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"Shit," Az growled, running a hand down his stubbled face when Nesslyn exited the map room, leaving him alone with his general, his best friend, his sister, his mate, andhermates. "What could do that? Flatten a whole city?"
"You," a dark voice suggested, and Az narrowed his eyes as Prince Kheir sidled closer to their mate, sliding an arm along Maia’s waist. Azrail could have done without the posturing and competition. He knew damn well he'd screwed up the best thing to ever happen to him, but Maia no longer wanted to cut his balls off, so everyone else needed to respect her choice.
He knew hedeservedthe distrust, but it was starting to get on his nerves.
"You can't honestly think I did this," he bit out, casting an exasperated look at everyone else.
Zamanya was smirking, her dark face alight with amusement at his annoyance; Jaro's eyes were fixed on the new marker on the map-covered table; Ark was impossible to read, the guard’s face like golden marble; but Az was gratified to see his sister give the prince a dirty look at his insinuation.
"Who's to say you didn't?" Kheir challenged, his bronze features tight with distrust. Maia prodded him in the side, andhardif Kheir's sharp inhale was anything to judge by. "No," he added on a rough exhale, "I don't think you did it, but someonelikeyou. With your kind of power."
"Andyourkind of power," Jaro pointed out, arms crossed over his lithe chest. It was about as close as he got to coming to Az's defence.
Kheir opened his mouth to retort something, but Maia gave all three of them a quelling look. Az snapped his mouth shut, his cock half hard at the dangerous look in his mate's eye. Saints, she was beautiful, especially with her silver hair unbound and falling over her shoulders, a tight shirt and pants clinging to her subtle curves.
"If you're going to get into a pissing contest, I can save you the trouble,” she drawled. “I already know who's got the biggest cock."
"Saints, Maia," Azrail swore, glad the table came high enough to cover the noticeable bulge in his pants.
"Please," Evrille said loudly, cutting through whatever Jaro had been about to say, "don'ttalk about cocks when I'm in the same room as my brother."
"Seconded," Zamanya agreed, her arms crossed over her powerful chest. Az rolled his eyes when her wide mouth twitched, knowing exactly what she was going to add. "Let's talk about boobs and pussies instead—"
"Alright," Az cut her off. "No sex talk at the war table."
"This is why you're my favourite brother," Ev said, throwing him a grateful look and fiddling with the end of her braid. Her hair was the same blue-black shade as Az’s, as their mother’s. She looked so much like her now.
"He's your only brother," Jaro pointed out, a laugh in his voice. But it died when he noticed Maia staring at the same spot on the map that Ark was assessing.
"Maia?" Jaro asked, a furrow between his brows as he walked around the table to her side.
"It's the dark saint," she said, looking up with absolute certainty in her gold eyes. "She said she wanted to rule the whole Saintlands. This is her first step. How long before that bitch brings those monsters to decimate us?"
Az was inclined to agree. "They're on the border already. It's only a matter of time. This village could be a test of their power. If the creaturesdobelong to the saint—or the Delakore Queen—these things could be loosed upon our rebels."
"Worry about that later," Evrille said briskly, storming over to Maia with an intensity that hadn't been there a moment ago. Both Kheir and Jaro straightened, a base response to defend their mate.
"Look at the state of your wing, Maia," Ev growled. "If this doesn't get treated soon, you're going to lose it. Or worse."
"Worse?" Kheir asked, stealing the words from Az's mouth. The prince angled closer, dominance rippling from his bunched muscles and intense expression, making Evrille wince.
But Ev gave them all a scathing look before narrowing her eyes on the top of Maia's wing, where she'd ripped the iron cuff off it, leaving a ragged edge.
"Do none of you fae pay attention to your parents' warnings? If you get iron poisoning, it'll corrupt your soul. Maia, you've got weeks at best before you start feeling the effects, maybe even days, and nothing we've tried so far has worked."
All the potions, salves, creams, and poultices Maia had endured this long week hadn’t worked. Az had thought her wing was healing, the edge notquiteas raw as when they'd found her at the palace. But the dark veins of poison hadn't receded. If anything, they'd spread further.
"So what do I do?" Maia asked, her voice raspy enough to make Azrail's magic churn to life. Smoke gathered in his hands, trickling to the floor. Completely beyond his control. He tried to reel it back inside and failed. Ark noted it, the guard more observant than most people, even Zamanya, but he only gave Azrail an assessing look before returning his focus to Maia.
"You need a better healer than me," Evrille said, tugging on the end of her dark braid.
A better healer than the woman Maia's goddess had said wasthe Healer—the saint reborn? Az had absolute faith in his sister; if she couldn't heal Maia, no one could.
"I need a drink," Maia muttered, pulling away from the table and heading for the door. "Back in a bit."
Az reached for her as she passed him, but she squeezed his hand and tugged out of his hold, wrenching the door open and slamming it behind her.
