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She looked at me, her brown eyes filling with tears, and then one lone tear tracked down her face as she looked up at the ceiling of the cave. “It’s Serkan.”
Blood drained from my face.No. No.We had seen Nyx and Serkan take to the skies just before we crash landed.
“No,”I said out loud, begging for it not to be true.
Amory took a shaky breath. “He and Nyx were able to find the culprits. Two humans and one Enchanted in their human form.” She paused and I didn’t dare breathe in the hesitation, even though I feared I already knew what she was about to tell me. “They were successful in defending our queen and were able to kill all three men, but not before they stabbed Serkan with an iron tipped spear.”
“Cowards,” Emric muttered.
Amory continued, “The one that hit Esta was not in her long thanks to you, but the one they hit Serkan with, they delivered directly to his heart. By the time Nyx removed it, it was too late.”
“No,” I shook my head refusing to believe it. “That’s—” I swallowed hard. I had been pouting like a brat when we’d left and Serkan had been his normal quirky self. He was just gone now? Alive one moment, rushing to our aide the next, and now...gone.
Amory threw herself into my arms, much to the dismay of the healer who sighed and sat back on her heels to give us a moment.
My eyes went to Malachi, wondering if it would bother him I was holding onto Amory like this.
Please,Malachi said as if reading my thoughts.Someone needs to.
I had never heard that horse sound so defeated, and my heart cracked even harder.
Tears wracked Amory’s body. “We don’t even have anyone to interrogate because Nyx lost his cool and killed the remaining man who they were ordered to keep alive for questioning.”
“Can’t say I blame Nyx.” I put a hand in her hair and held on, letting her cry.
“They deserved their fates,” John offered quietly.
I ran my fingers through Amory’s hair, trying to calm her. “We are going to figure this out, Amory. Do you hear me? You, me, Esta, Malachi. Emric too I suppose, if we need a bit of humor on the team. John for the knowing of things.”
Malachi let out a long sigh at the same time Emric said, “Damn straight.”
“My point is,” I continued, “we work well together. More than that, I consider all of you dear friends. So believe me, Amory, when I tell you that I won’t stop helping you. Not until I know who was behind this. Particularly when I hold part of the blame.”
She jerked her head back to look at me. “What?”
“Keir,” Emric scolded.
“They must have known I was trying to change Esta back,” I explained. “They were likely shooting at me in her talons.”
Amory shook her head so hard her white hair moved with the motion. “No.”
Her voice was so firm and harsh I stilled a moment.
“No. Esta said the same thing except that they were after her and not you. Granted she takes every shifter’s death personally, but still. Either way, whoever did this was after war. It was not your fault. It was not her fault. It was no one’s fault other than whoever started all of this.” She paused. “An assassination attempt in Dra Skor means that we are no longer dancing around the topic, we are at war.Civil war.”
* * *
It took lessthan an hour before I was cleaned up. Amory also needed to be cleaned up from hugging me, but she acted like she was not bothered at all. I supposed we were closer friends than I realized if she could get my blood on her and not be bothered.
“I am feeling like I have maybe ten minutes in me before I pass out again,” I offered Amory. “But I want to see Esta. Can you take me to her?”
While the healer had worked, Amory explained to me that Esta was also wounded and needed to sleep and heal. We’d be spending the night here before leaving for the castle tomorrow. There was a makeshift bedroom in a small area within the cave that was there for Esta in her human form, so that was where we would all crash. In the morning, Malachi and Whit would take us back to Halikaara Keep just in case the queen’s wings were unsteady. I only hoped my magic was recouped enough by then that I could use it to catch her again if need be.
An army of shifters were currently surrounding The Drak in protection until morning when we would all move toward the castle. Together.
“Come with me,” Amory said with a tight smile. “But be careful.”
“Why?”
