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CHAPTERELEVEN

The next morning, I woke with aching muscles and a tight chest. Lorian had left when the sun came up. I’d felt him kiss my forehead and feigned sleep, although I was sure he’d known I was awake.

So much for staying away from him. He still hadn’t told me why so many believed he’d destroyed Crawyth, he’d spent weeks lying to me, and I’d rolled right back into bed with him.

“My loyalty will always be to my people, Prisca. To my brother.”

I sat up. Maybe…maybe it didn’t have to be a big deal. We were both stressed, and we’d used each other. I’d made it clear it was a one-time occurrence, to combat some stress. I’d…slipped. That was all it was.

Yes, you slipped right onto his cock.

Shoving my hands against my burning cheeks, I groaned. It didn’t matter. Lorian knew where we stood. And the moment I found out where the hourglass was, I would be leaving. From there, I would need to work on finding allies for the hybrids. I wouldn’t even see Lorian for months. Perhaps—if we ended up fighting on different battlefields—even for years.

My heart slammed into my ribs at the thought, and I took a deep, steadying breath. One mistake. I was allowed one mistake.

And what a mistake it had been.

My body heated at the way my muscles ached as I swung my legs out of bed, slowly getting to my feet with a wince. I’d kill for a bath, but first, I had training.

I washed with the basin of water by my cot and dressed quickly, finding Demos waiting outside my tent. I smiled at him, wishing we had more time to spend together. Every time I searched for him, he was training the hybrids, meeting with the hybrid leaders, or murmuring quietly to Vicer.

“Heading to training?”

“Yeah. Galon is attempting to whip me into shape. He’s made some kind of decree to the cooks. They insist on giving me extra meat, and then they stare at me to make sure I’m eating it.”

Demos grinned. “He’s trying to help you build muscle. I want to train with you at some point too.”

Hadn’t I just been thinking about how I wanted to spend more time with Demos? I had no doubt he would be just as hard on me as Galon—if not harder. Perhaps I should be careful what I wished for.

I sighed. “It’s difficult being this popular.”

Demos smiled, but his gaze was distant.

“What is it?”

“Madinia left, Prisca.” Demos’s mouth tightened. “And she took the jewels with her. I searched her tent.”

My gut churned. I closed my eyes in an attempt to shield myself from the blow. It didn’t work. We needed those jewels. Needed them to hire mercenaries, to buy weapons and armor for the hybrids. I’d known Madinia was unhappy, but she’d seemed committed to the cause.

“Do you want me to find her?” he asked.

I opened my eyes. “She could be planning to return.”

“Perhaps.” From Demos’s tone, he didn’t think so.

Madinia’s face flashed through my mind. She’d saved my life twice. She had no family left. Nowhere else left to go.

“Send our best tracker after her. Towatch. If they spot her traveling from the fae lands, they can intercept or report her movements back to us.”

Demos nodded. “We’ll give her one week,” he said. “Any longer, and I’ll go after her myself.”

One week was more than enough time for her to sell those jewels and flee. Even if he found Madinia, she could have hidden the coins she received for them anywhere.

I hadn’t taken the jewels back. Hadn’t ordered them secured elsewhere. Because I’d never expected Madinia to leave with no warning. Once again, I was proving that I had no idea how people behaved outside of my small village.

A headache pounded at the base of my skull. We needed weapons desperately. We couldn’t rely on the goodwill of the fae. How could I look the hybrids in the eye when I was still allowing these kinds of situations to happen?

Demos lingered, his mouth becoming a grim line. “There’s something else.”