Page 71 of Vathia
Lennox takes over. “On our way out of the castle we were caught.”
It feels like the whole table stops breathing and the world pauses as we wait for him to continue.
“Ashbluff says he’s on our side,” he states, looking at me for confirmation.
I lean forward, resting my arms on the table. “He is. We recruited him to the cause last year. I’m assuming he’s the one who let you go?”
He nods. “He says he is gathering more allies from within, and that when the time comes he will come with aid. He wouldn’t tell us any more than that.”
“There’s one more thing,” Roz adds, the jokester of a male looking more serious than I ever recall seeing him. “Thornwing says there’s something wrong with the dragons.”
Roars echo loudly through the camp, shaking the ground, and I feel the rage pulsing through my bond with Zaddro.
“What do you mean ‘wrong’?” Jesper asks, tilting his head.
He shrugs. “Just that they seem docile. Almost non responsive unless ordered by their riders. I don’t know what the rest of the nest is like, but Thornwing says it’s unnatural and needs to be fixed.”
“Didn’t he also say that there seemed to be fewer dragons there as well?” Mel reminds him, prompting him to continue.
“He did.” He looks back at my mate and a part of me wants to growl and be possessive with her, but I don’t. I can’t. All I feel is shame. Shame for how I treated her, and for what happened at my father’s estate. This urge to grab her and take her north grows stronger every day and I’m not sure why but it has my stomach clenching with unease.
Killian glances at me like he knows exactly where my mind went. His gaze narrows and shakes his head, as if telling me to pull it together.
“I think some of the Phixmery horde left. From what Thornwing has told me, he suspects it happened not long after the choosing,” Roz finishes.
Aemon takes Ravina’s hand in his and I watch with a heavy yearning in my chest until it’s unbearable, and then I rip my eyes away, focusing on the map in front of me.
“We need to find where those dragons went,” Aemon replies.
“Vasari is urging me to search for them,” Ravina agrees. “Where would they go though?”
Jesper chuckles, leaning in to kiss her cheek, staring at her with big doe eyes. He’s a lovesick fool. “Why, my Little Beastie. Where do you think would be big enough to hide a large number of dragons?”
“The mountains,” she responds just as quickly. “Killian, send out two groups of warriors. Have them scout the Gratandi and Elskan Mountains. I doubt they would have stayed anywhere around Phixmery. Also have them ask around; there’s no way no one noticed a horde of that magnitude flying across the realm.” She takes a deep breath and meets my gaze, my gut tightening with the intensity of her stare. “What are we going to do about the Soul Stone? We need to find your father and get rid of it.”
Aemon shakes his head. “I’ve been doing some research with my mother’s notes. The Soul Stone can’t be destroyed.”
“Then we retrieve it when we sever Lord Craven’s head from his shoulders,” she hisses, and Jesper groans like she has said the most romantic thing.
“He has many safehouses,” I tell her, speaking up for the first time in a bit.
Her sapphire eyes land on me and my heart flutters against my ribcage. My breath suddenly disappears. I clear my throat. “It might take some time to find him, but even if we did, he isn’t an easy opponent, and we are still waiting on Killian’s and Jesper’s mothers to make it to Vathia. If anything were to happen to them…” I shake my head as if to force my thoughts back on track. “We would also need to move fast taking out the other Lords. Villages will be in danger once we make our move. There’s a lot to consider, and we can’t just go in there, dragons blazing.” I remind her of the reasons we haven’t removed our fathers yet.
If I wasn’t watching her so closely I would have missed her shoulders slightly deflating and the concerned glint in her eyes before they brighten slightly. “More scouts, three groups of two. Send Spirrix warriors of each fae group other than the Skuggi fae so they blend in better. Debrief them on where these safehouses are and where they might be able to find more information on any others. When they have the right one located we can go in with stealth on our side and steal back the Soul Stone. Maybe chuck it into the ocean so no one can ever find it again.”
I dip my head in acknowledgement. It’s a sound plan and a good start, although it probably won’t go according to how she wants. Without another word, I rise to my feet and leave in search of the general. I’m going to need a list of his best stealth warriors that aren’t from Vathia.
“TALYN, WAKE UP,” Zaddro hisses into my mind. “Something isn’t right.”
I jerk up in my cot, peering around the dark tent, but only the snores of others echo from outside.
Killian sits up slowly from the other side. “Voissor woke me,” he states simply, his voice gruff with sleep.
“So did Zaddro.” I strain my hearing, trying to hear why our dragons just woke us, but before I know it, both Killian and I are out of bed and rushing towards Ravina’s tent that she shares with Aemon. An urge to protect drives us so harshly that as Jesper rushes out of his tent we nearly barrel into each other.
“Tisur is sure something is wrong, but doesn’t know what,” he whispers, continuing next door, not bothering to knock as he enters her tent.
Killian hesitates for a moment before cursing under his breath and pushing through the flaps. It takes me a moment longer, but when I enter, Ravina is already sitting up and I’m not sure if I’m disappointed that she’s clothed or not. I mentally slap myself. No, you don’t deserve to see her like that.
