Page 49 of The Legacy of Ophelia
My stomach soured as I read it. I could barely force a word out. “Uprisings.”
Tolek shot to his feet. “What?”
I handed him the note, and Tolek relayed to the group, “There’s been uprisings in Banix. Heretics around the tar pits. The pools of dark magic are swarming with warriors who claim under Bant that Barrett is not fit to be king.” He swallowed, crumpling the parchment. “Probably that worm Nassik’s doing, spreading lies about Barrett’s legitimacy. They’ve had to barricade the palace.”
I dragged a hand through my hair. How the fuck did this happen? Neither of the major clan rulers currently held their seats—one due to a godkidnappingher, the other due to his people turning against him. And both were trapped in their own homes.
“Are Barrett and Dax all right?” Mila asked.
“For now,” Tolek said. “Celissia is with them, as are the staff and the rest of their council.”
“They can only survive so long in there,” I said.
Meridat took the letter, reading over the less-than-savory details. “He says when his council sent out missives about Echnid to neighboring cities, the messengers were intercepted. Because the crowds were already riled, they think it’s propaganda to get them to favor Barrett and are calling on Bant to save them.”
“Echnid is a fucking god!” Tolek blurted. “They needed to know.”
“One that history doesn’t have any recollection of,” I reminded him. “Echnid isn’t compromising Banix the way he is Damenal. These people only know of the Angels, not the Warrior God, and they want their Prime Warrior to affirm their faith.”
“Did Barrett say there’s anything we can do?” Mila asked.
Meridat finished reading the letter and set it down. “No. He says he and his people will travel to Xenovia when they are able.”
“Maybe…” I trailed off. My gaze landed on Tolek, a loose thread snagging in my mind. “Maybe we need to send our own assistance. As a show of good faith and alliance between the two major clans.” I kept my expression as neutral as possible and hoped no one poked through the weak reasoning.
“They’ll listen to a Mystique more than they’ll listen to their own prince?” Mila asked doubtfully.
“If we show we’re willing to set foot in their territory during unrest, it might prove how serious the threat of the Warrior God is.”
“Are you out of your damn mind?” Tolek asked me. “They’ll put an ax in your skull.”
“Not mine,” I said.
“You wantmeto go?” he asked incredulously.
No, truthfully, I didn’t want him to go. But if he did, he’d be further from Damenal. Further from riding into whatever threat Ophelia believed was mounting in the capital.
And Tolek seemed to read that plan exactly from my mind. Because instead of the confident smirk he usually met every challenge with, he glared at me. “No.”
“I’m not asking.”
“I’m not going.”
“You truly think those Engrossians are going to get a blade on you?” I appealed to the damn cockiness he wore so proudly.
Tolek lifted a brow, scoffing. “Not a chance. You know they wouldn’t. But you want me to leave so I won’t fly to Damenal.” I ground my jaw, trying really damn hard to control my frustration. “I’m not stupid, CK. I know what you’ve been doing.”
But he didn’t know why.
“Are you rejecting an order from the Second to the Revered?” I asked, voice tight.
Mila’s and Meridat’s eyes bounced between us, Erista and Mora pausing their low murmurs in the corner.
Tolek’s glare sharpened. Lethal. “Yes, I am.”
“You can’t keep going there,” I declared.
“I will never give up on her.”
