Page 34 of A Flame of the Phoenix

Nik confirmed with a shake of his head, sheathing his sword.

“You really are an anomaly. It’s not common for those without magick to produce a child of one, never mind with the strength of it you possess.”

“So I’ve heard,” Nik brushed off, but there was a note in his tone that revealed he’d never settled with the knowledge either.

They were all shocked by a presence dropping from the trees, and they spun, turning their collective attention to the intruder. Faythe’s fight faltered completely at the brilliant auburn hair she spied.

“Liv!” Kyleer was the first to close the distance in a few long strides before enveloping the commander in his large arms.

“How did you sneak up so easily?” Nik admired.

“A particular catlike talent,” Kyleer answered for her with the brightest grin, reaching to tousle her hair.

Faythe smiled at their playful jostling. Her chest lightened a fraction to know Livia’s safety was accounted for when they’d been trying to track her.

“What took you so long?” Faythe asked.

“I’ve been scouting,” Livia explained. “Trying to find what I can.”

“Have you found anything about?—?”

“No.” Livia cut Faythe off before her hope could spark. “Nothing about Reylan yet, but there’s an enemy legion heading toward Fener, and I predict it will settle by nightfall. We’d be wise to move this camp before they get here. They outnumber us two-to-one.”

Faythe asked Kyleer, “Do you think it’s the same one that attacked the other camp?”

Kyleer hummed, his expression shifting with a firm battle focus.

“What direction did they come from?”

“West, it would appear. They were all in black. Valgard soldiers, I believe.”

“Marvellas’s soldiers,” Faythe corrected. “We can’t keep blaming one kingdom when they could be just as much of a puppet as High Farrow was. A nation to take the blame.”

“Even in history, under the rule of Mordecai, who lives again, Valgard has always been at odds with the rest of the continent.”

“Even so. I won’t condemn an entire country for their history,” Faythe said. Then she directed her thoughts back to the impending army. “Two-to-one isn’t that unmatched.”

Livia said, “Our warriors here are still recovering, and we need time to get our generals and our legions in order to fight systematically.”

Faythe didn’t enjoy the itch in her that wanted this battle. To be on the front line and in the thick of it, cutting through Marvellas’s forces like timber. Maybe this could be their greatest lead yet toward Reylan. It was selfish of her to want to fight.

Kyleer said, “We don’t have enough time to move out as one. We’ll have to get word to the other generals imminently to break off and divert. Some may have to stay behind.”

Faythe nodded, accepting his guidance with this. Her anger shook. She felt like the mouse in Marvellas’s maze, forced to scramble and hitting dead ends while the prey closed in.

“I’m staying behind,” Faythe said.

“You’re our leader, not a front-line soldier,” Livia protested.

“Cale was right in that meeting. I’m powerful. People are counting on me, and I haven’t done anything yet to show it.”

“That’s not true, and you know it,” Kyleer said.

“Then I’ve not doneenough,” Faythe corrected. “I was a fighter before I was a queen. I can be both.”

“I’m staying with you,” Kyleer said.

“This might not be a prime concern,” Samara chimed in timidly, “but with the plans to send everything you have to High Farrow, I have to wonder if Lord Zarrius still holds power there.”

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