Dorian nodded.
"I think it was a ploy," Hagen added. "Something hasn't felt right about that place or the people there for some time. Back to before the Gathering."
"But that would mean there were Infi at our meeting," Corbin said.
"I know."
"Did you tell Draven about this?" Dorian asked.
Hagen nodded. "He had told me he would come up himself after they went to the ships. But things... Happened."
If Dorian hadn't been in so much pain, he would have bolted out of bed and demanded his horse be ready for them to travel immediately.
"Damn this next trial, Hagen," Dorian grunted. "I need to go as soon as I'm healed."
"I can't back you out of that trial," Hagen argued. "As much as I want to, I can't. The Bryn will have to wait. You get through this next trial, and then I'll put together the details of this trip. Infi are not going to take over our world in just three weeks. We have time. You'll need to take your Second and this girl you favor with you. You might know your way around a sword, but you'll need backup."
"I was taught by the best in my kingdom," Dorian replied.
"The tall blonde one, right?"
Dorian almost smiled. "Lex, yes."
A slow grin spread on Hagen's lips. "She was fun," he bantered. "You should have brought her with you."
"Left her protecting my sister at the Umber," Dorian explained.
Hagen paused, brows knitting at the revelation. "You left your sister... At the Umber... With Naddi and your sister's Second? I thought this whole time she was with Bala."
"More of Bala's idea than mine," Dorian replied. "Why?"
"Interesting move. How did Nadir take that instruction?"
"He didn't seem very excited to have my sister going to his home," Dorian recalled.
"Yeah, I imagine not," Hagen agreed. "Something happened between them while he was at Magnice, and not just the sex. I'm not sure what it was, but I've never seen my friend with such a face on him. That's saying a lot considering it's Nadir..." His voice trailed for a second, but he pressed his hands together and met Dorian's gaze. "He'll be more worried for her safety than the safety of his own people."
"You say that as though it should make me worry," Dorian said, seeing the sudden anxiety in Hagen's features.
"You should be worried. If you want to win this war."
"If you're trying to tell me I should put this land before another sister, you may as well stop talking," Dorian affirmed. "I will not lose her to this world. If it comes down to my choosing Haerland or Nyssa, I will choose her. Every time."
"Do you think your Princess would do the same for you?"
"My sister would take herself out of the equation before giving me a choice, and she would take as many with her as she could on her way out."
The darkness of his declaration radiated in the room.
Hagen's lips quirked upwards just so. "Two sides of a river, the pair of you. It's no wonder Bala had you separated."
"What do you mean?"
"Bala's smart. Much smarter than people credit her for. She'll make a great King once she grows into the title," Hagen declared. "If she'd left the two of you together, the world would already be on fire. Your sister would never find her own place in this war. And you would be so focused on making sure she was safe, you would have forgotten the task your older set out for you."
Dorian stilled.
But Hagen didn't seem to care. "Tell me you would have sat back with a level head while those strangers called her a whore or worse."
