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Noni cover my mouth and squint her big, freaky eyes at me. “We tell Master what we hear and then we help. No more hiding, Mr. Flumph.”

Noni flash us back to the mercenary stronghold an’ it still hot as shit outside. I was hopin’ we’d get a nice cool breeze or maybe some rain, but even the clouds seems dehydrated. Noni lead me to the vamp an’ Pyre to tells them about what we hears in Oronrel. I really hate that fuckin’ mask Pyre always wearin’ outside o’ the Veil.

Never thought I’d miss that place, with its big scary dragon an’ winged hags with them large claws an’ shit! But I do. Ain’t no fresh-baked cookies in this rotten desert!

“Noni think we should save Theren, Master. You say he important, right?”

Pyre nods, an’ Noni an’ me follows him an’ Baron over to the gargoyles that ain’t doin’ much o’ anythin’ but lookin’ at books. Shadow King know somethin’ up ‘cause he get that real pissy look on him’s face that make me laugh. When he unhappy, I happy.

“Guess what, fuckers? We’re goin’ to save Theren!” I call out.

“What is the fool sprite going on about,” King Shadow Dick ask.

“That’s right, King o’ all cocks!” I say an’ I get right in him’s face. “O’ all the dicks in the realms we could be savin’, we gotta waste our time on that slimy sack o’ goblin balls. An’ for the life o’ me, I can’t understands why.”

“Theren’s role in this situation is not yet complete,” Masky say in him’s deep, rumbly voice.

For once, Shadow Dick an’ I seems to be on the same side. “Let him rot,” the gargoyle say. “We can make do without him.We’ve done just fine so far without the likes of Theren, the son of—”

“A bitch?” Everyone turn an’ look at me all funny-like. “What? Ain’t that what he was gonna say? If not, then he shoulda! Ain’t no good woman givin’ birth to that forked-tongue bastard. Not to mention, somebody gots to put a wrench in the Mother Heifer’s plans. I don’t wanna see her ridin’ Variant’s dick no more.”

All o’ them make a ick face, an’ I agree.

***

DRAGAN

Mercenary Stronghold

“No, I’m not going,” I say. “Theren can rot in that Unseelie dungeon from here to eternity for all the shits I give.”

I walk over to the weapons rack in the barracks, but they follow, of course. Mercenaries train with a sense of vigor I haven’t seen in some time. They breathe new life into the rebellion. Now that we no longer stand alone, I see no reason to free Theren.

“Pyre says,” Baron starts.

“Fuck what Pyre says!” I yell as I turn around to face him. “We fight alongside lycans, wraith warriors, and golems now. What help can Theren really be to our cause?”

“There’s more to this than brute force, Dragan. We need information and strategy. Theren can give us both, not to mention a healthy dose of magic,” argues Baron as he glares at me.

“Of all people, I would think you would stand against this idiotic plan the most.”

“And why is that?”

“Because fucking Theren betrayed us, Baron!” I yell at him. “He fought beside the man who carved out your heart with adagger, and yet you’re willing to risk your life all over again to free the prick? Nah, I think I’ll stay behind for this one.”

“You and I know our way around Oronrel,” he insists. “We may have to fight our way out, but we have an advantage now. And with Pyre, things won’t be as difficult.”

I glare at the vampire over my shoulder. “I’m still healing from the fight at theThrest. And our chances of making it out of Oronrel alive are slim to none. It’s a suicide mission. Theren was the Unseelie King—that means he’ll be heavily guarded and the wards will be near impossible to break through.”

“Variant is now king, and we all know how sloppy he is.”

“But he commands both the Seelie and Unseelie armies now,” I counter. “What hope is there?”

Pyre speaks up, appearing out of nowhere as he’s wont to do. “Silvanus has come out of hiding.”

“He has?” I ask.

“Yes, I can feel his ethereal footprints and I know he’s come back,” Pyre says. Then he clears his throat. “That means Morrigan is also well aware of this fact. Which, in turn, means Variant and the Midnight Queen will have all their men hunting Silvanus.”