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  “Listen to yourself, friend,” Nyx encouraged. “You said Sirius might want what?”

  “Dwarven siege weapons...” I trailed off. As it clicked in my head, Nyx only grinned.

  “Maybe we can convince the dwarves to let us borrow some of the beauts,” My best friend mused. “Taking Hammerton will help us immensely, Kai. It'll get the dwarves off Hasani's back, root out Chairel's greatest ally, and give us the best tools available to take Sera. And Comercio, and Celendar, because in order to take Sera, we'd need to take over the others. I know Sirius is your biggest concern, but he is not the ruler of Chairel. Queen Edrys is, and she is in Comercio.”

  “The benefits of taking Hammerton are great,” I agreed, “but the queen's interest reaches farther than that.”

  “Kai...it's impossible to eradicate the dwarves,” Jakan said, a long lock of brown hair falling before his gray eyes. “You know this. They did not become as powerful as they are by being stupid. Even if we gain the upper hand on them, they will retreat into the mountains and rebuild. Tracking down each and every survivor is impossible. If you take the land, the queen will be satisfied. The dwarves may relocate and rebuild, beaten but still able to preserve their culture.”

  “They will rebuild and form a rebellion,” I pointed out.

  “Yes, but let's be honest,” Cerin said beside me. “You will want them to. Assuming Eteri expands and we win the war, do you think they will stop there?”

  No. No, I don't, I admitted to myself. I'd only met Queen Tilda that day, but already I knew she would be willing to turn the tables on me when our prospective partnership no longer worked for her.

  “Allow the dwarves to have their rebellions and keep the Vhiri busy,” Cerin decided, his voice low to avoid having passersby hear him.

  The steel door of the tavern opened then, the metal scraping over jagged rock. I glanced over with little interest before I saw that the familiar man who had entered was looking for us.

  Cyrus held a letter in one golden hand as he approached our table, his blue eyes looking at us all. When he approached, he smelled of salt and spices. Compared to the other Sentinels, Cyrus seemed quite reserved. I wondered if that was just his personality, or if he knew things we did not.

  “Kai Sera, Queen Tilda wishes to apologize. Mistral received this letter for you from the Naharans some time ago, and she didn't get a chance to give it to you earlier.” Cyrus handed the letter over to me. I turned it over in my hands, seeing the official Naharan seal for the first time since we'd left on a ship from Al Nazir with the aid of Hasani's letter.

  “Thank you,” I offered. I felt excited to have received something from Nahara and hoped it was from Hasani in particular.

  Cyrus hesitated a moment. “The queen says that if you would like to negotiate further, you need only come to the castle and request it. You do not have to find one of the Sentinels to take you.”

  I nodded, as one finger grazed over the side of the envelope. “Cyrus, may I ask you a question from person to person, rather than from general to general?”

  The Sentinel blinked slowly, though his blue eyes remained receptive in mine. “You may ask whatever you wish.”

  “I understand Eteri has always had a hatred for the dwarves. Do you desire to see them eradicated?”

  Cyrus's light eyes registered in understanding. “I wish to conquer the dwarves, Kai. I wish for what is best for Eteri. Killing the dwarves like they are pests even if they are innocent to this war is not best for Eteri.”

  “This is what your queen has asked me to do,” I told him evenly.

  Cyrus glanced up at the others, most of his blue eyes hidden by his thick hair before he returned his gaze to me. “Only one of you is Vhiri, but none of you are dwarven. Do you have other personal reasons which would keep you from agreeing to take Hammerton?”

  “Only sympathy,” I replied. “I am willing to take Hammerton because it will benefit your country and my rebellion. But I am not willing to exterminate its people like a tyrant.”

  Cyrus watched me carefully for a moment. “Queen Tilda has ruled Eteri for hundreds of years. Perhaps that is why we have earned the nickname of the high elves.” He hesitated, letting his words sink in. “She loves war, Kai, but only when she can stay safe in her castle and pull the strings of her puppets. If we are to march on Hammerton together, the queen will not be beside you. The Sentinels will be.”

  I took this information in with much interest. “You have dissent among you,” I murmured.

  Cyrus looked away, unwilling to agree. “We follow our queen's orders, but those orders can only reach so far. I am the second Sentinel, Kai, and I have served the queen long enough to know that the judgment of royalty is not always infallible.” The Sentinel paused. “I apologize, but I should be going.”

  Cyrus turned, took a step toward the door, and then stopped again. He moved his face to the side, where I could only see one hesitant blue eye. “Be careful, Kai. The queen is not always forthcoming with her ways.”

  *

  Cerin poured two cups of tea from the pot of boiling water he'd had over our inn room fire. It smelled spicy and herbal, and green specks of leaves swirled around the water as they began to color it. I watched my lover prepare the tea with sugar as I waited for him on the bed. Both of us were warm from recent baths and wore only our underclothes. I always found myself admiring Cerin when he had no armor on. He looked gorgeous in it, of course, but he also looked beautiful without it, and I was the only one to have ever seen him like that.

  The necromancer chuckled roughly as he noticed my stare, before setting my tea on the side table beside me. “Did you always stare at me like that, or do you only do it now because you can?”

  I laughed softly as he went around to the other side of the bed. “I always stared at you like that, even when you were young. You just never noticed me.”

  “Oh, trust me, I noticed you,” Cerin retorted, before getting into the bed himself. “You were gorgeous, even then. And kind, and powerful. I was left dumbfounded by why you always seemed to want to befriend me.”

  “I wanted in your pants,” I replied, to which Cerin laughed.

  “Yes, well, you've succeeded, because you have a way of getting what you want.” Cerin reached over to grab his tea, before lifting it to his nose, sniffing at it.

  “Are you happy with me?” I questioned, watching him with admiration.

  Cerin glanced over, a half-smile brightening one side of his face. “Of course. Happier than I've ever been. I love you.” He hesitated before a frown creased his features. “Are you happy with me? You told Altan today that I was the reason all of this happened at all. With Bjorn, and—”

  “You know what I meant, Cerin,” I interjected. “I blame nothing on you. I could have let you die in those dungeons, and Bjorn would have never been executed. But that's not what happened, and those weren't the decisions I made. There's no use in thinking further into it now.”

  “There is if you are starting to regret your own decisions.”

  I distracted myself by pulling my own cup of tea off of the side table and bringing it to my lips. I took a sip of it, tasting a mixture of herbs I never had before. The spice was more in the scent of the tea than its flavor, for it wasn't harsh on my throat.

  “You are usually so quick to answer questions so when you don't, I wonder if I should worry,” Cerin mused after I'd said nothing.

  “You didn't ask a question.”

  “I alluded to one.”

  I sighed, my eyes on the sconces of fire that were perched along the stone walls of our room. “I do not regret any of my decisions, Cerin. I am only trying to prevent that from happening.”

  “We need Eteri,” Cerin murmured.

  “Yes,” I agreed.

  “View a prospective alliance as one with the Sentinels, not the queen,” Cerin suggested. “As Cyrus said, it would be with them that you will be working. Cyrus wasn't keen on the queen's entire idea. I doubt Altan would be. We can't
know the opinions of the others, but we know that the top two Sentinels of seven agree with you.”

  “It isn't Hammerton which worries me right now,” I admitted. “I agree with you, what Cyrus told me tonight makes me feel a little relieved. The queen can tell the Sentinels what to do as much as she wants, but it will be up to them to carry out her will.”

  Cerin nodded, swallowing a gulp of tea. “Then what worries you?”

  “Everything else. There's something going on here that we're not being told, and Cyrus warned us of this tonight. The gods have requested Eteri's assistance in killing me. The queen claims she rejected them, but can we trust her?”

  “She spoke of the gods as if she has known of them all along,” Cerin added.

  I nodded. “Of course, she is hundreds of years old. Just over four hundred years ago, this land was in the Golden Era,” I pointed out. “It's possible Tilda was aware of the gods before they went into hiding and swore themselves to secrecy. Perhaps she has befriended some of them. But...” I trailed off, thinking back to when we'd first met Kirek. “Kirek's distaste for the Naharans made it seem like she was not religious.”

  “Kirek was there when the queen admitted to having spoken with the gods, though,” Cerin argued.

  I reached up to grab my forehead in frustration. “Hell, I don't know. They are so secretive here.” An idea suddenly popped into my head, and I pulled my legs over the side of the bed.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I need to ask Azazel a question.” I set the rest of my tea back down on the side table, before hurrying to leave the room. Once out in the stone hallway, I jogged to the next door over. I heard Nyx in the midst of a sexual escapade and almost went back to my own room, though neither of the male voices that joined hers belonged to Azazel. I finally knocked on the archer's door, hoping I wasn't intruding.

  Azazel opened the door moments later. He was shirtless but very much alone. I noticed for the first time that two puncture scars dotted the right side of his chest. I wondered if they were a result of a particularly strenuous hunt of his from before our takeover of Hazarmaveth.

  The archer noticed my stare and glanced down at his own bare chest. “I can dress if you have need of me.”

  “No. You're fine. I just noticed your scars.”

  Azazel's black eyes pulled up to mine. “It was a spider which attempted to paralyze me. The old-fashioned way,” he added, given the alteration magic we both had access to.

  “How did you survive it?” I questioned.

  “Potions,” the archer replied. “I never left for a hunt without them.”

  “It would have been nice to have potions like those for our takeover,” I teased him.

  “They do not work against magic,” Azazel admitted. “Otherwise, I would have provided.”

  “You will have to provide lotions for you and Nyx, now that you are both in the sun all the time.” I nodded my head toward the skin of his arms, which was starting to flake.

  “Yes.” Azazel chuckled softly. “As soon as your skin heals from the underground, our skin begins its protest. I think the Ancients meant to keep the Alderi isolated.”

  I smiled. “Perhaps that is true, but they failed because here you are.”

  “Here I am. And you wanted to ask me a question?”

  I thought back to when I'd admitted that to Cerin in our room. “I shouldn't be surprised you heard that from in here.”

  “I apologize,” Azazel grimaced, embarrassed. “To be honest, I think my ears are searching for things to listen to that aren't Nyx. She's been at this for hours.”

  I couldn't help but chuckle. “She must have found some young guys, then.”

  “She's found a few,” Azazel admitted. “Started with one, invited more. Voices come, voices go. I'm surprised you haven't at least heard the door opening and closing. It is creaky and needs to be oiled.”

  I grinned at Azazel's description with amusement. “Would you like to switch rooms with Cerin and me?”

  “No.” Azazel smiled. “Thanks for the offer, but I'll just sleep with a pillow over my head.” He hesitated. “Your question?”

  “Yes.” I re-focused my mind. “You are good with names. What does Bhaskar mean?”

  “Ah. The Sentinel who did not arrive today,” Azazel mused, catching my line of thought. “Bhaskar means the sun. Before you start connecting any dots, Kai, so do many of the names here. I have noticed that most of the Vhiri are named after the sky or its orange occupant.”

  “Other Sentinels are named after the sun as well?” I clarified.

  “Yes,” Azazel nodded. “Naolin, Cyrus, Altan, and Bhaskar are all names of the sun.”

  “Well, shit,” I cursed. “There goes that theory.”

  “I am sorry I couldn't be more help,” Azazel apologized.

  “Don't be. You've answered my question. Thank you.” I nodded toward Nyx's room. “Good luck ignoring it.”

  Azazel chuckled, and we said our good nights. I headed back to my own room, where Cerin waited for me. I told him of my findings. We were back to square one.

  “There's no use in worrying,” Cerin decided. “We will proceed carefully as we always do.”

  “That worked well last time,” I replied, my tone laced with sarcasm.

  “Yes, well, someone decided to act on their own and not rely on her friends,” Cerin retorted, speaking of Judai's assassination attempt on me. “And speaking of friends, you have held onto Hasani's letter all night, and you have not read it.” Cerin put his empty teacup over on the stone side table, before he turned over on his side, his long black hair fanning out over the pillow and leaving the fabric moist with remnants of water from his earlier bath. “Read it.”

  “I am somewhat worried it will be negative,” I admitted, reaching down beside the bed to pull my satchel up. I dug through it, pulling out the letter. “It's possible King Adar does not agree with my actions in the wildlands, and it has all been for nothing.”

  “Read it,” Cerin repeated, unwilling to entertain negativity.

  I chuckled at his impatience. “Fine.” I slipped my thumb under the flap of the envelope, before breaking a seal that had been closed for moons. I opened the official Naharan parchment, reading Hasani's words to me that had been written half a year ago.

  70th of High Star, 420

  Kai,

  Good gods, sister! Shipwrecks were certainly not in the plan. I apologize profusely for not catching your pursuers while you were here. I thought our castle guards were doing an excellent job keeping you safe, but somehow, they found you nonetheless. I have to admit to having had skepticism when you mentioned allying with the underground and the beastmen in your first letter. Neither are prone to partnerships, though I am sure you have considered this. Your second message alerting me to your takeover of Thanati has given me hope, and that is why I am writing to you now. You mentioned you were still going to Eteri if you managed to take Quellden, so that is where I will send this. I pray it will make its way to you.

  Nahara has not been attacked as of yet, but my father has been allowing the runners to move farther north past the border of Chairel, and they have reported that Queen Edrys is collecting her armies. They have made no move to attack, though the troops are setting up in the plains surrounding Comercio. As you know, this is the closest city to our border, so I am considering this a threat of military action. We are vastly outnumbered, and I would be lying if I said this was not a concern to me. I did not expect Chairel to start moving so quickly, and I know you agree given our talks in the past. I have been busy preparing defenses for their inevitable march. We have been barricading T'ahal and littering the sands near the border with caltrops to disable their cavalry. But Sirius has reformed the Twelve, Kai, and caltrops cannot reach griffons.

  Forgive me for my long-winded explanation, but I worry for T'ahal. This city does not have a wall because my father in his stupidity refused to begin building one until just after you left. I am using the gold from your
temple to help fund it. I know that is not one of the two things you offered it for, but I desperately need to prepare this city against attack. If this displeases you, I am willing to work something out to return this gold to you.

  I pray that your takeover of the underground goes well, sister, because Nahara needs support. Father and I are both more than willing to work with the underground if and when they send their messengers. I will trust the Alderi like you've asked me to because I have no choice. Gods know I will be requesting their support far earlier than they could anticipate. They only have one tunnel exit in Nahara, but they surely have access to many parts of Chairel. This offers us a few strategies to work with.

  I have heard rumors of Chairel declaring war on Eteri, and forgive me for saying this, but I almost hope this is the case. It will provide a distraction for us. We have sent diplomats to Eteri asking for a military alliance. If we are both to be at war with Chairel, it will be best to fight together as one. I hope you are well when you receive this and that you consider everything I've said here. Nahara needs support, Kai. Wherever you are and whatever your next steps will be, please remember this and let it guide your decisions.