That night, Miro and Killian assembled a hasty war conference at the Crystal Palace. With the rulers of four houses present, as well as the emperor, it was time to seek answers to grave questions and make important decisions about the future.
The biggest questions of all remained unanswered. Where was Sentar Scythran? Was the war over?
Ilathor and Jehral debated with Miro and Tiesto. Touana looked on with calculating eyes but said little. Grigori of Vezna looked repentant. Killian tried to keep the dialogue productive. Ella was conspicuously absent.
As the arguments became heated, Miro finally went out to the fountains to think. Looking east, in the direction of Halaran and Tingara, he felt the loss of Beorn more fiercely than ever. Drawing his gaze, the three-legged tower nearby loomed over the Crystal Palace. The pyramid of quartz at the apex was now dark.
Miro saw Killian, dressed in tailored clothing of black and gray, leave the palace and come to join him outside.
“Emperor, I must thank you again for coming,” Miro said.
“We came as quickly as we could.”
“The men took heart from your arrival. I don’t think we would have won the day without the news.”
“Hearts win battles, as well as minds,” Killian said.
Miro turned to regard the new emperor. He didn’t know Killian well, but there was something likeable about him. He appeared to possess a store of wisdom despite his youth. Miro then realized the two of them were probably close to the same age. With all he’d seen, Miro felt like an old man.
Thinking about old men made Miro think about Evrin.
“I’m sorry about Evrin,” Miro said.
“He gave himself that we all might live. I now believe it was his plan all along . . . to sacrifice himself to kill Sentar. I also believe he only showed a part of himself to the world, to us, and I think he never lost the guilt he felt. How is Ella?”
“Bad,” Miro said. “We both lost loved ones. Have you spoken with her?”
“I haven’t seen her.”
Miro and Killian looked to the east, in the direction of Tingara together. “We should expect the worst,” Miro said. “There were supposed to be three of these pirate kings, and we only fought two. There was no great store of essence. Sentar himself was absent. We haven’t seen the end of it.”
“I agree,” Killian said. “With most of the Legion absent from Seranthia . . .”
Killian suddenly stopped speaking, and both men went rigid. The signal tower in front of them began to glow, the prism sparking from within until light radiated outward, shining with a bright, unquestionably fierce light.
Miro drew in a sharp breath. How could it be?
Someone was requesting help.
“Lord of the Sky,” Miro whispered.
“The color . . . is it . . . ?”
“Yes. They’re under attack.”
The prism was white, the color of the Assembly of Templars. The color could only mean one thing: Aynar was under attack. Stonewater would be the next to fall.
“Could it be a ruse?” Killian asked.
“Only someone at Stonewater can put out the signal from the key reflector, and only the primate knows the activation sequence. For it to be false, either the primate would have to be turned, or someone with my sister’s knowledge of lore would have to break the coded sequence.”
“What do you think?” Killian said.
Miro let out a breath. “It’s real. Evrin always told us to be wary of Sentar’s cunning. And you, Emperor?”
“It can only mean one thing: he split his forces,” Killian said. “This whole time we’ve been wondering whether it will be the east or the west, and in the end . . . it’s both.”
“Scratch it, we’ve only faced part of his army.” Miro cursed. “Can Stonewater hold for long?”
“There’s a division of the Legion there, as well as a few thousand templars.”
“You know that won’t hold them.”
“No,” Killian said. “It won’t.”
“I’m sorry,” Miro said. “You’ve come here to help, and now it’s the east that needs us.”
“I have no regrets. I believe that anywhere the Empire is breached, we must go to help. When we leave, will you come?”
“Our forces aren’t what they once were,” Miro said, “but of course we’ll come. No one should face this enemy alone.”
“We must leave immediately.”
“I know.”
Killian stared up at the white light. “The Lord of the Night is at Stonewater.”