“So.” King Zakai drew out the word, his eyebrows raised. “Are you joining us now?”
His son, Zarad, and his first, Gairome, were there with Dyter and Zakai, as well as the four women and men who made up Zakai’s command team, including the two assassins, Nielub and Niemoj. All eight of them stood around a slab of wood balanced atop a thick chest.
Tyrrik and I stepped up to the makeshift table. A map of the Draecon Empire had been tacked to the wooden slab, and several more pins were scattered in clusters in different areas. I brushed my fingertips over the green pins just outside of Verald and took a deep breath.
“Before we start,” I said, keeping my head down, “Draedyn attacked my mind in my sleep last night. Tyrrik and I will be rotating our sleep schedules until I learn to keep him out.” I raised my head and glanced at Dyter. “We thought you should be aware of the development.”
Prince Zarad straightened. “When you say attacked your mind . . .”
“She means he seized control and forced her to attack me,” Tyrrik growled. “I was able to break through, but my delay in responding was because I hadn’t anticipated the possibility.”
All attention turned to me, and I met each of their gazes in turn.
“You are actively working on . . . keeping the emperor out of your mind?” King Zakai asked.
“I am,” I said, inclining my head.
“I don’t like it,” one of the female Gemondians said. “We have a Drae in our camp that the emperor can control. He can turn her into a weapon at anytime, and we’re supposed to be okay with that?”
Tyrrik’s lips curved. “With all due respect to your station, whatever that may be—”
“Commander Smurt, Gemond’s second battalion,” the woman snapped.
“Hmm,” Tyrrik mused, the curve of his smile widening. “Well, Commander, with respect to whatever qualification your role or title indicates in human affairs, you, and every single one of you in here, know nothing about the complexities of this subject.”
The woman flushed red and clenched her jaw. She glared at Tyrrik and opened her mouth to respond, but Tyrrik didn’t give her an opportunity.
“If Ryn is awake, she’ll have her veil up, and Draedyn cannot get through. If she’s asleep, I’ll be awake. If I’m awake, Draedyn will not be able to control her.” His lip curled, and his fangs lengthened just below his lips in a chilling snarl. “The point is Draedyn will not get through again.”
The woman might have a secret death wish. She leaned over the table, meeting Tyrrik’s glare with one of her own. “Do you have any idea what she could do if you slip up?”
Tyrrik’s eyes shifted to ink-black slits. I rested a hand on his arm and, noticing his talons were extending, sent him a jolt of my energy.
“I do,” I said to the woman. “I understand.”
She opened her mouth again, and Zakai interjected. “Would you rather the two Drae leave our army, Dilowa?”
She shut her mouth and eventually shook her head. “No, My Liege. Just thinking of the safety of my battalion.”
The king inclined his head at the older brunette. “For which I am most thankful.” He shifted his gaze to me and asked, “Lady Ryn, could you please keep us informed on your progress?”
“I can,” I answered, removing my hand from Tyrrik’s arm now that his onyx energy wasn’t glowing violently. Seriously, Smurt must mean death-wish.
“I wish you luck,” Zakai added. “Not just for our sake but yours as well. I can’t imagine any circumstance in which I’d want the emperor in my head. Most unpleasant.”
Like I needed a reminder. I threw him a tight smile. “Most definitely unpleasant.”
Gairome cleared his throat in the wake of awkward silence. “Back on track then. In eight days, we’ll reach the borders of Azule. The arrival of the Phaetyn should coincide with our own. Verald’s force will lag two days, four at the most. Our force when we arrive at the fishing kingdom should be two thousand five hundred strong.”
You okay now? I asked Tyrrik, only half-listening to the numbers of our army.
Mmm. Yes. More than okay. He accompanied his answer with a jolt of white-hot lust that had me gasping out loud.
The voices around us faltered, and I stared back at eight pairs of wide eyes while I tried to gather my thoughts . . . out of Tyrrik’s aketon.
Tyrrik wasn’t nearly so stunned since he was the one causing the disruption. He spoke silkily, “Carry on.”
Once the discussion resumed, he thought at me, That’s the first time you’ve sent me energy when I wasn’t dying.
I arched a brow, attempting to appear nonchalant, but my heart continued to throw itself against my ribs, desperately wanting to dance the maypole with Tyrrik. Clearly, my power must’ve made him feel all kinds of turned on, and he wanted to return the favor. Bad timing, I shot at him, and his laughter echoed in my mind. Seriously, since combusting in the tent and card playing are out right now, I’m going to focus on the conversation.
They’re talking about the potential alliance with Azule. Once we cross the border, we’ll still have a full day’s journey to the center of the country where the king or queen lives.
How are you—I tuned him out and focused on Zarad.
“While we enter into talks with Azule’s leader, we’ll also be awaiting the arrival of King Calvetyn and the Veraldians,” the prince said.
I butted in. “Who rules Azule?”
“By our last report, Queen Mily held power, but Azulis have been known to change their ruler frequently. The queen was reported to be . . . eager. If luck is with us, she still holds the throne.”
I’d already gotten the sense of rural Azule as a harsh, rugged kingdom from the twins, and Zarad’s vague information was confusing, but I wouldn’t pass judgment until I’d met the queen myself. Even so, I didn’t assume she’d be sending out a welcome party. I slid my gaze to where Zakai now sat on a wooden stool, studiously attending his son’s words.
“When Caltevyn arrives, he’ll want to negotiate the terms of the plan I spoke of last week. But I think it would be wise to introduce the possibility before his arrival if we can lay the groundwork,” Dyter said.
Hold up.
“What plan?” Tyrrik beat me to the question.
Dyter glanced at us. “Using Azule’s fleet to bring back the young men from the emperor’s war overseas. Our numbers would be greatly increased by doing so.”
I stared at him, my eyes narrowing the more I heard. Finally, I snapped. Doing my best to control my frustration, I asked, “How long has this been Calvetyn’s plan?”
The tent hushed, and the tension ratcheted up a bajillion notches. Dyter looked at me, and I looked right back.
The man who had always been my mentor and protector scanned my face, no doubt picking up on the unstated accusation and my irritation for being kept out of the loop.
Dyter squared his shoulders and said, “Since Calvetyn was sent to the frontline by his father. To die. He ended up meeting several key people, and the army has been ready to return and fight with us. It is why the rebellion first accepted Calvetyn into their midst. He merely required the means to bring the army back, but Azule has more than enough boats to achieve this. Our army could be increased within a few days, doubled within a month if the plan is undertaken immediately.”
I clenched my jaw, holding Dyter’s gaze. At what point was he going to tell me all of this? He’d found time to tell the Gemondian’s. He’d obviously known Cal’s plan before leaving Verald. Dyter had travelled for months with me, with the specific intention of opening negotiations with Azule for this very purpose.
I was a part of this. Not to toot my own horn, but I was a big part of it. By the end of the war, I’d either be slave to my father or finally free. I was investing my powers, my life, and my mind to the cause, risking every single one of them. At one point, months ago, I hadn’t wanted to know anything, but that time was long gone, and I knew Dyter knew that.
“I don’t appreciate being kept in the dark,” I said, in what I believed to be a mostly calm voice.
No one else spoke.