Why didn’t you come after me as a dragon? Lorelai asked and then mentally kicked herself. Putting that idea into Kol’s broken mind wasn’t one of her smarter moves.
She glanced at the tight line of Gabril’s mouth and decided that he never had to know.
Kol sent back an image of the collar keeping him trapped in his human form. Apparently, Irina was worried about facing a vengeful dragon as well.
Lorelai met Gabril’s gaze and said, “He can’t shift. Irina’s collar won’t let him. And he’s more than a predator sent to hunt me down. He’s the king of Eldr, his kingdom is falling, and he’s been trapped by Irina’s treachery. I can save him, Gabril.”
“The risks are tremendous.” He sheathed his sword and stared her down, his implacable expression demanding that she back up her words with logic he could accept. “If he’s at war with himself, he’ll crumble eventually. Irina’s magic has tainted him, and in my experience, that taint only grows more poisonous over time.”
“Then I need to act quickly.”
“If you use your magic to battle Irina’s magic in the boy, you’ll have revealed your true strength to her. She’ll be more prepared, more informed, when you get to the capital. And you’ll weaken yourself if his heart doesn’t submit to yours, which will also give Irina an advantage—”
“I’m not just going to let him die! Not when I have the power to save him.” Lorelai’s words fell between them, hard as stones, and Gabril’s eyes softened.
“He isn’t Leo.”
“No, but he’s somebody’s brother. Somebody’s friend. And I made a promise to save Eldr if Irina didn’t do it. Kol is part of Eldr.” She raised her chin. “I keep my promises, Gabril.”
Gabril crossed the space between them and pulled her close. “I know you do. And I’m grateful that’s who you are. I just want you to be alive at the end of this. I can’t bear the thought of losing you too.”
She wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes, letting the warmth of his chest and the familiar weight of his chin against the top of her head make her feel safe.
Not . . . safe. Kol’s thoughts were a torment of blood, fire, and death. Her death.
I know, but right now there are more important things. She knew the risks of refusing to kill Eldr’s king. Of setting her sights on Ravenspire’s false queen and waging a war that would end with one of them on the throne and one of them in the ground.
Stepping back from Gabril, she said, “It’s time to start. You remember what we discussed?”
He nodded, his stoic expression back in place. “If you get weak from the magic, I’m to get you to the next location even if I have to drag you behind me.”
“Yes.”
“A task made much harder by the presence of a dragon trapped in his human form who is dedicated to killing you.”
“Use Sasha to keep him away until I wake up if you have to. Just get me off this mountain and down to the bridge that spans the Silber River and connects the Falkrains to the rest of Ravenspire before the army gets there. Irina will start using magic to try to stop us once she figures out what I’m doing. I need to be at the bridge or beyond it before that happens.” She flashed him a little smile, though there was no mirth in it. “And pray that Ravenspire recognizes my intentions and lends me its heart without a fight so that nobody has to drag me anywhere.”
“How do you plan to put a barrier between the ogres and my people if you can’t actually touch the land in Eldr? Don’t you need to touch the heart of the land if you want it to obey you?” he asked as they both turned to look up at the command outpost.
“I’ll use the river our kingdoms share.” She studied the way the outpost, with its thick stone walls and narrow towers, was carved into the side of the mountain itself.
Where is the armory? She sent to Sasha.
Kol sent back an image of confusion.
Sasha sent back an image of a massive building housed beneath the mountain.
It was going to get complicated having both of them listening to her thoughts.
How many people are in the outpost? she asked, and ignored Kol’s fractured thoughts as Sasha sent her pictures of row upon row of soldiers standing at attention beneath the pale blue sky while a woman with multiple silver bars on the breast of her uniform yelled something to them.
Troop review. Most, if not all the people who lived in the bunker would be in the outer court. The army hadn’t changed their schedule much since Gabril’s days in the palace. That would make Lorelai’s job a lot easier.