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We shuffled over to the general and Barrett, and my stomach dropped. A wave of dark-armored soldiers marched across the land in the distance, giving the snow-flecked mountains the appearance of a rippling ocean in the dead of night.

Flurries fell around them, picking up quickly.

They cut a track through our mountains, between us and the camp, fast approaching the southern boundary.

“It’s their second legion,” Dax said. “You can tell by the flags.”

“And that means…” Tolek began.

My stomach turned over as I muttered, “The first legion is already near.”

Chapter Sixty

Tolek

I threw Ophelia and Santorina onto their horses as quickly as possible, and we fled.

“We have to write to them!” Ophelia tried to argue as we flew down the western trails of the mountains.

“Alabath, you stay on that damn horse!” I roared back. “They are prepared and can take care of themselves—we have a job to do.”

And for the sake of the fucking Angels, I needed her to worry about herself for once. We thought we had days to reach Thorentil, but apparently Kakias was ahead of us—again.

Luckily, Sapphire had a bit more self-preservation than her rider, and she did not stop. Not as we raced through forests and away from the mountains over the next hours. That horse was damn incredible, and smart, too.

Finally, a snaking, wide arc of ice was visible through breaks in the trees.

The Fraughten River.

Made passable only by a crumbling, snow-and-moss-covered bridge. The brick looked ready to collapse at any moment. We’d have to cross one at a time.

I held my breath until Sapphire’s hooves met the icy shore, then Rina on her mare.

Right as Barrett’s horse and Rebel cleared the brick, a roaring crumble cracked the night, the entire frame shuddering. Stone tumbled through the ice, chunks bobbing across the black current.

“Angel’s tits,” Dax swore, tugging his mare’s reins.

He and I were left on the opposite shore as the Angel’s-old structure collapsed, the weight too much for it. Astania paced the river’s edge, and I watched the place where large red brick sank beneath the surface. Could practically feel the cold sting of the water in my lungs.

“Tolek!” Ophelia called, and my head snapped up, our eyes locking. The three of them stopped, lingering in the tree line. A soft snow was starting to fall, landing on her shoulders and the hood of her cloak, dusting her with the white of Angels’ wings. Even from here it was hard to miss her fingers clenching around the reins.

“You three go ahead!” I called, and though it fucking ripped my heart out to send her on without me, I steeled my voice. “We’ll find a way across.”

She needed to go. She needed to lure out Kakias, and this river was thirty feet across. Though they were more powerful than regular horses, even a warrior mare wouldn’t clear that with a jump.

Barrett and Ophelia watched Dax and I respectively. The prince’s jaw ground as he and his general underwent some silent communication. She and I did the same, those magenta eyes not even trying to hide her fears anymore, baring every vicious thought she once would have hidden. They shredded through me, one by one.

And my nightmares played out behind my eyelids with each blink.

A knife to her heart.

Warm blood coating us both.

Her body falling limp as I failed to save her.

Panic tightened my throat, but I tried to picture her warm and vibrant against me. Hear the whispers she reassured me with, that consoling safety each night I woke screaming and the serenity her presence brought.

I would find her. Would do anything to or die trying. There was no doubt in my mind.