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Murtaugh went boneless in his seat, and Fleetfoot laid her golden head atop his thigh "Thank Mala for that mercy"

"Don’t thank her yet" Aedion shoved the letter into the pocket of the thick cloak he wore against the draft in the hall Don’t thank her at all, he almost added "On their way to Eldrys, Morath took out ten of Wendlyn’s warships near Iliu with our own"

Murtaugh rubbed his jaw "Why not give chase--follow them up the river?"

"Who knows?" Aedion would think on it later "Erawan set his sights on Eldrys, and so he has now taken the city He seems inclined to launch some of his troops from there If unchecked, they’ll reach Orynth in a week"

"We have to return to the caet our fleet back down the Florine and strike with Rolfe from the sea While we ha thees about his hunt for the scattered Mycenians and their legendary fleet The odds of Rolfe e to save their asses were as slim as the fabled Wolf Tribe at the far end of the Anascaul Mountains riding out of the hinterland Or the Fae who’d fled Terrasen a decade ago returning froone to join Aedion’s forces

The calculating cal settled into him, as solid as the fur cloak he wore Speed would be their ally now Speed and clarity

The lines have to hold, Rowan ordered before they’d parted Buy us whatever tiood on that promise

Evangeline fell silent as Aedion’s attention slid to the shifter down the table "How many can your wyvern form carry?"

CHAPTER 2

Elide Lochan had once hoped to travel far and wide, to a place where no one had ever heard of Adarlan or Terrasen, so distant that Vernon didn’t stand a chance of finding her

She hadn’t anticipated that itin the dusty, ancient alley of an equally dusty, ancient city in a kingdom south of Doranelle, Elideacross the clear sky, the sun baking the pale stones of the buildings, the dry wind sweeping through the narrow streets between them She’d learned the name of this city thrice now, and still couldn’t pronounce it

She supposed it didn’t ered in any of the cities they’d swept through, or the forests or dom, the relentless pace set by a prince who seemed barely able to rerimaced at the weathered witch leathers she still wore, her fraying gray cloak and scuffed boots, then glanced at her two companions in the alley Indeed, they’d all seen better days

"Any minute now," Gavriel , dark figure blended into the scant shadows at the half-cru street beyond

Elide didn’t look too long toward that figure She’d been unable to stomach it these endless weeks Unable to stomach him, or the unbearable ache in her chest

Elide frowned at Gavriel "We should have stopped for lunch"

He jerked his chin to the worn bag sagging against the wall "There’s an apple inabove theh the spare clothes, rope, weapons, and various supplies until she yanked out the fat red-and-green apple The last of the dom Elide wordlessly extended it to the Fae lord

Gavriel arched a golden brow

Elide "

Gavriel huffed a laugh and took the apple with an incline of his head before cleaning it on the sleeve of his pale jacket "Indeed it is"