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Iwalkedupthethree steps that led to the doors of Asrai’s small cottage. The entire home could have fit into her office at the academy, but she loved it. She didn’t like leaving the students alone at the training camp with how close it sat to Nethkar, so she and Wren had built this tiny cottage in two days, and it was as if nothing had ever made her so happy.

It sat in the very center of the rows of cabins that housed the students. From her front door you could see the castle looming at the top of the hill and from the back, you could see Nethkar, less than a mile away. I had always thought, when Nithra and I flew over it, that the layout looked so similar to a spider’s web.

I brushed my knuckles over the wooden door before lightly knocking.

“Come in!” Asrai’s voice rang from the other side and as I pushed the door open heat came flowing toward me.

I froze in the doorway, the shift in temperature making my body tense as Asrai’s head popped out from behind the wall that led to her bed chambers.

“Shut the door, child!” she snapped, stepping fully into view. She flicked her fingers toward me and the door shut loudly at my back. “How can I help you, Hyacinth?” She didn’t look up at me as she lowered herself into a chair pushed against a small dining table that only held room for two, her eyes locked on texts and scrolls in front of her.

“Just thought I would stop in before we left tomorrow and make sure you’re okay handling our duties while we are away,” I said, looking around the stone room that doubled as a dining and sitting room.

She was not one for decor, or anything outside of what she needed to survive, and I could see that in the dreary space she called home. My heart tightened at the sight of it. It felt . . . lonely.

Asrai chuckled, pulling her eyes away from parchment in front of her.

“This is not my first time managing a realm, but I do appreciate your concern,” she said with a small smile as she gestured her head to the empty chair across from her. “Sit, let me hear what you have really come here to say.”

I stopped the eye roll that was about to grace my face and made it to the table in three strides, sitting as commanded. No matter what our roles were now, I always felt like a child in her presence.

A fire sat at my back that she used to warm the home and cook. A row of dishes and utensils were neatly organized atop the mantle like a kitchen shelf.

She truly did not need much.

“I’m worried, it’s the first time all of us will be outside of Locdragoon at the same time. What if . . . what if something happens?” I asked, my eyes glued to the papers scattering the table.

“I assure you, Landers would not leave his realm if he believed it was in danger. Elric is captain of his guard for a reason, and I am here to support if needed,” she said, leaning back into her chair and studying me for a long moment. “Out with it,” she finally scolded and my gaze snapped to hers at the bluntness in her tone.

I let a slow breath seep out between my teeth before responding.

“The Fallen Ones . . . I want to wake them and I don’t understand why Landers is so scared if it can protect us—if they can help us.”

Asrai nodded, as if she already knew what I had been thinking and turned her gaze toward the window that was situated into the back wall that was only a foot from us and looked down at Nethkar.

“He is not wrong to fear them, fear the consequences waking them may bring. But I do not think he fears them as much as he fears what he may have to become to stop them if they do not agree to help us.”

My brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“You have heard the name they call him I assume?” she asked, pulling her eyes from the window and focusing her attention back on me.

“Yes—Lord of Death,” I whispered.

“It is not my place to tell his story, but when you are ready to know the truth, ask him. And once you do, ask yourself if you are ready for the possibility that he may have to become that again, to win this war.” Asrai’s voice was low when she said the words, as if it was a warning.

My heart raced in its cage. It was all so vague and cryptic. I just wanted someone—anyone—for once in my life tell me the full truth without having to beg for it. My fingers balled to fists in my lap and I pushed my hands under the table to hide the resentment that was beginning to simmer under my skin at all the secrets.

“What about you?” I asked, straightening my shoulders. “What about the name they have given you?”

“Ahh,” Asrai chuckled. “Mother of Bloodshed. It is appropriate, I suppose.”

“Why do they call you that?” I snapped.

“Because I have spilled blood, Hyacinth. Because I have killed tens of thousands in my lifetime and I do not apologize for it. I do not regret the things I have done, because I did them in the name of my realm, my people. There is nothing I would not do to protect you, to protect my homeland and return it to what it once was.” The bite in her tone silenced me, and I watched as she leaned back into her chair and let out a breath.

Quiet fell for only a moment before she spoke again.

“I can promise you, once you see the cruelty of war, there is not much you will not do to keep the people you love alive. When this war comes to an end, rest assured you will wear a name much like my own.”