A finger.
A severed finger.
Vera’s finger.
“General—” the messenger starts.
“Get the fuck outta here,” Kazh snaps at him and the Ezkai excuses himself.
She approaches me and peeks into the box. “A message from Caligos.”
I swallow the ball lodged in my throat. But I can’t form words, so I only nod.
Kazh takes the box from me. “What’s in the note?”
I struggle to untie the string and unwrap it. Kazh waits patiently until I finally do. It’s a short note written in the same handwriting as the last note:
Your days are numbered, General.
Vera D’Argent sends her regards.
I hand the note to Kazh. Her face darkens immediately.
“I told you,” I say quietly. “They’re gearing up for something, and they have Vera.”
At least she’s alive. The relief is overwhelming at that thought. She may be hurt, badly. But at least she’s alive. I hope she stays alive long enough so I can find and save her.
Kazh says nothing, lost in thought.
“Kazh, I need your help to find my dragon,” I say, turning to her. “Neither mastering the blessed trinity nor killing with emotional manipulation will help. But a bonded dragon might.”
“Fine,” she says, meeting my gaze. “We’ll find you a dragon to bond.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
PHOENIX
Ifind the Taaslord halfway down the stairs leading to the spy lair. Ezkai Emil is with him. The relief is obvious in Noire’s face the moment he lays his eyes on me.
He dips his chin in respect towards Kazh. “Master Oka Oya.”
She ignores him.
“Vera’s alive,” I tell him.
I toss the box to him. He catches it elegantly and slides the top open. His face grows sad, but a blink and any trace of emotion is gone. Wordlessly, I pass him the note and he quickly scans it.
I clear my throat. “Has the captured Caligos revealed anything else?”
Noire’s eyes snap to me, but he says nothing. He looks around the dark, empty stairway as if there could be enemy spies hidden in the shadows and shakes his head.
“Not here. Follow me, General.”
He descends the stairs, his dark robes floating behind him dramatically. I and my entourage follow. Once we reach thefamiliar door and enter the space with a huge map of Ekios carved on a huge table where I met Ezkai Seraphina and Ezkai Xander, Noire turns to us.
He folds his hands in front of him and clears his throat. “The Caligos man you’ve met has passed away without revealing any more information. His words to you were his last words, unfortunately.”
I sigh. “Do your spies have any new information on where Vera could be?”
