Page 145 of Ashes of Honor

Her muttering continued, nonsensical fragments spilling from her lips, but my mind fixated on one thing: Jessa and Riley’s group were in danger.

The soldiers edged closer, boots and hooves crunching against the dirt as they tightened their formation. Weapons were raised, not in aggression but in a defensive readiness, their gazes darting between Millie and the horizon.

“Stay back!” I barked without thinking. They shifted uneasily, their readiness palpable.

Isabella strode into the circle, her sharp gaze snapped from Millie to the gathered soldiers. Before I could explain myself, Moe glanced at her and subtly shook her head, the message clear in her hardened expression:This is confidential.

Isabella’s mouth tightened with displeasure. “Keep moving. Slow your pace.” Her glare swept over the soldiers, cutting off any objections. “If you’re not caught up in fifteen, I’ll send a squad for you,” she added, softer as the latter was meant for only our ears.

The unit peeled away, leaving Moe and me with Millie. Not the best position to be in given what we just went through, but hey, choice becomes a mere request when you’re traveling miles and miles away from?—

I worked to soothe myself.Calm. You gotta be calm if you wanna be safe.

Millie’s murmurs quieted as her body stilled. Her head lolled as she came out of the vision. I brushed her damp hair out of her face, gently tilting her chin to meet her emerald eyes. They were wild and unfocused.

“Hey, take a breath,” I said soothingly. “You’re safe.”

“For how long?” she rasped, attempting to push herself up instinctively, but her arms buckled. I caught her before she could fall again, her limbs twitching as her nervous system struggled to regain control.

“Relax,” Moe said, still crouched beside her. “What did you see?”

Millie swallowed hard, her eyes darting around, searching for something solid to focus on. Her voice trembled as she began.

“I knew that bitch was bitter from the moment I met her but this … this goes too far. It’s Jessa, she’s going to Ronan.”

“What?” I yelped, rearing back. “My father? Ronan Moore?”

Millie’s face softened with pity as she met my tearful stare. “She’s furious—furious with Reina. About the breakup, sure, but more than that. She feels abandoned … humiliated. Like you used her for information and tossed her aside.” There was nothing but ice in her tone.

A lump formed in my throat. Jessa had always been intense—passionate in everything she did—but this?

“Shit,” Moe mumbled, backing away and running her hand through her silky hair. “She knows the plan. Where we’re going to portal in, the contingency routes—everything. She had to in order for Amaia to know how to coordinate our routes.”

“A spy is a spy, no matter how pretty,” Millie scolded, and I couldn’t explain it, but the sting of her words felt as sharp as a slap. As though she thought I should have known better from the jump.

My blood ran cold. The plan to portal directly into the capitol was risky enough without this. If Ronan knew the entry point, he’d have every advantage to trap Amaia, the cavalry and the squad going with her. He’d know that the battles waged miles away from Richmond were just a distraction for our final attack.

Moe’s knuckles whitened as her hands curled into fists. She remained silent, mentally unraveling every thread of what this meant.

“Ugh, what afool,” Millie ranted. “He’s going to kill her.”

My ribs constricted, the pressure suffocating. Jessa. Her name alone was enough to stir the ache I’d been trying to bury. I hadn’t ended things because I stopped caring for her. I ended things because her choices—her lies—made it impossible to stay. Butthis? Was my sense of judgment so warped that I couldn’t see who she was at her core? She had never cared about doing what was right, had only cared how doing what was wrong made her look in my eyes.

“He’ll smile at her, nod along to every damn word, like he’s actually listening. But the second she gives him what he wants?—”

“We get it,” Moe snapped, her eyes flicking toward me, assessing. She’d caught the crack in my composure before I could patch it. The picture was as vivid as if I’d been there. The chill in Millie’s voice made my stomach twist. “What else?”

Millie’s eyes glazed over as she recalled the rest. “He’s watching us. Watching Amaia’s forces. Waiting. It’s like … he’s biding his time for the perfect strike. He wants her to come. To lead the charge herself. Your father is betting everything on her walking into this. He has every intention of breaking her, meeting her in the streets and making an example. And whatever’s left of us after that, will crumble.”

The silence was stifling. We all knew Amaia’s mind. Bold. Fearless. Always ten steps ahead. But my father wasn’t just her opposite; he was her equal. For years, he’d studied her every move, countered her strategies, and laid traps to exploit the vulnerabilities she didn’t even realize she had.

Moe’s voice shattered the quiet. “We can’t tell her outright.”

Millie’s head snapped up, alarm flashing in her eyes. “She has a right to know. If she’s walking into a trap?—”

“She has already decided this is worth the risk,” Moe interrupted. “He’s counting on her to adjust if she finds out. We guide her. Quietly. Shift the plan in ways he won’t see coming.”

Millie swallowed hard, clearly unconvinced, but she didn’t argue.

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