Glory goes to no victor.
Death ends with life,
A cease to strife, and it starts with just a flicker.
Had Evenita not placed such importance on it, I would have elected to leave it behind. Why she gave it to Ro, I didn’t understand, and judging from Ro’s expression, she was also confused.
Evenita caressed Ro’s cheek as she read from the scroll, but her body jolted as she stared off into the distance.
“Evenita?” Nicholas asked before I had the chance to. “What did you see?”
The silver-haired woman blinked away the vacancy that shrouded her eyes for those seconds and faced Nick. “We must march on.”
Nick nodded.
“You mean head back towards the fire breathing death birds? The ones raining murder and destruction against an already powerful group?” Jai asked, looking bewildered.
Ro rolled up the scroll and straightened, a deep crease forming between her brows.
Evenita squeezed her hand. “Yes.”
Tio wrapped his arm around Jai, turning him to face north. “Who better to fight fire with fire, hm? I hear you wield it.”
The two began carrying on in conversation. I laced my fingers through Nick’s beside me. “I love you. Let’s go show those bastards they messed with the wrong family.”
I didn’t just mean for what they’d done to Melody, though that was enough for me to slit throats all on its own, but for the family we’d made along the way. The people I was glad to have at my side during this battle, since it may be our last. We would come together and fight for a better world.
My husband pressed a kiss to my cheek, and I hoped it wouldn’t be the last.
72
Dae
“No,” I said to the King of Highcrest without consideration for his status. Suppressing the nagging pull inside was difficult, feeling like tiny stabbing needles that whispered instruction of its own.
We stood amongst a group discussing strategies. The seer woman said that during the dragon attack The Order’s shielder was briefly compromised, and his magic slipped, giving her a chance to see.
The dragons never landed, only circled in the sky, blasting streams of flames on those within the camp’s walls.
Several heads turned in my direction, and I realized they were reacting to my abrupt dismissal of the king’s suggestion.
“Forgive my frankness, Your Majesty, but without knowing where The Eleven are could mean we never make it past the front gate. What we need is a scouting team from people who know the area,” I explained, “to scope out their positions. If Ro and I can do that, she can communicate with the dragons andcoordinate an attack. Our only chance of succeeding is if they’re eliminated.”
The king stroked his thumb along his chin, peering at the ground in thought.
“I could go,” the gargoyle said, flexing his wings.
I shook my head. “The dragons are immune to the dark magic. The Eleven wouldn’t hesitate to take you down.”
He inhaled sharply through the side of his mouth. “Well, I’m pretty fast.”
“And what about the dragons? What if they looked at you like a nice little sky snack?” the man they called Dante asked.
“I’d stick below the treetops,” the gargoyle said with no small amount of smugness.
“Then they’d capture you for sure,” I replied.
The man made of stone glared at me. “You’re underestimating my speed.”
