Page 96 of Her Ivory Flame

He was lengthy, definitely not any type of fighter and she could see long blond hair going down his back. When he turned towards them, his blue eyes snapped to her.

“It is her.” The man stuttered.

“It is me,” she said back in a lighter tone.

“What do you have for us?” Kaden said, his voice back to being grumpy and grabbed the paper from the man.

She watched him read the document, his eyes darkening and saw his hands clench around it when he finished.

“How are his numbers growing so quickly?” He growled and she watched the messenger guy stepback a few steps.

“We don’t know,” the messenger added. “We are assuming he is attacking smaller villages and using their bodies to make new Trenchers.”

Helen

Her old village was the first thought that came to mind, knowing Emris wouldn’t think twice about protecting such a small town.

“Can you tell what area he is attacking?” she asked quickly.

“Northern right now from what we can tell, closest to the border as he can but I wouldn’t put it past him to start expanding. Emris is losing and he just doesn’t know it yet.” the new male just stared at her, her expression falling to despair.

“Excuse me.” she muttered as her stomach rolled with nausea and headed for her room.

A soft knock sounded on her door a few seconds later and she leaned back against it.

“Not now Kaden.” she snapped, trying to take deep breaths.

“It’s not Kaden.” Raine’s voice was barely audible through the door.

She took one last deep breath and let her in quickly before Kaden could sneak his way in somehow.

“Are you ok?” Raine asked again.

She paced her room while still in her nightgown, her mind starting to race in too many directions for her to focus.

“I can’t do this.” she groaned.

“Take a breath and we can sort through what you are thinking.”

“Silas might be working with Mavros somehow, my people are alive and well, I don’t have my full power yet and I really want to hate Kaden but I can’t. I just-” she rattled her words off in a hurry, her mind spiralling.

Two hands gripped her shoulders and it stopped her in place, her eyes snapping upward.

“Take a breath Alyra.” Raine said softly.

She did as she was told, her chest rising as high as it could go, and then let it out slowly. It helped a little, her mind slowing but still in total chaos.

“Everything will be fine.” Raine continued. “You have every right to be mad at both Silas and Kaden, however I should tell you Kaden went out of his mind the night you were separated.”

She tried to imagine it, but all she could think of was waiting for him to come for her and how he might have died.

“He was a mess, flailing around while he was injured trying to figure out how to get to you, but the poison from the arrowhead was keeping him from his magic. The second Boone was able to extract it out of him he took off.”

Raine words tried to sink in, but her closed off heart didn't want to feel anything at the moment. He might have cared for her, but he deceived her and that hurt the worst.

“Doesn’t change the fact he tricked me for two months now. I know it is not that long to know someone or to build trust, but itfeels like I've known him way longer,” she said in a blunt tone. “He saved me, but he broke me as well.”

She sat down slowly on the bed, her eyes staring at the floor and tried to focus on the breeze still blowing through the window.