And she says the words I knew were coming.
“It is time.”
58
MERYN
The atmosphere at the campsite is heavy, expectant. Even the weather has taken a turn to echo our feelings. The air is damp and still, clinging to strands of hair, making leather straps rub uncomfortably against skin and fur. Too humid to be comfortable, but too cold to shed any layers: that uncomfortable in-between.
Anassa and I have been conferring with Stark and Cratos about the plan since sunrise. We’re confident, but I still want to do one more thing before I set things in motion.
Taking a seat near the fading coals of our campfire, I close my eyes and clear my head, looking for that place in my mind where my power of foresight lives.
My mind is blank for a long moment before images start to come. Images of me astride Anassa, heading into Killian’s camp. Me delivering Stark to him, as promised. Me facing down Killian, Goddess Tears blazing, shadows swirling… and then the images stop.
My eyes flutter open, and I grunt in frustration and shut them again. I seek out the foresight. Anassa, with me on her back. Walking into Killian’s camp,Stark trussed up behind me. Killian stepping out, both of us drawing on my power, facing off… and then back.
“What is happening?” I ask Anassa.“Why isn’t it showing me what’s next? Or any alternate paths?”
She sniffs, “Maybe there are no alternate paths—and yet still, the outcome is uncertain.”
“Great.”I sigh.“That is absolutely zero help.”
I hear my direwolf’s amusement in her response.“Would anything you could have seen change your mind about attempting this?”
“No, probably not,” I admit ruefully.
“There you go. That’s why there is only one path laid before you.”Anassa rises and yawns, stretching massive forelegs and then back legs.“We go to meet our enemy.”
Time to move.
I wave Noemi over from where she’s already awake and nearly ready, checking packs and securing everything on wolfback for travel.
“We may be riding straight into trouble, but we aren’t going to do it without a plan,” I say wryly, and I see assent in everyone’s faces: Noemi’s mouth quirks in the shadow of a grin. Stark regards me steadily—waiting for my word to act.
“What are you thinking?” Noemi says, dropping into a seat by the remains of the fire. I shift and rub my lower back, then resettle, tucking my legs under me. Stark remains standing, alert and ready.
“I was able to make a connection with Killian last night, via our magic.” I huff, sounding eerily like Anassa as I do—her eyes glimmer in amusement as she watches us.
“We need to get close enough to him to take him down. He believes that I’m still coming to him eagerly, that I want to be with him and let him have the Tears. But I had to make it convincing.”
I nod toward Stark and Cratos, wincing internally at what I’m about to say. “I’ve told him that I’ll bring him Stark, all tied up for the taking.”
Cratos and Anassa both give a low growl at this but then settle. Noemi frowns, using a long stick to spread out the remains of the campfire, moving the last of the night’s embers around until they’ve burned themselves out.
“We can use shadows to bind both Stark and Cratos and dramatically drag them in behind me.” I laugh a little. “Little does Killian know, Stark himself is the one who helps me wield the shadows with precision. He can undo his own bonds as soon as the time is right.”
Anassa has moved closer to Cratos, and the two of them nuzzle, their private conversation buzzing in my head, beyond my reach through the bond. I know it pains Anassa to support this plan, even though it’s all a ploy—to see her mate, such a wild creature, humiliated like that, trussed up like prey.
I feel the same way about doing this to Stark.
Pressing my lips together for a moment, I refocus on our plan and carry on.
The idea is simple: I’ll hide Noemi from view using my rift magic, and she’ll go in ahead of us to find Tormun.
We’ll “deliver” Stark to Tormun, as promised.
Then once I’ve made it close enough to Killian to strike, Stark and Noemi can give up the ruse and ambush Tormun, making sure that he and the Phylax Bonded with him don’t interfere.
