“Kiira and Rylla will stay here in Desva.” The twins accepted their orders with a nod. “You will serve as liaisons between the Onitans and Kreah. As they are your birth people, I hope you will be able to bridge a gap where there might not be one. Rulene will stay as well; we need to tell her of what Quentin learned as quickly as possible. If anyone can put a stop to it, I’d bet on her.” Rylla’s eyes flashed and Kiira’s jaw tightened as she nodded.
Mariah swung her gaze to the other end of the table. “Trefor, Drystan, and Feran, you’ll stay here with Kiira and Rylla. Not just for Feran to continue recovering, but to represent me before the Kreah Elders. Amasis will support you.”
Drystan looked relieved, but Feran and Trefor both seemed to swallow arguments. Mariah turned away before they could decide otherwise and voice them.
“Delaynie and Quentin,” she said. Del’s auburn head snapped up, eyes flashing. Quentin lifted a curious eyebrow, despite the blooming bruise on his cheek.
Here goes nothing.
“You will go to the Kizar Islands to treat the pirate lords—and search for any lost records in the process.”
All humor vanished from Quentin’s face.
“Absolutely fucking not,” he snarled. The light-hearted Armature was gone, replaced by the fierce fighter who’d spent his life doing whatever it took to survive. “Those people are monsters. They attacked Verith just last winter. They slaughtered innocents for no reason, then ran away before they could be dealt with. There is notreatingwith them.”
Mariah swallowed. “I know. But the one piece of information we need to stop this war before it starts could be there. And I trust you the most to navigate that viper’s den.”
Quentin’s bottle green eyes flashed, but he didn’t speak further. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest with a scowl and a huff of pain.
Delaynie watched him before turning to Mariah, something unfamiliar and unreadable in her expression. “We’ll go.”
Mariah didn’t prod further. She simply nodded and returned her gaze to her best friend.
“Ciana,” she said slowly. “You and Sebastian will go south. First to Idrix, then to the Vathan jungles.” She had moreinstructions for them, but she’d tell them later. When there weren’t so many ears.
Mostly for Ciana’s sake. Guilt prickled beneath Mariah’s skin at what she had to ask of her best friend. She prayed desperately that she would understand and would forgive her in the end.
Ciana stiffened almost imperceptibly but didn’t argue. Sebastian, surprisingly, looked slightly relieved, though concern still etched his brow. “And you?” he said.
Mariah curled her fingers.
“I’m going north. To Leuxrith.” Her heart pattered in her chest. “Callamus will accompany me. And Matheo is coming, as well.”
Matheo whipped his gaze to her. “I am?”
She tossed him a half-hearted wink. “Better pack warm.”
There was more than one reason Mariah wanted to go north, but she wasn’t ready to voice her reasons yet. Not until they were on their way and fewer people could tell her just how foolish she was.
Her court shared a glance when she finished speaking. “So, I guess that’s it, then,” Ciana said meekly, her words strained and missing their usual luster.
“Just temporarily,” Mariah said. “Just until we find what we need.”
Then she would find that weapon and drive it through Kol’s blackened, poisoned heart.
“That raises a good point, actually.” Sebastian sat forward. “If—when—we find either these notes or the weapon itself, how are we supposed to tell you?”
Mariah heard his unspoken words.What do we do now that our bonds are silent? What if you can’t open them again? And if you do, what will the distance do to them?
She didn’t want to answer those questions. So instead, her lips curled into a half-smile, thinking of sunlight refracting off golden wings and the wind rushing through feathers.
“I need to introduce you all to my new friend, Cielle.”
Chapter 23
The days passed slowly in Andrian’s self-imposed solitude.
He hid in the shadows of his room, ignoring the sun when it rose. Meals came and went. He ate out of necessity; nothing more.
