“Evelina.” He swallowed. “I?—”
“Pack a bag,” Keir shouted from behind them.
“—can’t,” he finished weakly, his eyes dropping to her frown. He turned around.
Keir had a piece of parchment in his hand. A hawk was sitting on his shoulder, a small tin attached to its foot. “There’s been word from the palace!” he yelled, walking closer to them. His mouth was set in a deep frown. “We’re to report back for a briefing on the recent attacks.”
Keir glanced up at Evelina, a brief glint of uncertainty in his eye, and Daimon knew it then. Something was wrong. Keir clenched his jaw and crumpled the paper in his hand. Whatever it was, he didn’t look inclined to share.
“Gloriana needs to stay in case a healer is needed with the ground troops,” he said without slowing down. “We leave in an hour.”
Thirty-Three
Evelina
Daimon tookoff with Zephyr just as Evelina walked out of her cabin. She only caught sight of Zephyr’s tail as they disappeared on the horizon. Evelina walked over to where Brielle was sitting, lacing her boots.
“I’m not riding with Daimon back?”
Brielle looked up at Evelina and then at the sky. “Daimon, Ranick, and Elias are taking point in case we encounter any danger.” She finished her laces and stood. “You can ride with me. Keir, Willow, and Aster will fly with us. Besides, I think Vero likes you.”
Evelina could hear wings flapping behind the cabin and the small chatter of the wyverns preparing for a flight. “The entire fleet is going?”
Brielle nodded and led Evelina to the back of the cabin. “We shouldn’t be away for long. They want us to patrol villages near the palace while we’re there.”
Evelina nodded vaguely, a sense of unease in her stomach.
The ride back to the palace was quiet. Even with the sky clear and open, Daimon, Ranick, and Elias were far enough ahead that she couldn’t catch a single glimpseof them. They landed near the palace after the sun had set, leaving the wyverns next to an open cavern and making the short trip on foot.
After the few weeks she’d been gone, the forest felt…different. The trees that normally stood tall were drooping slightly, their leaves browning on the edges when they should’ve been a vibrant green. She studied them as they neared the palace, her mind distracted up until the doors closed behind her.
All her siblings were waiting just inside the entrance. Ren looked as if he had just arrived from the coast, still in dirty navy leathers. His usually bright smile wasn’t on his face. Lyria ran to Evelina, pulling her into a tight hug. Carwyn stood behind Lyria with her hands folded behind her back, her face blank.
“What’s going on?” Evelina asked.
Ren and Lyria looked on the verge of breaking down into tears—Lyria had just started to cry—but Carwyn was calm.
“Daimon and Keir have begun briefing the council on your latest fights,” she said evenly. “I wanted to see you before joining them.”
Something bad was coming, Evelina could feel it. The air was too tense. She braced herself.
“Mother has taken ill.”
Lyria’s cries fully let loose, and Ren pulled her into a hug.
Everything clicked into place for Evelina—the odd summoning back to the palace with no real explanation, the uneasy feeling in her chest, and the usually green and lively trees looking as if they were dying.
Her vision blurred as the words sunk in.
“When?” she squeaked out.
“Just two nights ago,” Carwyn said with a frown. “It happened so quickly, like her body couldn’t withstand the strain of darkness bearing down on the land. It started as a cough shortly after you left. She was better yesterday for a time… But then she started sleeping more and more, and now she’s unable to leave the bed.”
Her words felt clinical—cold. Evelina supposed she wantedto keep it together as the next in line for the throne. Even now, in their mother’s absence, it would be left to Carwyn to pick up the torch in her stead.
Carwyn turned to Lyria. “Why don’t you take her to see Mother?”
Lyria nodded, her tears slowing, and reached out to grab Evelina’s hand. They left their siblings at the entrance, a quiet tension in their wake as Lyria guided them through the corridor. She was squeezing Evelina’s hand so hard she had lost feeling in it. But it was also the only thing holding her together.
