Anger. Wrath. Fury. It was easier to let these out. The protectors, the defenders of what lay so deeply hidden. They were shields, guardians of the soft, raw, and delicate parts inside us. But I needed them all. My powers needed them, needed access to all of me to work.
I blinked, allowing that single tear to slide down my cheek, cooling as it went, and I slowly closed the gap in my heart,shutting it tightly, allowing those shields to stand guard until my powers demanded a taste.
“Astraeus asked us to reconvene at dawn. There’s still much to discuss,” she said quietly.
“I’m getting really fucking tired of being on his ship,” I murmured before pushing off the ledge.
“Where were we?”Astraeus drawled around the rolled enderleaf between his lips.
My blood pressure surged as he threw me a wink..
Drystan leaned over the map, pointing to Lotrennia. “The Rising fighters have agreed to help push Daimos’s forces out of northern Lotrennia before they return to Sultira. They left soon before we departed. And then there are the deaths.” He turned toward me and paused, raising his dark eyebrows in question.
My chin dipped in confirmation to continue.
“I’ve sworn the oath,” Astraeus growled from across the table. “We may as well speak freely.” His dark eyes scanned the group, a note of deadly authority riding his tone. His eyes met mine and softened with the slightest bit of humor.
I threw every bit of irritation into my returning glare.Don’t you fucking dare.
His lip twitched, and I yanked my gaze away before he was further tempted into tugging on that small bit of air connecting us.
“If we are speaking freely,” Nerissa snapped, straightening as she looked the pirate lord in the eyes, “then tell us about those red cuffs and the cannonballs you used in the gulf.”
Raek, who’d been standing in the corner and leaning against the wall, straightened, shifting his position as he eyed the piratelord. Astraeus merely scratched his short beard as he eyed Nerissa with indifference.
“What is there to say? The rubellines negate magic, cut it off at the source. It’s a simple spell. A larger rubelline has a larger effect, nullifying the magic within a space, depending on size.”
“How did you come about it?” Ronan asked.
“The Lords of Marisarma are treasure hunters,” Astraeus murmured. “My crew discovered the stone used to create the rubelline long ago. We didn’t learn of its use until an unfortunate accident.”
“How many rubellines do you have?” Nerissa cut in. “This isn’t just a defense. This is a weapon.”
“A weapon vital in the wars to come, yes,” Astraeus murmured, his dark eyes brightening. “I have two fewer cuffs and two fewer cannonballs than I did a month ago.”
He lowered his dark eyes pointedly to my jacket pocket, where I kept the cuffs I’d taken from him. “Alas, we aren’t here to discuss rubellines,” he said, jerking his chin toward Drystan and raising his eyebrows.
Drystan rubbed the space between his eyes before continuing. “The fire pox isn’t the only illness. Resurgences of a myriad of maladies have swept across Lotrennia. All accompanied by strange injuries.”
Vulcan shifted next to me. “All over Lotrennia? Survivors?”
“No.” Drystan’s usual bright eyes dipped. “It’s quick. The only connection we’ve identified is that the first group, the ones that died at the Awakening, were all covered in the same nebulis powder. But the others seem widespread enough that the powder seems to have had nothing to do with it.”
Powder… A memory pricked my mind.
“This, on top of the ashen released on the northern shores,” Drystan continued, his hand movements slowing with fatigue. “Lotrennia is vulnerable.”
Silence hung in the room like a veil in a windless night. I fingered the amber pendant on my neck, tracing the intricate designs on the amplifier with my thumb as I replayed his words.
There was too much happening in the world. Too many places to be at once, too many powers to use, levers to flip, favors to call in.
Choices, Xenelpha had stressed. It was all about choices.
“We’re too far from Lotrennia to lend aid right now,” I said slowly, my eyes locked on the map in front of us. “We aren’t prepared to intercept Daimos’s forces north of Sultira and continue to Lotrennia. We’d need more time for that.”
I stood and leaned over the map of Vael. “But we have new weapons at our disposal,” I murmured, thinking of the alliance with Astraeus and the rubellines. “If we could reconvene with the Rising forces in Sultira while Saros has eyes in the north…” I paused, glancing at Ronan, whose sapphire eyes brightened.
“We take Aedrialis while Saros is distracted,” he finished for me.
