“I’ll go with you.”
I clear my throat. “If what you say is true, and he trusts me, maybe I should talk to him alone first.”
Damien doesn’t open his eyes, just frowns into the darkness. “You’ll go first. I’ll give you a few hours and then catch up to you.”
“Okay.” I’m not sure his being there is the best thing for our cause, but I know he won’t stay away. Besides, if Jaqual agrees, I’ll need Damien for the spell.
“If he agrees, that brings us to fifteen thousand. We have a chance, although Undaku mentioned something today that I’m afraid will be a significant challenge.”
“What’s that?”
“The children. Many of the shades in the units, especially the ones from the Borderlands, will be fighting their own offspring, drugged by Nevina to be killing machines. Every one of them knows they could come face-to-face with someone they know, but I’d be a monster to think any of the warriors wouldn’t hesitate. That hesitation, coupled with our reliance on vampires who cannot shift, could be the end of us.”
The cursed children have bothered me since my timein the castle. The problem is, Nevina used a gumdrop to track my every move for months. She can track the children as well. Without getting my hands on the magic used to control them, I can’t study it to find an antidote. “If we could recover one of the children, Phantom and I might be able to study their blood and formulate an antidote for the elf poison keeping them under Nevina’s control.”
He nods. “If we were able to obtain a child for you, how long would it take you to analyze their blood and develop an antidote?”
I reach down my bond with Phantom and ask my ancestors. My great-great-great-aunt Sara was the best with potions, and I relay her answer. “Five days. Maybe a week, depending on the complexity of the antidote and the availability of the necessary ingredients.”
His disappointment expands like a held breath. “She’d track us. We might be able to set you up in a safe house, but she’d inevitably reach you before you were finished. Not to mention, we’re running out of time.”
A chill runs the length of my spine, and my voice comes out like a thin squeak when I ask, “What do you mean?”
“Tempest has been having food delivered from outside our realm to feed the troops. They’ve been careful to have the crates unaccounted for so that there would be no record of the number or amount included in the deliveries. Because they weren’t using food from Tenebris, there was no way for New Stygarde to surmise that Aendor was feeding seven thousand men here. But the last shipment was detected and compromised. One of the crates exploded, injuring Tempest. The entire shipment had to be destroyed.”
“Is she okay?” I clutch my chest, worried for Tempest.
“Yes, but there are now New Stygarde soldiers stationed in Aendor. Brahm and Nevina’s soldiers are inspecting every crate that comes in, under the guise of protecting the public. We only have five days’ rations now that we have more men.”
“Goddess, we don’t have time for an antidote.”
“No. We barely have enough time to implement a rational war plan.”
I sit up and pull my knees into my chest. “Are you saying we’re going to war, ready or not?”
He repositions himself to look at me. “Yes.”
My hand finds his, and we thread our fingers together. “We have the prophecy and the goddess on our side. We’re going to win this, Damien.”
His tentative smile breaks my heart, and I know what he’s thinking. There are many ways to interpret the prophecy, and the majority of those ways don’t require our survival.
27
A Bargain with the Rivertoad King
Eloise
Rivertoads are travelers. My understanding from my personal experience and everything I learned from Jaqual and Damien is that they traditionally travel up to thirty miles per day, crisscrossing Tenebris without exception for weather or season. I’m surprised, then, to find the camp not far from where we left them last. A few conversations over ale at Maggie’s and I learn why. As we suspected, New Stygarde and Willowgulch are severely restricting where Rivertoads can move freely. Maggie tells me that the caravan had to double back before any of them could “pay homage to the sea,” which, I learn, is an incredibly important part of Rivertoad culture.
“Has the goddess sent me a beautiful hallucination, or has the dragon returned?” Jaqual asks as he enters the tent. I haven’t bothered with a disguise. Why would I? This meeting is all about being open and honest with each other.
I raise my glass, smiling brightly. “I have returned, and not only for Maggie’s stew and ale.”
“It’s for my sense of humor, isn’t it? You’re hungry for more of my irresistible charm and jovial exuberance?”
I snort. “Well, it certainly isn’t for your dancing.”
The table beside me falls into raucous laughter. He moves closer to me and whispers, “You know, the soldiers of New Stygarde would make me a rich man for bringing you in. They’ve been here almost daily, asking for information.”
