Page 208 of A Vow of Embers

That voice in my head was back.

You need to go with him.

My pulse beat hard, as if to confirm the truth of the statement. There were answers waiting for me there.

“I’ll come with you,” I volunteered. I felt his body tense beside me. It wasn’t what he wanted.

“The site of an attack is no place for a woman,” Erisa retorted.

“As my husband said, the place for a future queen is where her people need her,” I said. “She stands beside her king, and I stand with Prince Alexandros. I will go where he goes.”

“Excellent.” Themis nodded, as did some of the other council members. This had been some kind of test. One that Xander had immediately passed.

As had I.

I saw the fury on Erisa’s face when she realized this as well, but now it was too late. She couldn’t offer to go after belittling us, so she went on the offensive again. “It hardly seems safe. It would be foolish to expose yourselves. Look at all the attempts on your lives. You both seem to be in constant danger of being assassinated.”

“Once I am made king, that will cease.” His threat was obvious. She visibly started and then finally fell quiet.

“When will you leave?” Heliodora asked.

“Immediately. We will pack what we can to help the survivors and then we will go.”

Stolos waved a scribe over and said, “We will allocate whatever funds you need for the Lycian citizens. We will help them rebuild if necessary.”

Xander nodded and then turned to leave. I followed him, having a hard time keeping up. He ate up the floor with his long legs, obviously mad.

“Where is Lycia?” I asked.

He didn’t even pause as he answered. “Closer to the southern border. It is a day’s ride from here. And you’re not going.”

There was no way to explain to him that I felt compelled to come with him.

“It would be better to bring me,” I said. “If something happens to me here, you won’t be able to protect me. And if I get hurt, so do you.”

It was a cheap shot, but it landed.

“Fine. You can come. Go and pack. I have to speak to my phratry.” He veered left down the hallway while I hurried back to our room. I knew that if I wasn’t prepared, he would use it as an excuse to leave me behind.

When I reached our floor, I asked one of the guards to go and fetch Parthenia. I went into my room and began to gather my things. Luna made a sound and I checked on her.

She looked up at me with big eyes, which I realized were turning a light shade of violet. When had that changed? I put out my hand and she crawled into it, and again it was easy to see how much bigger she had grown. It was more difficult to hold her.

I sat on my bed while she studied me. I understood what Rokh had shared with me. I had a connection with her, too. Like I could feel her love for me.

“This is foolish, but sometimes I think that it’s possible for me to talk to you and you understand,” I told her.

She blinked slowly at me. It seemed like an answer.

Puzzled, I asked, “Can you understand me?”

Another slow blink.

This just might be something that she did. It felt deliberate, though. How could I test this?

“Do one blink for yes, and two blinks for no.”

Another blink.