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“Take a seat and we’ll fill you in,” Jeera said, pulling out an empty chair beside her.

Alex did so and glanced around the table, meeting the openly concerned eyes of the king and queen, as well as the less obvious but still clearly worried gazes of Drock, Tyson and Nisha. She could only offer them a slow blink before focusing on the other races, all of whom, with the exception of Kaysia, were avoiding looking at her, almost as if they expected her to jump up and scream, “I told you so!”

But Alex was beyond caring that they hadn’t listened to her warnings. What was done, was done. There was no going back, no changing events that had already unfolded… no saving of lost lives. All they could do now was live with the consequences of their actions and try to move forward.

Clearing her scratchy throat, Alex asked, “If Aven attacked you all at once, how are you here now?” She kept her eyes on the elders and Kaysia and said, “Last I saw, Aven wasn’t about to retreat, not at least from Graevale.”

It was Drock who answered, his gruff voice almost comforting to her ears. “We all saw what happened with you, kid. We saw Aven swing his kill stroke. His Meyarins closed ranks before we could watch him make contact, but the roar he let loose was so loud we were sure it must have been in triumph.” His voice lowered. “It’s good to see we were wrong.”

“Everything happened quickly after that,” Tyson jumped in. “It was like Aven and his army decided to up and leave on a whim. One minute they were there, fighting—andwinning—and the next they were gone.” He paused. “We presumed it was because you were dead and Aven wanted to go and bask in his victory.”

Alex more than anyone could understand their presumption, just as she knew they were now seeking an explanation.

She ran her hands along the sleek coat of Soraya who was resting on her haunches by Alex’s side, the protective position making her as tall as those seated around the table. “Soraya shadowed me away just before Aven…” She trailed off, not needing to finish, notableto finish, since it wasn’t just her who Soraya had delivered to safety.

But Alex wouldn’t think about that. Alexcouldn’tthink about that. And she let the numbness dig like nails deeper into her core.

“As far as we can tell,” Nisha said, picking up the story after realising Alex wasn’t going to share more, “the moment Aven and his forces left Graevale was the same moment his attacks on Maroo and Nialas ceased as well.”

“They is come. They is kill. They is go,” Tibbs said, shaking his bald head. “Bad, they is. Bad, bad, bad. Many Jarnocks die today.”

“We each had to see to our people before anything else,” Tork said quietly, the horror of whatever the Flip had witnessed both during and after the attack still fresh in his eyes. “It took many hours before we could come together here, yet none of us should be away from our cities for long. We are needed there now more than ever. But before we part ways, we must agree on a course of action.”

“Read us note,” Mareek said to King Aurileous.

Queen Osmada placed a comforting hand on her husband’s forearm as he opened a scrolled piece of Silverwood parchment and read the words aloud. Alex struggled to process what she was hearing, and it wasn’t until Aurileous passed the scroll to her that she fully realised what she was now holding.

It was a letter.

And it was from Aven.

To the mortals of Medora —

Today has offered a taste of what lies in store for your future. I showed leniency, ending the battles so swiftly, but this war has only just begun.

From here on out, I will show no mercy.

And when I am done, none shall survive my wrath.

If you seek to lay blame for your coming destruction, look no further than to she whom you consider your only hope.

But know this: Alexandra Jennings cannot save you.

No one can.

A new day is coming, swift on the wings of dawn.

—King Aven Dalmarta

Alex read the note three times before she was able to look up, finding all eyes on her again. She waited for the questions, waited for the interrogation, waited for the time when she would only offer silence in response, so far past being willing to explain. But that time didn’t come. Because Jeera spoke up before anyone else could.

“None of this comes as a surprise,” the Warden said. “Alex already warned us that Aven has a personal vendetta against all mortals, and he obviously has a deep-rooted hatred for her in particular. Of course he’s going to lay the blame on her.”

Nisha nodded and continued on from her niece, “Aven’s actions today were to incite terror amongst us, and his letter is a means to create dissent when what we need is to stand strong against this threat—and to stand together.”

“You’ve all seen the destruction he is capable of first-hand,” King Aurileous said. “It is my belief—” He broke off, then indicated to the other humans in the room. “It isourbelief that the only way we will have a chance at overcoming him is if we unite as one. An alliance of the races.”

With that, Alex couldn’t take any more. Despite her earlier acceptance that there was no taking back what had already happened, she so wished they would havelistenedto her. Then they would have been having this conversation long before Aven’s attack. And maybe—maybe Niyx—