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“Grabbed from the streets by the carriage load?” I finished for him. My stomach churned into tight knots. I knew Damien would make good on his threat, but I didn’t realize it would happen so quickly.
Feron’s brow furrowed. “Yes.” He leaned forward to look at Syrra.
“I didn’t tell her.” She stared at me curiously.
I took a deep breath. I hadn’t planned to announce this to a packed room, but we were running out of time every moment we wasted.
“Before Gerarda was able to get me out of the capital Damien injected me with an elixir of his own making.” I pointed to my arm where his needle had gone in. “It created a connection between our minds, allowing us to communicate while we dream.”
There was a long silence where dozens of blinking eyes stared at me with their brows half raised. Then the room exploded into a fury of questions.
“Enough!” I shouted as loud as I could. “We do not have time. Damien knows about the seals and somehow he knows their locations. His fleet waits for us in Volcar and his new Arsenal is on their way to destroy the seals.”
“Damien told you this?” Gerarda flipped one of her thin blades through her fingers.
I nodded. “He discovered the faded seal at the Order and discerned our plans when we came for the Fractured Isles.”
Gerarda’s eyes narrowed. “Or he put it together in the dream. Damien sits on a throne won through lies, why should we not assume he is lying now?”
Elaran ran her hand through her mane of curls and wrapped her arm around Gerarda as she stared me down.
“We can’t be sure.” I turned to Feron and Syrra. “But do we want to risk the chance to restore magic on the hope that Damien has spun yet another lie? If we are wrong, his men will reach Volcar first and they will destroy the seal before we get a chance to break it.”
“Is that possible?” Syrra asked, interpreting her own question for Darythir as well as everything I had said.
I scanned the room for the one person I thought could answer the question, but Vrail only shrugged.
“A spell of that nature is like any other living creature.” Feron rested both hands on his cane. “It has methods of defending itself, but it can fall prey to the right weapon used at the wrong time.”
“A blade?” Killian stilled in his place along the circle.
Rheih huffed her own laugh. My brows crossed, wondering how she had reached the room before I did. “Poison would be the wiserchoice.” Her yellow eyes met mine. “And it seems the false king has a habit of concocting his own recipes.”
I swallowed thickly knowing Rheih was right. I turned to Feron. “Can the spell be poisoned? Would that be enough to destroy it?”
Feron’s full lips almost disappeared into a straight line across his face. “It would depend on the poison, but if Aemon’s son was clever enough to learn of the seals on his own, we must assume he knows enough to destroy them.”
Darythir waved to get Feron’s attention. When he nodded, she asked her question by hand.
“I would assume the magic would be sealed away forever,” Feron answered in both languages.
My shoulders fell. “Then we must make haste to Volcar.” I faced the pairs of Shades across the room. “That is our best chance at protecting everyone. Once the seals are broken, then we’ll work on getting those Halflings back. Every last one of them.”
Myrrah gave a stiff nod and the Shades behind her followed.
Feron stood from his seat. “The Fae shall join you. If Damien plans to defend Volcar with his full force then we shall meet him with ours.”
Myrrah unlocked her chair and moved it into the circle so she could be seen by everyone else standing along the edge of the room. “And the Shades will fight alongside you both.”
Tears welled in my eyes as Pirmiith stood and placed his hand over his face and then his mouth. “And the Elves shall join you.”
My breath caught. I reached out, instinctively feeling for Riven’s hand, but it wasn’t there. Riven wasn’t in the room at all to witness the Elverin finally uniting in this fight, just as he had always wanted.
My chest heaved but I nodded, accepting each of their swords.
I turned to Nikolai. “How long will it take to prepare the ships?”
He bit his lip before answering. “By suns down tomorrow.”
