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Erix swallowed hard, the muscles in his jaw feathering. “Then tell me what you need of me, and I will do it. Together, remember.”

I looked up at him, recognising the slight hesitancy in Erix’s lack of movement. His worry was written in every crease and line across his face. I wished I could tell him that this would all be okay in the end, but the severed head at my back was proof it wouldn’t. Someone had died – I couldn’t focus on who it really had been, for fear it would ruin me.

But I took it, harboured it in a chasm of vengeance in my chest, and knew it would be waiting and ready for me in time.

“Together,” I repeated. “Whoever is left in this fight must all work as one, not separated. Not anymore.”

Surprise broke over his face, lasting only a moment. “It would seem Robin Icethorn has learned the importance of trust.”

“I just took a little while to recognise it,” I admitted.

Too late to recognise,my inner thoughts added.

All my life, I had done things alone. No matter how people had offered their support, told me they’d work beside me. I’d always chosen the solitary path, hoping it would be the one with less pain and loss as I navigated it. But that wasn’t true. I knew that now.

Regardless of the poison in my pocket, if Cassial became a threat, I knew what to do to use it against him. There were risks, but it would be worth it for the realms.

“Have your gryvern stall our army as long as they can,” I said, aware how close they were to us now. It would take hours for them to reach Cassial, but he would be waiting. He’d be ready to show the humans that the fey are monsters.

So, we’d have to show them otherwise.

Cassial expected us to respond with a war, but that wasn’t what he’d get.

At least, not yet.

“If I create a blockade between the fey, itwillcause further tension between the courts,” Erix reminded me. “So you must be sure this is what you want from me?”

“I am. Conflict in Wychwood will not matter if by dusk the courts have been completely eradicated from the map. Please, this is the only way. Block the army; you are king now, it is in your power to command as much. Whether you wear a crown or not, you must use the voice that Altar has blessed you with.”

Erix closed his eyes for a moment, creases of concentration lining his brow. Then I heard them, the screeches and screams of gryvern. The sky broke with the noise, as bodies of grey flesh and leather wing cut out of dense clouds, spearing down toward the earth. Hundreds of them.

Monsters flocking to their master’s call.

I watched in awe as their bodies thumped against the ground, one by one, forming a line of talon and claw between us and the advancing army.

I leaned into Erix, glad for his support, whilst hating that I would need to lie. I hoped for what was a final time. “There is one more thing I need to ask of you, Erix.”

“Anything, little bird.”

Magic unspooled beneath my hands like curling mists of winter’s first frost. “Find Duncan when you can. And when you do, look out for my signal. You won’t miss it. Only when my signal has been given do I permit you to lead a full assault on Cassial’s camp, sparing as many as you can. I need death to be minimal. Any fey who harms someone without a weapon will be charged with crimes of war. Our focus is on the Fallen. Am I clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Good.” My blood thrummed through my veins, my muscles itching for action. “Then this is it. I need time to get ahead and reach Cassial. Ensure no one follows me. You must find Rafaela and Duncan; you must prepare them to act when the time is right.”

Erix reached up, took my face in his hands and planted a kiss on my mouth. Although no more words were shared, the connection of our mouths told a thousand unspoken promises. When he pulled back, he fixed his gaze on mine, his expression set into a firm line.

“If Eroan can prove that it was Seraphine’s head on that spike, it will hold off our armies.”

I hated what I was about to say, hated that I even contemplated who I would’ve preferred to have died in that moment. Althea or Seraphine, they both deserved life and yet the truth was that one of them would never get to experience it again. Either option was terrible. “Then if it is Althea who is dead… you tell Eroan to lie. You make sure everyone knows the sacrifice of Seraphine, the Asp. Her story must mean something, and if she has died by his hand, the only way I can ensure that is by finishing the task. Tell Eroan that is a command from his king. Anything to hold back our army, Erix.Anything.”

He winced, sharing my discomfort in discovering who Cassial had killed. “I will do it, for you, for the realms and fortomorrow.”

“Thank you,” I said, running my hand down his cheek.

“I love you.” Erix said, sharp and sudden. “Go, before I see sense and change my mind.”

I reached for the reins of the mount we’d ridden to get here, then Erix helped me into the saddle. There was so much I wanted to say, so much I wanted to do. But all I did was lay my hand on the vial in my pocket and look to the stretch of barren lands ahead of me. Erix patted his palm on the mount’s behind, urging it forwards. And as it took me away, I didn’t look back. Only forwards, focus ironclad, and will just as indestructible.