“What?”
I realized that I’d been so busy earlier telling him about the man who worked for Erisa that I hadn’t shared what I’d learned from the bard. “I will explain later, but the Carians are the ones attacking us. If they stand on their red dirt, it gives them power from their god.”
“All the more reason for you to stay here,” he said.
“No, I want to be there so that I can—”
“Wife, this will be easier for me if I don’t have to worry about you getting hurt.”
“Fine,” I said. This was part of choosing differently. He would worry about me. I understood his concern.
He looked as surprised as I felt. “Promise me you won’t go to the docks.”
“I promise. So long as you promise that you’ll be careful and come back to me.”
He crossed over to me and was about to pull me in his arms when Dolion and Stephanos entered the room.
“I promise,” Xander said before kissing me quickly on my forehead.
The three men left and I headed out into the hallway to find my adelphia, but they were walking toward me from the opposite end. We all went into Io’s room.
“We’ve caught Zalira and Ahyana up on everything,” Io said.
I nodded. Smoke and that metallic scent hung heavy in the air around us. People were still screaming and crying outside.
“We have to help,” I said. “I told Xander I wouldn’t go to the docks, but we have to do something. I can’t just sit here.”
Ahyana stood near the window, looking out. “What if the attack is another distraction?”
I hadn’t even considered that. “We should go make sure the main gates are shut. We’ll start with the southern one. I’m going to go get changed.”
When I went back to my room, I realized I hadn’t even asked my sisters if they wanted to come—I had just assumed that they would. We were a fighting unit, a true sisterhood.
I dressed more quickly than I ever had before, loading myself up with weapons. Thankfully my sisters had done the same—they were waiting for me in the hall and all wore a similar determined look.
We ran through the palace, which was in total chaos. Nobles were fleeing for the safety of their homes, and there was a confusion of chariots and horses outside, all tangled up in each other.
I had to shove my way through the crowd. When we got past the palace grounds, the citizens were every bit as frightened as the nobles had been. No one knew what to do or what was happening.
After we had checked on all of the gates, I would suggest to my sisters that we help direct people to safety. Try to calm the panic.
Zalira led us to the southern entrance, where the gate was partially open. It would only allow one person through at a time. Which meant that a Carian soldier could enter and throw it open for the others.
I was about to yell at the guards to close it when a long howl sounded. Then another. And another.
Terawolves.
And they were headed toward Troas.
“They’re coming here!” I said.
“Maybe they’re being drawn by the smell and the screams,” Zalira said.
The reason didn’t matter. Stopping them did. I was not going to allow them to attack Xander and his men, who were outside the walls. Not when I could do something about it.
“This is our chance,” Io said. “We can prevent them from hurting anyone else and get what we need for the scroll.”
I hadn’t even been thinking about the scroll.
