Page 294 of Burn of the Everflame

“Would you rather they leave and lower our numbers even further?” I asked. The Althiena woman looked down, embarrassed, but Garath kept up his usual sneer.

“He’s right,” Cordellia said, “we shouldn’t be here. We should be living in peace on our homeland, unbothered by the lot of you.”

Garath rolled his eyes. “It has been thousands of years since the Kindred arrived. Will you people get over it already?”

“We’ll get over our oppression when it’s over,” she fired back. She sank back against her chair, shooting Auralie a cross look. “Remind me again why we’re fighting for these pricks?”

“You’re fighting so we don’t hang you for your crimes,” Garath retorted.

“At least they’re fighting,” Aemonn said under his breath.

Garath shot a look over his shoulder. “Silence, boy. No one came to hear you talk.”

Aemonn’s eyes went dark. His face emptied of all emotion, and his shoulders crept forward, back hunching and body shrinking. As his gaze began to drop, it cut to Taran, who scowled in disappointment.

Suddenly, Aemonn stilled. “No,” he said loudly.

“I said silence,” Garath snapped.

“No,” Aemonn said again. His spine slowly straightened. “The Guardians don’t have magic.” He pointed to the Ignios refugees. “They don’t have homes. Most of Diem’s army doesn’t have godstone weapons. You have all of those things, Father. They’re fighting—when’s the last time you did anything but talk?”

Taran’s eyebrows flew to the sky.

Garath shot Aemonn a scorching glare. “How dare you⁠—”

“Why was he allowed to keep his godstone weapons?” the Althiena woman demanded. “Ours were confiscated by the Crown.”

“So were House Corbois’s,” Remis said, frowning at his brother.

“He took them off the Corbois members of the Royal Guard,” Aemonn said.

“You little traitor,” Garath hissed.

“He’s not the only one,” the Hanoverre man admitted. “Marthe confiscated the godstone weapons you gave to the Royal Guards in our family, too.”

To my dismay, rather than looking outraged, many of the other Embers nodded with similar confessions.

“Do you not understand what’s at risk?” Luther snapped. “Sophos is gone—no mortals, no Descended. No one. Everyone in Meros that didn’t flee is now his slave. Same with Umbros. Maybe others, too. Ophiucae is wiping out realms one at a time. If we don’t stop him, there will be no Emarion left.”

A heavy silence filled the room as the truth of it settled in. Even the mortals looked shaken. Until now, Ophiucae had been a not entirely unwelcome distraction to pull the Descended’s focus off of them. Most mortals had kept their heads down, perhaps secretly hoping Ophiucae and the Descended would fight each other out of existence. But, as history had shown too many times, a fight for power always cost the powerless most in the end.

“So how do we stop him?” Norwick asked.

“We launch an offensive,” Alixe answered. “Instead of waiting for him to get to Lumnos, we gather every person who can swing a sword or wield magic, and we march south until we find him.”

I nodded. “He’s building his army realm by realm, so we’ll do the same. We have Lumnos and Ignios here already. I’ve dispatched riders to the other realms with orders to join us.”

“I told my people to keep a safe distance at sea, but safety means nothing if they have no home to return to,” Obaneryn called out. He rose to his feet. “I’ll send the winds for them. They will fight.”

Doriel stood, as well. “The only Descended of my kind left are the ones in your army, but I will join them. I will fight.”

I gave them both a nod of respect. It was a relief to see that, for once, my pathological mercy had led to something good.

My attention moved to Drusila and Symond. “The Centenaries’ help would be invaluable,” I prodded. “If you can shield our soldiers’ minds from Ophiucae, it might mean the difference between victory and defeat.”

I could tell my request surprised them. The ability to choose, to consent, was a muscle they had rarely been permitted to use.

Symond refused to look at me, his features as stony as the wall he stared at. “I already gave you our answer in Umbros. You have cost us enough.”