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No one refused Erix. No one offered objection. I spared Eroan a glance to see that he shared in my pride.

“Rise, please,” Erix said, his voice firm and clear. “Bowing may be custom, but it isn’t something I am ready to get comfortable with yet.”

I made sure I was the last to do so. Erix put gentle fingers beneath my chin and lifted me up to face him. “You will never bow to me, not under such circumstances.”

I swallowed hard, unable to look away from him. “If that is what you wish.”

Erix dropped his finger from my chin, addressing the room. “I will visit our front lines, spread word that we are to retreat. Seeking out Gyah is our one focus now. The gryvern have been looking since this conversation even began. In the meantime, we will prepare for the Icethorn border to be unguarded, allowing for the necessary evacuation of as many humans as possible.”

I nodded, longing to take his mouth and place it upon mine. But the time was not right for that.

“We shall all help where we can,” Lady Kelsey said, gesturing to the other woman.

“And I’ll be here waiting for you to return,” I said, offering Erix an encouraging gaze.

Erix nodded, knelt to pick Ailon’s body from the ground, and left the tent first. As the rest began to file out, I looked to Eroan and stopped him with a hand. “Will you stay with me? I have questions and need for council.”

“As I expected you would,” Eroan replied, dropping his eyes to the floor, hands fumbling with one another.

Eroan was never good at keeping secrets. I knew there was more to his visit with Gyah. He’d chosen not to mention Seraphine, so I believed there was a reason for that. I had to find out what that reason was, before I left for Icethorn.

“So,” I started when we were the last left inside the tent, “are you going to tell me about whatreallyhappened when Gyah arrived, or shall we continue playing coy?”

Eroan took a deep breath in. I thought it was to give him the confidence to share his secrets, I didn’t realise it was going to break our plans in two.

CHAPTER 31

I pinched my eyes closed, shaking my head as if I simply hadn’t heard Eroan correctly, let alone understood him. My temple ached as I pushed fingers into it, trying to elevate the pressure building in my skull. “Eroan, what are you trying to tell me?”

“Seraphine made me believe it was the only way. She certainly knows how to plead a very convincing case, and at the time I believed her. Robin, this will work, I know it will.”

My eyes flew wide, the anger unleashing in the tone as I interrupted him. “Whodid Seraphine ask you to glamour her into?”

Eroan choked on his breath, trying to still his obvious panic. “Queen Althea Cedarfall.”

“No,” I exhaled, mind whirling. “No. No. No.”

I looked around the room, desperately searching for something – anything, to face the brunt of my reaction. If I didn’t release the power which had built inside of me, it would soon destroy me before I got the chance to fix this.

The table caught my eye, with its grooves and valleys as the oak had been carved into the map of the realms. In three strides, I stood before it, slamming my palms down into the wood. The pain was a pleasurable release, as was the wave of ice that exploded outwards. I watched, unblinking and numb, as my winter rolled across the map, devouring Wychwood and Durmain entirely in white.

My breath came out in clouds of frozen mist, the temperature dropping to new lows as the power continued to expel out of me.

I saw my reflection in the layer of fresh ice across the ruined map. Wide eyes, dishevelled hair and clear exhaustion. But it was the panic – the look of wild terror in my eyes – that made me feel like I was looking at a stranger.

“Who else knows of these plans?” I asked, finding it hard to manage my breathing. My chest ached with the vicious thump of my heart. If I’d eaten, the tide of sickness would’ve affected me.

The entire tent faded from view as Eroan’s admission continued to repeat in my mind.

“No one else,” Eroan answered, physically trembling on the spot. “Gyah was able to leave with Seraphine before she was noticed by anyone north of the Wychwood border.”

“Why?” I whispered, more to myself than Eroan, but he answered anyway. “Why would she do this!”

“Seraphine told me it was underyourorder, Robin. I swear, you have to believe me. I wouldn’t have done anything if I didn’t think you had a hand in it.”

“And you believed her?” I stumbled over the words, unable to fathom what I was hearing. “You believed I would freely send someone I cared about into the mouth of a monster?”

“No, actually, I didn’t. That was until Gyah confirmed your alleged orders. I was but one against two, and they were adamant this was your request. They told me you still lived, and that alone was a shock. Between being blindsided by finding out a young man I admire and care for hadn’t died, and understanding the horrifying prospects Cassial has for our dear Althea, I had to do something. I didn’t question the plan. As Gyah said, glamouring someone had worked before, so it could work again.”