage died down, and he glanced up to see her crestfallen face looking down at the ground, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Hermes is here!”
Cringing at Gabriol’s shout as he barreled back toward them, Lerek got to his feet slowly. He spared a glance at Terena.
“We need to go. Now. He’s here.”
“How close?” Rydon asked, bending to pick up his discarded sword. Lerek flexed his hands as he swung his gaze between the men.
“Close. They’ve sacked the city.”
