“You’ll figure it out.”
“We might not live long enough for that,” I said, turning to gaze in the direction of the Kingdom of Storms. But all I saw were twisting shadows. The mists were so thick, it was impossible to see much else. “Has Boudica managed to see how close the gods are to Dubnos?”
He shook his head. “She’s found nothing, and I don’t want to send out any more scouts. All the others have died.”
“So we just wait.” Wait for death. Wait for the attack that would end everything. Without being able to scout ahead, we had no way of knowing what moment might be the one when everything changed. We could try to be prepared, but it was impossible when we didn’t truly know what was coming for us.
A muscle in Kalen’s jaw ticked, and a strange sensation flowed toward me through the bond. I had the sudden understanding that something big was on his mind, something he did not want to tell me.
I turned to him and folded my arms. “You’re hiding something. Just this morning, you said we’ll have no more secrets between us. We tell each other everything.”
“And I will tell you. I just want you to promise to stay calm.”
I arched a brow. “I will promise no such thing.”
His lips twisted into a smile, and he chuckled. “I suppose not. You wouldn’t be you if you did.”
“So what is it, then? Does it have something to do with Nellie? Because as I already told Fenella, we will not use her as a weapon. I know her claws can stop the gods temporarily, but that’s the problem. It’s just temporary. More importantly, there’s only one of her. I won’t risk her like that. I won’t.”
“I would never ask such a thing.” He let out a heavy sigh and turned to gaze at the kingdom just beyond the wall. “I’m going to scout ahead myself. We have no idea what is coming for us or what the gods are planning. We need to at least know how close they are and if they’ve gathered an army. Preparation is our only chance of survival.”
I took a step back with my heart roaring in my ears. “But all the scouts have died.”
“Which is why I will be going myself.”
“With Toryn and Fenella? And Caedmon?”
“Fenella and Caedmon are busy preparing the city, and Toryn’s people need him here. I go alone.”
“No,” I said roughly. “Yourpeople need you, too. You’re the king. You’re not supposed to be your own scout. It’s too dangerous. Too risky.”
“I’ve never operated like that, and you know it.” Gently, he brushed my hair over my shoulder, but his gaze was hard, unwavering. He had been thinking a lot about this. “I would never send my men to do something I wasn’t willing to do myself. And I would certainly never send them to certain death.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“Tessa, love…”
“If you’re going, I’m going. You and me, we face this together. I won’t let you go out there alone, not when your power doesn’t work against the enemy. At least my hands can do some damage, if it comes to that.”
“So brave,” he murmured, his sapphire eyes raking across my face. “Alwaysso brave.”
“Brave and reckless,” I said, thinking back to my earlier revelation. “But I don’t want either of us to come close to dying, so you’d better have a good plan.”
His wolfish smile lit up the dark. “Oh, that I do.”
Thirty-Seven
Ruari
Days after discovering my mother in the dungeons of Endir, I paced beside the hearth. In the courtyard just outside the castle, my warriors were gathering. My younger brother, Mykon, had led them here from Albyria without incident, and we would soon move on to Dubnos. To help Kalen Denare fight against the coming storm.
Going by what he’d told me about his encounter with the gods, this world was fucked. The fae of Aesir would die. If no weapon harmed the enemy, how would we ever survive?
But that wasn’t what made my feet move from one end of the floor to the other, my pace faster with every turn I made. I had not told Kalen the truth about who lurked in the dungeons beneath this place, and indeed, inside Morgan’s body.
I ground my teeth. If I was going to say something, it needed to be now, when we were marching to war together. The only thing that stopped me was not knowing what he would do with that information. Would he want to kill her, or would he want to let her go?
The worst part was, I didn’t know which of thoseIwanted to happen.
