I fell into a deep sleep. I dreamed of training with Nikella in a snowy meadow. She smiled and laughed, her eyes glowing with happiness. She touched my shoulder when we were done.
“Defeat the monsters, Kiera,” she whispered.
I woke up, my heart pounding, sweat tickling my spine. Aiden still slept soundly next to me, even as light threaded through the cracks of our door.
Defeat the monsters, Kiera.
Gods, that dream had felt so real. It stirred an unease deep in my gut. The only monster left was Renwell. And we had plans for him. Henry would be at Aquinon in about three weeks. Giving usplenty of time to recuperate, fix the ships, and sail to the royal city.
But we’d lost Nikella.
She’d wanted to sneak in first and disable the cliff gate so Aiden and I and our forces wouldn’t be stuck on the steep cliff road.
We couldn’t blow it up without decimating ourselves. We could wait for Henry to let us in, but what if he didn’t make it through in time? We’d be like snared rabbits at the mercy of the Wolves.
Defeat the monsters.
I stilled, hardly daring to breathe for fear of disturbing Aiden.
I needed to be the one to go into Aquinon. I needed to cripple the gate. But before that, I needed to confront Renwell and make sure Everett and Delysia were out of harm’s way before the attack.
Then I could defeat Renwell myself.
The plan notched into place in my mind as if my dream had given me the perfect pieces.
I gazed at Aiden’s sleeping face. My heart burned with longing, with fierce protectiveness, with a deep desire to see us victorious on the other side of this battle.
He wouldn’t like it. But I needed to do this.
Quietly, I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and slipped out of our lodge to visit Maz. His sisters and Bruna were snoring near him, but his eyes were open.
“Maz!” I threw myself at him, careful to avoid his heavy bandage.
He coughed. “Hello, lovely,” he rasped. “Water.”
“Of course.” I dipped a cup in the bucket of cold water near his head and tilted it to his mouth.
He sipped slowly, grimacing. “Gods, everything hurts.”
My throat constricted, those moments flashing through my mind again. “Thank you. For saving me from the barrel.”
His eyes filled with soul-deep kindness. “No, thank you, Kiera. For saving me from Korvin and Renwell. I should’ve said that a long time ago.”
My eyes burned as his words soothed a hurt I didn’t know I still carried.
Sniffling, I nudged his good shoulder. “You need to stop doing this to us, Mazkull. I almost lost my mind. Again.”
He let out a laugh that was more of a sigh and leaned back, closing his eyes. “Can’t help it. Such a desirable target.”
“Or just lousy defensive skills,” I retorted.
“Eh. Get Nikella to teach me.”
My heart cracked, and I bit my lip.
Maz peered at me through heavy eyelids. When he saw my expression, he groaned. “No.”
“She saved us,” I whispered. “We wouldn’t have made it without her.”
