“Being cute won’t help you,” I scolded.
“Being cute is my whole schtick,” she teased, though without her usual fire.
We stood in silence, and I stared at the black scar etched into the ground, unease crawling over my skin. Lily’s powers had grown beyond measure in such a short time, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. On the one hand, she could protect herself better than any other soldier in her army. On the other, I wanted to put my fist through a wall. Stronger was good. Stronger increased her chances of survival. But I didn’t like that I had no idea what was happening to her. Or why.
“I’m tired, Rath,” she whispered.
I glanced down and noted the fresh bruises darkening the underside of her eyes, along with her heavy eyelids. Even standing, she was half-asleep. I loved her more than anything. I wanted nothing more than to scoop her up into my arms and carry her somewhere safe, somewhere she could rest. But Lily would never allow that. Not unless it was the direst of situations. She’d drag herself across stone before she’d let someone carry her in full view of her soldiers. Show no weakness. It was a mantra I lived by, so I understood. I just didn’t like it.
“Okay, ass-kicker,” I murmured. “Let’s find you somewhere to sit before you drop.”
As though on cue, the door behind us scraped open, and Varz poked his head in. “Is it safe?”
So much for them evacuating. But I should have known better. Lily fostered loyalty, and her people exemplified that trait. Of course they hadn’t abandoned her.
Rather than scold them for disobeying, I simply sighed and said, “As safe as it’s going to get. Did Korrak and Rathgor set aside a room for her?”
“Of course.”
Lily pulled herself upright. “Post a guard. If anything crawls out of that scar, I want to be the first to know.”
“Out of what?” Varz asked.
I pointed to the dark wound in the stone. “That.”
The netheron’s eyes widened, then cut to Lily. He caught himself before speaking, then gave a curt nod. Good to know he could followsomeone’sorders, if not mine. After another brief glance in the scar’s direction, he stepped aside and allowed us the space to exit the room.
We moved slowly but eventually made it to the barracks. It wasn’t much to look at—half the roof had caved in, a few of the walls had cracked clean through, and the air stunk of fire and brimstone. But it was our home new, so we didn’t complain.
Varz opened the door and waited for Lily and me to step inside before he closed it behind us. She immediately set to work unbuckling her blades. Then she rested them against the wall and sat on a bed made entirely of stone. After a few weeks of sleeping on the hard ground, this looked…well, no better. But at least we were used to it.
That Lily sat down without so much as a quip told me a great deal about her current state. Eliza’s warning about PTSD came back to me. Exhaustion was an indicator, she’d said, and Lily looked downright wrecked. Eliza had also told me not to push, to let Lily come to us at her own pace. So instead of firing off the dozens of questions circling my mind, I instead leaned against the nearest wall and waited until she was ready.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Lily lifted her head, her lips twitching as though she found my reticence hilarious.
“Alright,” she said with a deep sigh. “I know you have questions. Let’s hear them.”
That qualified as her coming to me, right?
I crossed my arms. “What was all that back there?”
She didn’t immediately answer. Guess I could ask my questions. But no one said she had to answer them.
I pressed a little harder, careful to keep my tone calm and level. “You’ve been showing a lot of new tricks lately. The wings, your new sword, the dragon. Now this.” I flung a hand toward the closed door. “I’ve seen your shadow powers, Lily. Whatever that was back there, that wasn’t them. That was something else entirely. Please talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”
She looked up at me then, just long enough for me to catch the flicker in her eyes. Not fear. Resignation. After a deep sigh, her shoulders slumped.
“It all began when I raised them,” she said at last.
Them. Her army.
I crossed the floor and sat beside her on the stone bed.
She scrubbed her hands down her face. “Levi told me to go deeper into my magic. So I did. I went deeper than I’ve ever gone before. Past the fire, past the shadows, until I found it.”
“Found what?”
“I don’t really know. The source of my magic? Levi told me it was like a well. But to me, it looks like a forest. Endless and alive. At first, it was beautiful. And then…”
