Page 30 of A Flame of the Phoenix

Inside, she headed straight to her desk, opening her well of ink and hastily pulling out a sheet of parchment. With her quill she began to write out what had happened today. So little, yet so much with where she was about to venture. Once she’d got it all out, Tauria finished her note as she always did.

The moon is half tonight. I love you. I miss you.

Standing with her letter, Tauria made her way over to the fireplace that was kept ablaze. Flame caught at the edge of the paper, and she watched it devour her words like she did every night before she slept. For Nik. It was how she communicated with him without their bond. He would Nightwalk to her and be able to find the memory of her writing the note to know what it had said before she’d burned it. Then he would create a beautiful dream that left his lasting impression when she awoke, so she’d never feel alone.

Dressed for bed, Tauria sat at the mirror for a moment. Since he could only see from her perspective in her memories, this was the only way Nik saw her face. Her hand reached to the glass as she thought of him, but the cold surface turned her sorrowful, and she hugged her knees instead.

“I’m a little frightened,” she admitted, knowing he would feel her emotions anyway. “But I’m even more determined.”

Tauria hoped to dive deeper into the history of high lord Mordecai—to find weaknesses to exploit—and there was no place that could have more knowledge about him than his ownkingdom from ages past. But there was no telling what else she might discover on the land of the continent’s roots of terror.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Faythe

Faythe stood around the table in a war tent littered with maps and figures. With the commanders and generals gathered, her concern for Commander Livia Arrowood came back to the surface of her thoughts. They hadn’t seen Reylan’s cousin since the Battle of Ellium.

In these past weeks, Faythe was focused and determined to learn all she could about Rhyenelle’s armies and strategies, and to get to know the leading commanders and generals at each war camp she traveled to with Kyleer.

Knowledge that would take years to learn had to be crammed into as many hours as she could spare for the battle efforts now. It kept her mind on two tasks at once, so as not to be idle or hopeless while they searched for Reylan. He wouldn’t want her to waste time focusing solely on him. This way, they were making plans to take back Ellium, possibly pivoting to aid High Farrow and Fenstead now, and all the while they had every resource on finding any information on where Reylan was being held.

“Our legions in the east have been discovered despite our diligent efforts,” Commander Leon informed them.

A map of Ungardia spanned the table in the camp’s meeting tent, with various figures placed to mark their legions, armadas, and potential threats that had been scouted. Faythe was becoming familiar with all the terms and strategies for movement, defense, and stakeout.

“How is that possible?” Kyleer said, leaning his hands on the table and observing it as if the enemy would pop up and tell him where they were coming from.

Another commander added, “They weren’t prepared. We lost half. It’s like they knew not only exactly where they were, but also our entire protocol for ambush and defense.”

Faythe’s spine stiffened. She whispered, “Like Reylan would.”

Everyone’s attention snapped to her.

She didn’t want to be right. She added quickly, “He would never give it willingly.”

Her throat tightened until she could hardly draw air, but she kept still and poised, hands clasped behind her back to keep her composure. But thoughts of what Marvellas would have done to him to get that information from his steel-guarded mind racked her with tremendous fear and pain.

“Shit.” Kyleer straightened, keeping his sights on the table, and Faythe could practically hear the cogs working in his brain to figure something out.

How to outsmart their best.

“If that’s true, we have no chance of moving our forces anywhere General Arrowood wouldn’t know,” Leon said, dread now surfacing.

“High Farrow,” Nik interjected. He stood beside her, observing attentively but patiently. “Rhyenelle and Fensteadforces would be safe in High Farrow. If Reylan’s knowledge is compromised, that won’t be a strategy they’d find out.”

“You mean to harbor the entirety of our armies within your borders?” another general asked.

Nik nodded. “It will be a stretch of resources, but in times of war, we have to adapt.”

“And when those resources run out?” Kyleer asked. “As soon as they discover that’s where our forces have gone, they’ll attempt a siege, locking us all in there and starving us out of food and materials needed to fight back.”

“It’s not a foolproof suggestion, or even a favorable one for anyone. But the alternative is risking more attacks on unwitting legions and losing invaluable warriors for nothing,” Nik said.

“I’m in favor of this plan,” Faythe agreed.

She could feel a shift in the tent. A brewing disagreement infused the air with dominance and frustration.

A Rhyenelle commander named Cale spoke. “With all due respect, Your Highness, we need to consider this more carefully. Our army positions right now have been carefully considered over centuries. There are many strategies that hinge on retaining these positions for our best chances of reclaiming the kingdom if it ever fell.”

---