Page 154 of A Queen This Fierce and Deadly

He folded like a puppet with its strings cut. His knees weakened until Demos leaped forward, guiding him down until he sat on the ground. Vicer’s eyes filled, and for the first time since I’d known him, his face was a mask of pure, unrelenting hopelessness. My gut clenched. After everything Vicer had seen and done for hybrids across Eprotha and Gromalia, this was the moment that might break him.

“We haven’t had enough time,” Vicer said dully. “As soon as Regner’s soldiers were dead, the elders began leading anyone who made it through the pass to the tunnel that would take them home. But the journey to the first camp was long and dangerous. And the rain madethe pass itself treacherous. Less than half of the people we’d thought would have made it through the pass have relocated to the other side of the mountains. The rest have been waiting at the temporary camp at the mouth of the pass. And more hybrids are arriving there every day.”

Urgency pushed me to my feet, and I gazed down at him. “You need to get word to the hybrids waiting at the mouth of the pass. They don’t have long to get to the tunnel before Regner’s fleet arrives.”

Demos turned to Stillcrest. “I need you to tell our generals everything you know about the pass through the Normathe Mountains. Any details you can remember. Anything that could help our people travel through the range more quickly.”

She nodded. Her gaze darted around until it met mine. The sudden intensity in her eyes was almost shocking.

“We’re all going to die, aren’t we?”

I jolted. She was still looking at me, as if she couldn’t trust anything Vicer or Demos would say. I opened my mouth.

And it hit me.

Yes. There was a good possibility we were going to die. When I was trapped in Regner’s dungeon, I’d had nothing to focus on but my looming death. But now…now I’d turned my attention to everything except the reality of the battle to come. I hadn’t let myself understand the reality of what our numbers meant compared to Regner’s.

Until this moment.

Stillcrest’s gaze burned into mine. I swallowed, and her expression turned blank.

“We’re going to get to the pass before Regner’sregiment. And we’re going to hold the line until help comes,” Demos said.

Stillcrest nodded. But her gaze dropped to the ground. He hadn’t answered her question. And that was an answer itself.

“I know you’ve been traveling as quickly as possible, given the circumstances,” Demos said to Vicer. “But we need to have this camp moving again at first light. Any who are unable to travel will stay behind, but they will be expected to follow tomorrow. We have no time to waste.”

Vicer nodded. “We were planning to leave at first light anyway. There are a few empty tents for you. I’ll show you where they are.”

I followed him gratefully, more than ready to try to block out the world and get a few hours of sleep. The tents were close to Vicer’s own, and I wasn’t entirely surprised when Demos took my hand and led me inside the tent he’d been designated. He sat on the small stool, and his head fell forward, until it was resting against my stomach. I ran my fingers through his hair.

“I should have seen this coming,” he said.

“I hadn’t realized you were a seer,” I said mildly.

He snorted, but he didn’t lift his head.

“I just don’t understand how Regner got to our people. They’re not children.”

I scratched his scalp gently with my nails, and he arched his head like a cat. “He’s wielding that grimoire in newer, even more terrifying ways. Hiding all those ships so he could sink half of Daharak’s fleet… If he’d been able to do that even months ago, Daharak herself would be dead by now.”

Demos lifted his head. His eyes were a little glazed, but they cleared as he watched me. “The more he uses the grimoire, the more he can do with it.”

Slowly, he got to his feet. “That’s why he wants to go to war now. He’s the strongest he’s ever been. And some part of him must know the dark god is coming for that grimoire. Regner needs to solidify his hold on this continent before that happens.”

Despair gnawed at me. If Demos felt any hint of that emotion, it wasn’t evident. His eyes were steady, focused.

“I won’t let you die. You know that, don’t you?”

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it once more. “Demos…”

“I saw your face in that tent. When Stillcrest said we would die. And I want you to know, I will do whatever it takes to keep you alive, Asinia. You’re going to live through this. I promise.”

“Don’t, Demos. Don’t promise me that.” I knew this man well enough to know he kept his word. Only the gods knew what or whom he would sacrifice to keep that promise.

He just gave me a sad smile.

“This isn’t how I wanted us to do this,” he murmured, pushing back a strand of hair that had broken free of my braid. “And I have only myself to blame for wasting so much time. I kept telling myself there would be more time later for me to become the man you deserved. I was sure that once we won this war, I could do this properly. I could court you.”

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