Page 58 of The Dragon Queen

NotuntilI'monmywaybacktothecastle,walkinginhumanformtogivemyselfsometimetothink.AndIcatchRhiannon'svoicecomingfromjustoffthepath.

Iglancearound.AmyalreadylefttogomeetupwithGrace--andyes,there'sstillaweirdvibebetweenthetwoofthem,butAmy'spersevering,actinglikeifshedoesn'tacknowledgeitagain,thenmaybeit'llmagicallyceasetoexist.Fangandtheotherssaidthey'dberightbehindme,butthey'retrailingbyquiteabit.WithnoonearoundtonoticewhatI'mupto,Ipullofftothesideofthepath,duckingbehindatree.

Andfine,okay,Igetit.Eavesdroppingisbad.

Butsoistalkingaboutsomeonebehindtheirback--right?

"She'snotready,"Rhiannonsays,moreardentlythistime,hernormallycoolcomposurecracking.

Isuckinabreath.I'veneverheardthislevelofconcernbeforeinhervoice.

Thisfear.

DoesthishaveanythingtodowiththefactthatI'mknockedup?Rhiannonfoundout,butshepromisedtokeepittoherself.RookandFangandtheothersareallstillinthedark.

Withmyknucklepressedtomymouth,Istraintolisten,mygazedartingaroundtomakesurenoone'scoming.

"Ofcourseshe'snot,"Rooksays,calmandlevel,andyeah,that'sfine--notaknifetomyheartoranything.

BecauseIgetit.I'mnotready.Buthearingitfromthepeoplewho'vebeenhelpingmeprepare?

It'sgutting.

"Wecan'tletherfacehim."

"Doyouseeanyotheroption?"RooksaysitwithanopennessIwouldn'thaveexpected,consideringhowdirehiswarningsabouttheShadowKinghavebeen.He'dhonestlylovetohearanotherviableplan.

"No,"Rhiannonadmits.

"Thenifwetellhershecan'tfacehim,we'readmittingdefeat.Erembourwillstealthemagicfromallofdragonkind,he'llmarryAria,andhe'llconquerourentireworld,whilewesitidlybyandwatch."

"Obviously,Idon'twantthat--"

"Thenwefight.Shefights.She'searnedthatright."

"But..."Rhiannon'svoicewavers,andIbitedownontheinsideofmycheek.Isshegoingtotellhimournews?

Rookwaitsherout,givingheramomenttogatherherthoughts.

Finally,shesnifflesandcontinues,wetly, "She'ssoyoung--youngerthanAmethyst,even.Shehasthosehopelesslydevotedmatesandherwholelifeaheadofherand--It'snotfair."

Somethinginsideofmeunclenches.She'llkeepmyconfidence,fornow.

"Noneofthisis,"Rooktellsher,andthere'satendernesstothewayhe'sspeakingthathasmybrowsknittingtogether.

"Ithoughtweendedit,withthelastwar.Ilefteveryonebehindtosavemychildren,andnowwe'resendingchildrenintothefraytocleanupthemessweleft--"

"AmessIhelpedmake."Rook'stoneburnswithregret.

Rhiannonbarksoutaquietlaugh. "AsifIcouldforgetthat."

"We'redoingwhatwecan,now,"Rookassuresher.They'respeakingmoreandmorequietly--moreintimately. "They'retheirownpeople.They'llfighttheirownwar.Allwecandoispreparethemthebestyoucan."

"Ihateitwhenyoumakesense,"shesays,butthewarmthinhervoicemakesitsoundlikeshedoesn'thateitthatmuchatall.

Everythinggoessilent,andIdaretopeekaroundtheedgeofthetree.

WhatIseerocksme.

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