“Yes?” I whispered.
He looked at me then. “You’re going on another hunt.”
Chapter Five
Chew Chew Chew Chew
MAGNOLIA
“Iexpect you to finish your plate, Magnolia.”
I was dining with Dahes a few days later, waiting for him to tell me about my next hunt. I’d been on edge, expecting him to enter my room at any point, which made sleep near impossible no matter how hard I tried.
All I could do was wait and wait, while I tried not to let my mind conjure multiple scenarios of what this next hunt would be.
He had dismissed me to my room shortly after the sentries dragged the triplets and Kip out of the throne room, and despite knowing it might have been my only time to rest, I couldn’t.
But that was days ago, and whatever fragmented sleep I got was consumed by nightmares.
I was pretty sure I was delirious at this point. Ineededsleep.
And behind the pure exhaustion, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Dahes wanted to do. He was trying to kill Elion, to take back the dragons, to rule over everything.
Then the sentries were at my door, which only meant one thing—Dahes called me for dinner, and I was finally going to find out what he wanted from this hunt.
I stirred the food on my plate with my fork. I couldn’t stomacheating. This time my plate was garnished with something soft. Every time I tried to eat it, I kept envisioning my fingers wrapping around Kip’s?—
Breathe. One. Two. Three. Four. Exhale.
Don’t think. It’s just food.
Chew. Chew. Chew. Chew.
Dahes smiled as I forced myself to swallow. His eyes tracked every movement as he silently watched me take another bite. His mask sat on the table beside his goblet, increasing the intensity of his raw gaze as it burned into me.
“This is going to be the longest hunt I’m ever sending you on.”
Chew. Chew. Chew. Chew.
Wait for instructions, even if you’re dying to ask a million questions.
“You won’t be bringing a body back this time,” he murmured after taking a sip from his goblet. My eyes snapped to his. I’d only ever brought back bodies—some dead, some alive, some about to be dead—but regardless of the state they were in, I only huntedpeople. “Instead, I need intel. I’m sending you to Viven to learn everything you can about Hael.”
The piece of—whatever my food was—just fell out of my mouth and back onto my plate.
“I’m going to Viven?” I asked, unable to stop the question from rolling off my tongue. I had to tamper down my excitement, push it to the far back of my mind. The thought of going there…
“Yes.”
I waited, even though it was killing me.
“Summer Solstice is a few weeks away,” he said after a long pause. “We have from now until then to figure out how to get Hael to fight with us.”
“What do you need me to do?” If he expected me to overpower theleaderof the drakins, there was no way I was going to survive. Even though Dahes trained me himself, I couldn’t go up against a dragon and its rider. I knew my limits. No one went up against a dragon and won—especially not against their leader.
Dahes eyed me for a moment, his gaze narrowing on my mouth. “You’ll go undercover and figure out everything you can about him. Everyone has a weakness, something they’d do anything for. You’re going to find his.”
I swallowed, then tried to suck down the realization that that’s exactly what happened to me. Masin was my weakness and Dahes knew it.
