27
LYRA
“There’s no sign of them,” Mev said, joining me in my favorite spot in all of Elydor: the king’s outdoor platform.
Located between his solar and throne room, an outdoor space jutted out from the mountain, poised high enough to see what seemed like all of Aethralis below. Many who were not Aetherian, comfortable in high spaces that seemed to almost touch the clouds, refused to come to this spot.
Gyorians, especially.
“Have all reports come in?” I asked.
Last I’d heard, there had been no whispers from our scouts at the foot of the Ascension Gate. We’d been receiving whispers from every corner of Aetheria—from the coastal towns to our borders with Estmere and Gyoria—but thus far, nothing from one of our closest outposts, which was concerning.
“Yep. Nothing. Not land. Or water. Balthor’s men are nowhere to be found. Yet.”
We were certain they had followed us.
“Perhaps they retreated to Balthor and are amassing an army.”
“That’s what my father thinks too. His generals are continuing to prepare for full-scale war.”
Full-scale war.In Elydor, it could mean utter destruction. When immortals who’ve been training for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years to weaponize elemental magic, even a minor skirmish could be catastrophic.
I shivered.
“Any word from the men?”
Mev shook her head. “Nope. Nothing.”
Terran and Kael had been gone since morn. No one, not even Mev, knew precisely where.
I twirled my fingers absently, playing the wind. Swirling it. Practicing. Preparing.
Trying not to think of last night.
“Rowan and the queen?” I asked.
“Being escorted north as we speak.”
“Both of them?”
With the Wind Crystal in our possession, the Stone as close to it as we could get at the moment, King Galfrid had sent word via whispers to Thalassari. We assumed someone, likely Sir Rowan, would bring the Tidal Pearl north. But I’d not have expected Queen Nerys to accompany him.
“I guess so. Marek and Issa are bringing them.”
“Of course,” I murmured. Few could navigate the waters quite like Marek.
“I can’t believe this is really happening. When they get here, if Aethralis is still standing… holy shit.” Mev paced back and forth, though never approaching the platform’s rails. Sometimes, her human side showed more than others. For the most part, I typically forgot Mev was not Aetherian born and trained. Until she spoke, of course.
“It will stand,” I said, confident of it. “And your father will open the Gate. The question is, what will you do then?”
Mev stopped.
“Go through it, I guess. What else?”
“Alone?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Kael already said we can’t chance it. He’ll go through with me. Just in case.”
