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Bryn had not been able to calm her nerves ever since Revna had sent the fake letter to her father, posting it from outside the city.

She had been pacing her office and waiting for him to summon her to the war council for hours now.

Bryn had always found it humorous that her father even had a war council when the kingdom was supposed to be at peace.

But after discovering all she had from her mother’s journals, she understood that it was, in fact, an accurate name.

Most of the kingdom didn't know that King Helvig had been secretly waiting to march upon the Kingdom of Rivers for a long time now. He had done well to hide this fact from the people with well-placed rumors and the seizing of any travelers once they crossed into the city without a valid permit.

That morning, Revna had left to post the false letter from Engate, the small coastal city where vitki were known to flee.

She and the shieldmaidens she commanded raided the city that morning, searching for vitki when, in reality, Revna had been there to send the letter.

Leaving empty-handed, they had reported back to Bryn on arrival at the barracks, and Revna had confirmed she had sent the letter.

When Revna had left, the anticipation had set in as she waited for the summons .

Hearing footsteps echoing down the hall that led to her office, Bryn quickly calmed herself and sat at her desk, pretending to review a document, when a knock came at her door.

Show time , Bryn thought bitterly.

“Enter,” she commanded, the cool and unyielding face of the Lieutenant General slipping into place.

The soldier belonging to the King's guard opened the door and silently handed her a letter.

She took it without looking up from her work and slid a finger under the edge.

She began to tear open the letter when she sliced through the pad of her finger, bright red blood staining the edge of the paper.

Ignoring the cut, she opened the letter to find the summons she had been expecting.

Above where her name was printed, the blood from her finger dripped onto the paper and ran into the black ink.

A heavy feeling settled over their chest before she could even read the words printed on the paper in her uncle’s fine hand.

The crimson color of her blood mixed with the ink and blurred the title that belonged to her. An ill omen if she ever felt one.

She tried to ignore the feeling settling over her to read the short summons:

Lieutenant General,

Report to the War Council immediately.

Signed,

General of the Kingdom of Flame.

What a warm letter from her dear uncle .

Bryn crumpled the letter and tossed it into the burning fire in the corner of the room.

The soldier did not notice how the letter then floated above the flames and was shielded by a firm wall of air to keep it from burning.

They exited her office, and Bryn made her way across the palace to meet with her father.

The solid red walls of the palace towered over her from either side of the small alley between the buildings that Bryn walked through.

Known for its tall golden-tipped spires on the eastern and western towers and black exterior, the Palace of Wind and Embers was reported to be the biggest palace in Ahland.

Its black stone, unlike the rest of the buildings in Logi, was chosen for its construction due to the hot tempers of fire-wielders. The large obsidian bricks were made in the fire belonging to fire wielders, molding them to whatever shape was needed for the palace walls.

King Helvig had rebuilt the palace once her grandfather died, and he rose to power, ordering the inky stone to be placed over the red exterior.

He had stated that the black and gold of the palace would remind the kingdom's citizens of who the real reigning power in Logi was as if they could ever forget.

Bryn found the existing red walls that were now only seen inside the palace much more appealing. The monstrosity that was the Black Palace hounded the city, standing apart from the people of Logi rather than uniting them as it should be.

Bryn rounded the corner of the palace where the entrance to the main building would lead her to her father’s War Council when she came face to face with Revna. They both froze, eyes wide.

“What are you doing here?” Bryn whispered, pulling Revna into the seldom-used alley .

“I was summoned by King Helvig an hour ago,” Revna replied, voice low as she scanned their surroundings. “He asked me about why my shieldmaidens were raiding Engate.”

“What did you tell him?” Panic seeped into every nerve on Bryn’s body.

“That we heard of vitki escaping the city and went to check,” Revna said, finally looking at Bryn again.

Bryn let out a quick breath, her body relaxing only slightly.

It was enough to cause small tremors to rack her body.

Revna pulled her further into the alley, finding a small, forgotten alcove where some night-blooming jasmine lay asleep in the daytime.

The spiced scent wrangled a memory forward, but Bryn couldn’t quite grasp it before it slipped away again.

“He was not suspicious and mentioned no letter from a soldier, my love,” Revna said, brushing some of the copper hair that had come loose from Bryn’s braid.

“You don’t know that,” Bryn said, grabbing Revna’s wrist and holding her hand to her face. “I’m heading there now; I was summoned to the War Council.”

“We are safe. This will work,” Revna said, putting her forehead to Bryn’s. Her midnight hair, loose down her back, slipped forward in a heavy curtain and shielded them from the outside world.

Bryn relaxed a bit more in her lover's arms, the musky scent of the jasmine swirling around them.

“I have to go,” Bryn said after a moment. “They are expecting me soon.”

“Don't go yet,” Revna whispered, her cool breath dancing across Bryn’s lips.

All Bryn had to do was lean forward slightly to brush her lips against Revna’s soft mouth. Bryn could already taste the sweetness of Revna’s tongue on hers, could feel the way Revna’s body would unwind at her touch. Bryn’s core pulsed, her lower belly going molten .

But Bryn had to finish carrying out her duties before she could give in to the pleasures in her life.

Bryn pulled back from Revna’s embrace and brought her hand up to stroke her lover’s face tenderly.

“Come find me tonight, and we’ll pick up where we left off,” Bryn promised.

Revna sighed but nodded, twining her fingers around Bryn’s other hand.

“I have to go,” Bryn said, taking a step back. “But know the hardest thing I’ll ever do is walk away from you, minn raven.”

Revna kept her fingers twisted in Bryn’s until the last second when Bryn finally moved far enough away that they slipped from each other's grasp. The air grew heavier between them, as if a great distance was already yawning open between them.

I love you , mouthed Revna, a regretful look in her eye.

Bryn gave her a curious look at the sorrow in her eyes, but Revna quickly turned and ran silently down the alley toward the barracks, her lithe body moving through the shadows like it was liquid night come to life.

Revna disappeared into the distance, and Bryn picked up her pace to make it to the War Council on time.

“Ah, Lieutenant, you’re just in time,” King Helvig’s voice boomed from across the room as Bryn entered the war room. “We were just getting to the news I have received from one of the Generals Flame Assassins.”

The General, who sat directly to the King's right, was pale and stiff. He did not look at Bryn when she entered or when the King addressed her. When she reached her spot further down the table that contained the map of Ahland, Bryn bowed deeply at the King and sat when he nodded his head once.

“What news have you received, Your Majesty?” Bryn asked, voice flat .

“The Flame Assassins have failed in retrieving the Heir Apparent from the Kingdom of Rivers. One has sent word to me of their failure and is awaiting further instruction,” the King said, his honey-colored hair elegantly slicked back with the Flame Crown pressed into the thick locks.

Bryn waited in silence for her orders, her gaze never straying from the King, her mask of indifference never slipping.

“I need you to fulfill your promise to find that girl, Lieutenant,” her father continued, his hazel eyes beginning to dance with the fire that he favored so much. “I need you to find the Heir and bring her back to the palace, once and for all.”

Bryn restricted the triumph she felt at her and Revna’s plan working and used that feeling to bring her most cruel smile forward.

“It would be an honor, Your Majesty.”

“Excellent,” he grinned.

Bryn found it odd that the King was in such high spirits at the news of the General's failure to capture Maude. She imagined that he would have been furious, throwing furniture and burning the closest individual who even slightly inconvenienced him.

But he was almost slap-happy. It unsettled Bryn.

The rest of the meeting breezed through quickly, though Bryn had not paid attention to most of what was said.

She had been dismissed along with the other councilors, but they had not made it far down the hall before the shouting began.

King Helvig was tearing her uncle apart if the crashing of furniture signified anything.

Night had fallen while she was in the meeting, and Bryn eagerly made her way back to her room, hoping to find Revna in her bed. Bryn felt horrible leaving Revna like that in the alley, but her duty had to come first during the waking hours. Revna knew this .

Bryn reached her bedroom and quickly unlocked the door to find it empty.

On her pillow lay a small, folded note. Bryn went to open the letter when she noticed it had been addressed to her in Revna’s small, neat handwriting. Dread settled in Bryn as she opened it.

My love,

The King has sent me on the mission we planned sooner than I expected. I have the finished letter to Maude with me and will make sure to deliver it to her, no matter what.

It pains me to have left the palace without telling you, but it’s easier this way, you see. I would have loved to have joined you tonight in your chambers, but our mission comes first.

I will see you upon my return. I love you.

Your raven

Longing settled into Bryn’s bones as she read the letter. Revna had known she was leaving that moment and had let Bryn walk away from her.

It’s easier this way.

Bryn didn’t see how. Stripping out of her uniform, Bryn wrapped her mother’s robe around her and settled onto her bed, reading the note from Revna again.

She didn’t understand why this heaviness was hanging over her shoulders, but Bryn tried to ignore it as she rolled over and became overwhelmed by sleep.

When Bryn woke later that night in a pool of sweat, it was not from the raging need she felt for Revna but rather from terror. But terror for what, Bryn could not remember.