Page 112 of A Court of Wings and Shadows

I held up my hand. “She didn’t.”

His jaw worked, but he didn’t interrupt.

“I was able to get some information.”

Cordelle looked up from his book. “What kind of information?”

“That was risky,” Jax said. “She recently tried to kill you, Ashe.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “And I didn’t forget that. But she told me the Order believes there’s a mole, someone still feeding the Blood Fae information. Not Remy. Someone deeper.”

Silence settled over the room.

“That’s how the Blood Fae are staying ahead of us,” I continued. “They’re not just spying, they’re manipulating the court, the Order, and the wards. They’re pulling them apart one by one.”

Cordelle closed his book slowly. “And we’re next.”

“Not if we figure out what they’re after,” I said, and met each of their eyes in turn. “And stop them first.”

I sat down on the edge of my bunk, the tension in the room pressing against my shoulders like a stone. My pendant feltheavier against my chest, the gold warmed by Kaelith’s presence still humming faintly through the bond.

“There’s something else,” I said, voice low but firm. “It’s not just us. The warder deaths… they’re not limited to Warriath.”

Cordelle blinked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean multiple kingdoms are losing their warders. Quietly. One by one.” I looked around the room. “And many of them have no magical security left.”

The words landed like a dropped sword.

Naia straightened in her cot, her face pale. “But the wards protect the people. The cities. How could that be, why hasn’t anyone?—”

“That’s the point,” I cut in. “It’s being kept quiet. No one’s saying anything because when a warder dies here, they’re replaced. Not with new initiates… but with warders pulled from the Outer Kingdoms.”

Riven’s brow furrowed. “You’re saying they’re gutting our borders to protect Warriath?”

“Exactly,” I said. “They’re stripping away outer defenses, reassigning warders, hiding the gaps. And it’s working, because the raids have been just quiet enough to keep people distracted. Just enough to keep the army busy without raising alarms.”

Ferrula’s fists clenched around the edge of her blanket. “That’s suicide.”

“Or strategy,” Tae murmured, his eyes dark with realization. “If the Blood Fae want us to feel secure while they’re dismantling everything from the outside in…”

“Then they’re building toward something,” Jax finished grimly. “A siege. A coordinated collapse. Thank Charrem we relocated Mom.”

Cordelle stood slowly, his book forgotten on the bed. “If the kingdoms are exposed and no one’s panicking, then someone powerful is helping keep it quiet. Someone inside.”

“That is exactly what Solei said.” I folded my arms. “They’ve been planning this for years. Maybe decades.”

“And we’re just now putting the pieces together,” Jax muttered.

“Yeah,” I said. “Which means we’ve got catching up to do.”

And the clock was already ticking.

I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, eyes sweeping across the faces of my squad, my family. They hadn’t left their cots since I came in, tension still thick in the air. The glow from the lanterns cast long shadows, but it was the truth of what we knew that truly dimmed the room.

“What did the Inquisitor ask you?” I asked finally, voice quiet, but it cut straight through the silence.

They all exchanged glances. Riven was the first to speak.