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“A messe…a messenger. Bird. Arrived.” He sucked in deep breaths between each word. How long had he run? “We rotated…outside the wards…in case of emergency… Senadia…under attack…Toste…hurt—”
“What?” Wade roared, tightening his hold on the guard until he cried out. Immediately he loosened his grip. “We need to go.” He glanced at me, all the color in his face gone. “Come, I’ll take you back. I need to go. Toste,” he cried, then grabbed my hand, racing back to the castle.
His hand trembled in mine and I squeezed his. For once, I felt like the strong one, like I was the support.
We needed to go with him. Whatever was happening, we could help.
As soon as we reached the doors to the hall, Wade shook free of my hold and he and the guard fled through the other hallway.
Shit. I didn’t know where Yunez’s war room was. The entire place was empty so I couldn’t even stop a servant.
Batse passed by the main doors, then back peddled and entered the hall. “Isolde?” He grinned, but when I rushed him, he straightened, losing the carefree attitude.
“Batse, I need to find Yunez and the LL.”
“This way.” He turned and led the way, moving at almost a run. If I could have kept up, he most likely would have flat out ran. "What happened? Weren’t you with Wade?”
“I was. He got a message—” I started to relay it word for word, but should I? Could I truly trust Batse? Or should I hold information to myself until I’d had a chance to tell Yunez?
Shit, this leadership stuff was harder than someone might think. That, or I just wasn’t a natural. Probably both.
“I need to talk to Yunez and the rest of my Lusty Legion.”
He nodded and picked up his pace as if he understood my dilemma perfectly. Maybe he did. He was a Manno after all. I wasn’t yet sure all the ways his powers were different than the majority of Fennina. For all I knew, he could read the emotion coming off of me, like a woman can read red flags after the breakup.
“This is it.” He rapped four times on the door, before pressing his palm to the smooth wood surface. His hand glowed for a flash of a second, then the door snicked open and swung inward.
Yunez and Rand were already on their way around a large table. Nato and Sage pushed to their feet, while Egan and Jari looked on with confusion.
“What’s wrong, my lady?” Rand reached me first.
How did he—
That wasn’t important right now.
“Wade is on his way back to Senadia. We have to go with him! They’re under attack!” I ended on a near screech, gripping Rand’s collar. I switched my gaze to Yunez, imploring him with every ounce of persuasion I could muster. “Please,” I whispered. “We have to go help them.”
For the people of Senadia. For a potential ally.
For Wade, the one and only connection I’d found to my true past.
Yunez’s eyes glazed over as they flicked from side to side. The moment seemed to stretch an eternity while Yunez tried to access his sight. At some point, Rand wrapped his arm around the top of my back, pressing me against his front. Egan had even molded himself to my back, purring softly, trying to tame the wild, whipping helplessness that lashed through me.
Whatever Yunez was finding, or not finding, was taking so long. Too long. I took a moment to try and catch my breath, moving my gaze over the room.
Three of his generals were standing by the far wall layered with notes upon notes. Diagrams were drawn, pictures were pasted, and frayed corners moved with the air current of the room.
Where had the wind come from?
Batse had taken a spot next to the generals, who were all clasping their hands in front of the stomachs, waiting gravely for whatever Yunez would decide.
A few minutes later, when I had only just begun to calm down, Yunez fell to his knees, grimacing in pain while clutching his head. A small trickle of blood leaked from his nose. My heart skipped a beat. I’d never seen Yunez affected this much. He was all powerful, wasn’t he? He seemed that way…
“I can’t. I can’t see. The blocker they have is too powerful.”
“This is the other Mazza?” Sage growled as he dropped down next to Yunez, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
“I don’t know. The signature I’m reading is slightly different.”
