We passed other guards and servants, gasps of surprise and excited murmurs preceding us as people went running to spread the news. We’d barely stepped into the entrance hall when someone came sprinting around the corner.
I caught Caliza in a viselike hug. It may have only been a few days since we’d seen each other, but so much had happened since then.
She pulled back, smiling broadly. “The alliance?”
I nodded, and her eyes widened. “I’ll tell you everything in a bit. But first, I brought you a few surprises.”
The others had kept back a respectful distance, but now Estrel stepped forward, enveloping Caliza in a strong hug. She muttered something in Caliza’s ear that earned a smile from my sister before moving aside.
Kiva remained at Ericen’s side, her hand resting on Sinvarra. The intimidation of her pose was slightly lessened by the presence of Aroch on her shoulder. “Dungeons or Belgrave?” she asked, referring to the city’s prison.
Caliza’s expression grew serious as she took in Ericen. “Come. Let’s go into my office.”
Estrel didn’t join us. Though she’d claimed she wanted to see to her old rooms, I knew the truth: she didn’t want to enter my mother’s office. I let her go. Readjusting to being in Rhodaire would be difficult; she had a lot of ghosts to face, but she’d be there for us when we needed her. I’d find her afterward and update her.
There was another familiar face waiting in Caliza’s office though. With broad shoulders and a kind face, Caliza’s husband, Kuren, had dark eyes that seemed to be constantly waiting for you to confess all your innermost feelings. I’d done it more than once. A thin scar along the hard line of his jaw stood out starkly against his dark skin, a souvenir from the first crow he’d ever met. Apparently, he’d tried to pet it from behind.
I launched myself into his open arms. “It’s so good to see you!”
A deep laugh rumbled in his chest. “And you. I hear you’ve been quite busy.”
“I can’t imagine what you mean.” I pulled back.
He smiled, and the warmth of it made me relax. His smile always had that effect. It was as if the simple motion released some power inside him that sucked all the stress out of anyone within ten feet of him.
We took our seats. A half hour later, Caliza and Kuren had updated us on Rhodaire’s situation, from supplies, to soldiers, to the battle itself, and I’d told them about the alliance, the Sellas, and our current plan to flank Razel’s army.
Like we’d predicted, we’d had to give ground since Rosstair, falling back to Elaris. With Lesiar Lake at its back, the walled city would make a good defensible position.
“The house leaders and I agreed that if you secured the alliance of the other kingdoms, we’d meet her forces there,” Caliza said. “The town has been evacuated of everyone not contributing to the fight and sent south. It’s under a day’s ride from Aris.”
“This won’t be a typical battle,” I warned them. “The Sellas I faced in the wood could use similar magic to Res. At least fire, water, and earth. I don’t know what the others can do.”
Kuren leaned back against Caliza’s desk, arms folded in an easy posture. “We should meet with Lady Kerova and Lady Turren later to discuss battle tactics. We’ll need to adjust. I’m particularly concerned about facing an opponent wielding earth magic. Zellen Arkos wrote a really fascinating essay on wall sieges that I think is in your library here.”
Caliza scoffed. “Arkos? He wouldn’t know siege warfare if it built a wall around him.”
“Viden then?”
“If you want to fall asleep after the second word.”
“Pretty sure that’s all books,” I muttered.
They both rounded on me, Kuren’s eyes wide with shock, Caliza’s narrowed in condemnation. I slapped a hand over my mouth to silence a laugh.
Ericen chuckled softly. “Alternatively, I can help?” All eyes turned to him, but it only seemed to make him more comfortable. “You’ve only ever had to think of how to use these powers, not how to defend against them. Illucia, on the other hand, has volumes dedicated to crow warfare.”
“Like those arrows,” I said, remembering the souvenir Caylus had plucked from theAizel. What else did Illucia have developed to counteract the crows? “Speaking of, I have a gift for you,” I said to Kuren, withdrawing a set of blueprints. I’d found them tucked into the side of one of the horns Caylus had made for us, clearly drawn by someone else’s steady hand. Kuren took them from me, unfolding them in his lap. “It’s the design for those horns I brought back with me. We should produce as many of them as quickly as we can and ship them out to Elaris.”
Kuren’s eyes flitted across the page, absorbing information at an inhuman rate. It was too bad he and Caylus hadn’t gotten the chance to meet.
“We planned for me to open the Sella road two hours after my arrival to let the first wave of Trendellan soldiers through,” I continued. “We can send them to Elaris straight away.” With the use of the road, they’d be fresh and rested, with a short march ahead of them. “We’ll do the same again tomorrow at the same time and the day after to move the army through in sections.”
“If you can give me the details of Elaris’s defenses, I can try to predict what my mother will do,” Ericen said. He stood behind my chair, his hands on the back of it. I could feel the warmth of his fingers pressing into my back.
Kiva snorted from where she leaned against the wall, one finger toying with Aroch’s paw. “So you can walk them straight to her? No thanks.”
“Sooner or later, you’re going to have to accept that I’m here to help you,” Ericen said.
