Warren watched the Fallen warrior pass, tensing as he met the Zver’s gaze, but, to my brother’s credit, he didn't cower.
“Whatarethose things?” he asked.
“I’ll explain everything later,” I said, turning away reluctantly to follow Rainier to the caves. “I promise. Just wait in my tent, yeah?Zyawill take you. She and I share it anyway. And you can see Darius. I’m sure he’ll be happy Dahlia's back. I’ll meet you there, okay? As soon as I can. I promise.”
Warren hesitated but nodded just as I turned to head off through the encampment with the grouchy ancient warrior.
Rainier didn't speak to me as we walked but simply led me on without a word. As it turned out, we were some of the last to arrive to this meetingPrimahad called. The council was already settled in behind her asPrimapaced back and forth on a slightly raised natural platform within the cave. The human contingent stood to the side, leaning against the cavernous interior, as bruised and bloody as the rest of us. Dante was among them, standing beside the spy,Ksenia. Rainier and his riders took upthe bulk of the middle, as if daring anyone else to attempt getting closer toPrimathan they were.Gryfon's warriors stood at the opposite wall, still wearing their battle armor, blades sheathed at their sides but, I noticed, the general was not among them.
At that realization, my head whipped back and forth, eyes scanning the room for the fearsome, brooding general. But he wasn't there. And then I remembered asking about him when I'd awakened and Dante's lack of response.
“Thank you all for coming,”Primabegan before I could properly spiral, though anxiety still clawed its way up my throat, choking me with worry. I kept glancing toward the opening of the cave as she spoke, waiting for him to appear. “As you're well aware, we now have two cities worth of citizens to find new homes for. I think it’s fairly obvious the members of Sanctuary, unaccustomed to hard labor as they are, would not fare well here with us in the wilderness. Those of the Underground, however, may be of some use. According to our sources, they have some agricultural and textile skill we may be able to learn from. In fact, they might be able to help better feed and clothe our growing village with what they know that we don’t. The humans, in their generosity, have offered to take the citizens of Sanctuary into their own cities, to open their gates if you will.”
Stunned, I whirled toward the humans on the opposite side of the room. Whispers of surprise started up within the cavern but the humans merely nodded. Though I didn't see their surly captain with them. I imagined the reaction would have been far more somber had he been present.
“Of course, everyone will be free to make their own choice and, Dante and Adrian, you’re welcome to keep your families with you if that's what you prefer,”Primaadded.
“And if I prefer to go back to the human cities myself?” Dante called out.
The cavern fell silent asPrimastared at him across the expanse of the cave, obviously taken aback by this declaration. After a moment, however, she recovered and nodded slowly.
“If that's your wish, no one will stop you,” she told him. “We're allies now, aren’t we Ksenia?”
The rider gave an eager nod but it seemed a fragile thing at best and did nothing to ease the tension in the room.
“We have a lot of work to do,”Primasaid, moving on. “ThePavosiansattacked us once. We have to assume that means theGeistknow where we are. They'll try again. This is a war now. We lost one battle and won another but it's far from over. Those who stay, stay to fight. Make no mistake about that. Indecisiveness will get you killed. Weakness will cost you everything. TheGeistare not gods. We do not worship them as our ancestors did thousands of years ago. But we would be foolish not to accept they have power we simply do not. We have the advantage of understanding our enemy but what good is understanding them if we have nothing to stand against them with? Finally, that's changing.”
Prima’sgaze met mine and she smiled so broadly most in the cave turned to look my way.
“We have a weapon now,” she continued. “We know what they fear and we know how to break them with it. So we will.”
A cheer went up from Rainier and his riders. Some ofGryfon’s warriors joined in as well.Kseniasmiled but didn't shout with the others.
Primaturned to speak to the council, Rainier approaching as well, but everyone else began to disperse. And still, the general hadn't appeared.
It wasn't appropriate, I knew that. Prima was the leader of this camp, the leader of thiswar, and I was just another soldier in it, another weapon to be forged, to be loosed against the enemy. But I couldn't help myself. I had to know. So I strode straightup the dais to stand before her, blurting out the question before I could lose my nerve, even though she was already speaking with the other leaders, already strategizing with Rainier and his riders.
"Where's Gryfon?" I asked.
Prima's words died off slowly and, even more slowly, she turned to look at me. Her lips snapped shut in a frown that made my heart race even faster. My hands started to shake so I crossed my arms and tucked them into my sides. Something was wrong. I could feel it. Prima was watching me with something in her gaze I'd never seen before and didn't want to admit looked a lot like pity. Rainier and his riders had fallen silent. Even the leaders of Archí started to look away from me. My insides twisted.
“What happened?” I asked, more firmly this time, though I could hear the desperation in my voice.
"The general is…" Prima began, hesitating. I wanted to shake her, wanted to grab her shoulders and scream at her to finish that sentence. She glanced once at Rainier who shook his head. She sighed. "We haven't seen him since Sanctuary fell."
I stared at her, lips parted in shock. That wasn't possible. That couldn't be. Granted, I hadn't been conscious for the end of the battle but he'd been just behind me, right there, defending me, guarding me against…
"Chassina," I breathed. I'd kill the bitch. I'd rip down the wards of the gods' own city and blast every single building inside apart until I found her. I'd drag her out of there by that cursed raven hair. I'd—
"No," Prima said, shaking her head. "He isn't…he survived the battle, that we know. He was helping organize the refugees when a certain young man came out of Sanctuary screaming about…about it all being a ruse. He claimed the Geist had known of our attack before it happened. He claimed theywantedus to disablethe wards so they could get in to retrieve something. He…maybe you should speak to him yourself. At any rate, the general made the asinine, arrogant decision to return to Sanctuary himself, alone, to find the object before Deimos arrived and, well, no one has seen him since."
I stared at her, blinking in shock. That wasn't right. That couldn't be right. Gryfon hadn't ever cared about freeing Sanctuary before. He'd barely wanted to attempt it this time. He'd never mentioned anything contained within that might be better protected from the Geist behind the wards except the people. He'd never said anything at all. And how could the Geist have known we were planning to attack Sanctuary? Unless someone had told them…
"Who made these claims?" I asked, voice finally cracking.
Prima's expression warped into even more pity but I ignored it. I kept blinking, kept gritting my teeth and clenching my fists, to keep from crying. Prima nodded to one of the riders who rushed off to fetch whatever young man had come out of Sanctuary with these claims.
He's fine,I told myself.
