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Us.
That is what I needed to stay focused on.
Gerarda was the last one to arrive. As expected, she took the seat directly beside mine. A not-so-subtle reminder that she was the second-in-command.
“Why did you call this meeting, Keera?” Hildegard asked.
I took a deep breath. There was no use in talking around the issue.
“The king has requested the Arsenal go after those that attacked Silstra. That means the Shadow and whoever we find to be his conspirators. He wants us to reassign every Shade as well.” I laid my hands on the table ready for the complaints.
“EveryShade?” Myrrah echoed, her brows grazing her hairline. She tapped her fingers against the armrest of her chair.
I nodded.
“Some Shades are as far west as Volcar. It would take weeks just for them to receive the notice to return, let alone step foot in the capital,” Gerarda said, her chin lifting. She loved pointing out any mistakes of mine, even when requested by the king.
“I’m aware,” I said, glancing at her. I’d been thinking the same since the king set his orders. “Call in anyone we can spare within a fortnight’s ride of the capital. Everyone else will have their missions adjusted to provide surveillance of the Dark Fae borders and reconnaissance of anyone we suspect of being associated with the Shadow.”
Gerarda raised a brow. “I thought you told the king that the Dark Fae were unconnected?”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I wasn’t shocked Gerarda had spied on our audience. She liked having all the information, even when I tried to cut her out of it.
“I did,” I said with a stiff nod. “I saw no proof of their involvement while I was in Aralinth. But on theoff chancethat I’m wrong, do you want to tell the king that we left their border completely unsupervised?” I raised my own brow back at her. She straightened in her seat but said nothing.
“A job like that explosion takes manpower,” the Arrow cut in. “It’s remarkable they were able to do it without the Shades catching wind of anything, but that can’t last forever. The Shadow must have dozens of men working for him.”
“My thoughts exactly, Rohan.” I nodded. “Have we received any reports from Silstra?”
“The fire was set with a powerful accelerant,” Myrrah cut in. “My contacts believe it was liquid fire, which indicates that the group is well-resourced or well-connected with the black markets. Probably both. One team set the town house ablaze, and another took out the dam. No one was apprehended by either the Shades or the king’s guard.”
I pretended to consider this information, my bottom lip protruding slightly.
“A ten-person job then?” I asked, pretending that I didn’t know exactly how many of us there had been.
Myrrah nodded, adjusting the shield pin at her chest. “A dozen at least. There were over sixty charges set along the base of the dam to bring it down. Whoever they were, they moved quickly.”
“And they’re only going to get quicker,” I added.
Gerarda didn’t hide her eye roll as she twirled a throwing star in her fingers. “We don’t know that.”
“We do,” I countered, snapping my head at her. “In every sense of the matter, the Shadow won his first attack. He’ll be preparing for another soon and we would be foolish to not take that threat seriously.”
“I agree,” Myrrah said. “They drew first blood. We need to make sure we end the fight before everything is wiped away in the blows.”
Silence settled across the room. Each weapon of the Arsenal considering which sector of the kingdom the rogues would strike next. It was time to take charge.
“Until we receive better intel, we need to be optimizing our defenses,” I cut through the silence. “Myrrah, I want you to work alongside the king’s guard to schedule rotations across the capital, as well as Mortal’s Landing. You will be responsible for determining the rations of our food stores and how long the city can be held if the trade routes are attacked again.”
The Shield nodded.
“Mistress Hildegard,” I said, “is the king still insistent on holding the Trials?”
She nodded slowly, her mouth a straight line. “Yes,” she said, clearing her throat. “Though I think he could be convinced that hosting an event that large would be a poor use of resources with the Shadow lurking about.”
Good, I thought. The initiates were safe for now.
“I would prefer to spare the initiates as long as possible,” I said, gazing out the window to where they practiced below. “We don’t need to worry about adding to our numbers until we have a better idea of the size of the threat we’re facing. Do you agree?” I asked the room.
