“Just a little,” I replied, then took a bite.
He tore into his own food then, satisfied.
“I have gained weight. My pants had to be let out. Does that make you happy?”
“Extremely.”
I laughed. He was ridiculous. “Tell me your story, Kaelric. I will tell you what your mother says.”
He swallowed and nodded. “Do not tell Elia. Not yet. I need a plan before she knows.”
A cold feeling crept up my spine. “Elia? Is she in danger?”
“No,” he said quickly. “But her mother and father were believed to have been killed shortly after Harrow, the Savage King, seized Lunaria.”
My brows pulled together.
“Believed to have been?”
He nodded. “Remember the letter on the train? The one from someone who could not mind-speak?”
I nodded slowly, the memory coming back.
“I have had someone working inside Harrow’s territory for years. She was finally able to get into the castle as a maid.”
I leaned forward. Val’s presence pressed close, too.
“And…?”
Kaelric exhaled.
“Three nights ago, she told me Elia’s mother was seen alive, in the castle.”
Hope burst inside me.
But Kaelric’s face remained hard. “She is a prisoner. One of many concubines Harrow keeps.”
My stomach dropped. “No.”
‘That monster.’Val pulsed purple heat against my hip.
I rested a hand over her hilt, steadying her.‘Is she your sister?’The family tree was starting to confuse me.
‘Yes.’
‘Then we will free her. I swear it.’
If someone took one of my sisters, I would tear the world apart to get them back.
I stood abruptly and set my plate down.
“Get me inside this castle. I will free her by morning.”
Kaelric rubbed a hand over his face, exhausted. “Sit, Brynn. That’s not possible yet.”
“The hell it’s not. I have the King Killer. Point me to thisking,and I will bring you his head.”
I unsheathed Valkaryn, the metal singing, as Valkaryn’s purple glow ignited the entire tent.
