His face faltered, and he looked as though he would glare at her. "That's really not funny, Princess."
She almost smiled at the way he eyed her, but she shook her head. "I can do this. I am already in the meeting room," she said again. "You have to trust me."
A heavy breath evacuated his lungs as he watched her. For a moment, they didn’t blink, and she saw as his eyes darted over her, obviously contemplating and trying to think of anything that would change her mind.
But he surrendered with a throw of the bread onto the bed, and his head shook.
“What do you need from me?” he asked.
“More ships will be here by the time the Deads rise.”
“Did you hear them say that?”
“Along with a great deal more. Their ships are carrying more and more supplies. They’re preparing a castle for their King, a settlement around it, nearly all the way on the western edge. These ships coming after the cycle aren’t supply ships. They’ll be bringing more civilians this time to start the village around what will be their home. Promising these people a new life, grander than their old one. Apparently, they'd nearly squandered all their resources at the last. They’re calling the settlement Savigndor. Their King will be here in two Dead Moons cycles.” She paused and met his gaze. “We need to be in a good enough position to negotiate peace with him or kill him.”
“What’s your plan, Princess?”
“I’m going to use the Dead Moons as a cover and destroy this place.”
His brows lifted. “Not what I was expecting, but go on.”
She stared at the food in front of her again, picking at it now that she had something in her stomach. "This camp... They’re using it to build up their livestock supplies for when they start bringing in civilians in two cycles. If I can hit this place, it might deter their plans and hold them off a little longer."
"They also might see that as an act of war," Nadir said.
"There will be no one alive to tell the King who did it. They have no idea what I can do," she promised. “I need more time to learn what I can about them before we take this place. We cannot simply go about this blind any longer. We have to know more about their people.”
“You know, when your sister gave you the occupation of diplomacy, I don’t think this is what she had in mind.”
“Yes, well, my sister isn’t exactly here to make that decision, is she?”
Nadir balked, and Nyssa sighed heavily with a shake of her head. “I have to do this, Nadir,” she breathed. “I need you to trust me.”
“I do trust you… But how do you plan on doing this on your own?" he asked. "Can you hear your creatures?"
"I... I can hear my eagle again. Most days. But I haven't tried for any others." She paused, unable to look at him, her heart thudding at the thought of bringing her fire when she wasn't sure how to control it. But she had to show him.
"There's something else..."
She thought of the beating she’d received the night before—the whip coming down on her back. Her fingertips began to blacken on her right hand, and before she could stop it, it had traveled up her arm.
Nadir flinched backward. “What the—”
Smoke billowed from the amber-glowed fissures in her palm. A shudder swept over her. He grabbed her normal hand, and Nyssa blinked herself back into reality.
She expected Nadir to be on his feet running away from her. But he crawled his way to her side and took the hand that had just been black into his.
"When did this start?" he asked, inspecting her skin.
“That day on the beach when I ran away. I remember screaming at the ocean, so mad with myself for what I had done. I just wanted to get it out, go back and apologize to Lex. But fire grew around me… black and orange fire. It was terrifying. I didn’t know what was happening. There was no one there to help. I couldn’t hear the creatures to even ask for it. When I woke up, the sand was black around me. I don’t know what happened—”
“Your mother marked you with Dorian,” Nadir interjected.
“We were marked at the same time, yes.”
He contemplated her for a long moment. “Your mother isn’t very smart sometimes,” he finally determined.
“What do you mean?”
