Page 17 of Realm of Crows (Wings of Ink #5)

“And while we’re at it,” Astorian adds with the icy tone of the general I used to fear. “There will be no empire. Ephegos won’t sit on any throne, and the human king he’s teamed up with will no longer terrorize the lands after we’re done with them.”

Tata gives a humorless laugh. “You don’t really believe you stand a chance.

Not even with the help of Cezux can you win this war.

If Dimar ever decides to send his armies, it will be too late.

They won’t make the hike north around the mountains to meet the Askarean forces before Tavras attacks.

And the path south by ship won’t matter if Askarea has been overrun by Tavrasian soldiers. You will lose.”

I’m not sure Tata realizes that she gave away more than just one detail of Ephegos’s plan in her anger. We have a rough timeline now and a direction of where the armies are headed.

“Doesn’t matter.” Kaira rolls up her sleeves, flexing her fingers as she reaches for Tata’s head.

The fairy cringes away, but Silas and Astorian force her to stay still, the fairy general’s magic melting pieces of rock out of the floor and slinging them around her ankles and knees to keep her in her spot while, with his hands, he fixes her arm and shoulder in place.

“Ready.” Silas nods at Kaira, watching the Flameling’s fingers touch Tata’s temple.

The fairy screams, and Kaira opens her channel into her mind to allow the rest of us into Tata’s head as well.

It’s a dark place. Darker even than my own, perhaps. And lonely.

Daffodils. Daffodils. Daffodils. Daffodils. Tata’s voice is small, childlike, but it’s definitely her. Daffodils grow along the windowsills.

In her mind, she is singing a child’s tune I’ve never heard, perhaps to keep us out of her thoughts.

She knows about Kaira’s talents, and for sure she built a shield around her mind, but Kaira’s mind-reading is an unstoppable power.

Even my strongest shields sometimes get pierced by her thoughts if she wills them into my head. And Tata is not half as powerful as I.

“You can ask her anything now,” Kaira says in a voice too cold and calculated for the hot-headed creature I so adore. I’m glad, though, that she is able to seclude her emotions from this situation. Unlike me, who threw a magical punch.

“Where are Ephegos and Erina?” Astorian asks first.

I don’t know-I don’t know-I don’t know. Tata’s thoughts flare through her head like tangled blades of grass in the wind.

An image of Ephegos mingles with the repetitive words.

I don’t know. But her memories betray her.

I see a carriage in the forest, a few tents erected around it, and a set of sentries returning from patrol.

I’m sucked into Tata’s memory so fast I almost forget who I am as her point of view becomes mine and everything blurs in my mind.

“They will arrive today,” I reassure Ephegos. “I swear.”

He looks good with his open hair catching the winter light in the clearing and his eyes shimmering with anticipation of his mission. Today, he’ll kill Myron and capture the Queen of Crows. About time. I can’t stand their lovesick drama a day longer.

“And have you brought the rebels to the clearing as expected?” Ephegos cocks his head, strands of hair falling into his face.

The gesture is the same as my brothers; if it weren’t for the bronze skin and the green eyes, he could be.

But my brother is dead. My entire family is dead.

They all were killed in their sleep by vengeful Crows, their throats sliced open.

I’m the only survivor. Instinctively, my hand flips to my neck where a set of scars will forever remind me of that night.

It’s surprisingly easy to look at Ephegos, despite his heritage. That I no longer see a clawed monster when I look at him is a miracle..

“I have. Ayna will run after the trail we laid like the inexperienced fool she is. She’ll step right into our trap.”

“And I’ll be ready to strike.” His grin is terrible yet beautiful, another characteristic he shares with my brother. “And then I’ll take her back to the King of Tavras. Erina will be delighted to have his breeding device returned to him.”

In his eyes, I can read how happy the thought of Ayna suffering makes him.

I’m not sure I agree with what happens to her, but I tell myself I don’t care as long as Myron and his court get what they deserve.

Askarea is collateral in this war. If I play things right, I might save at least Sanja.

She’s always been kind to me. It’s the only reason I haven’t told Ephegos about the pregnancy.

When I get back to Aceleau, I’ll make sure the escape route I planned for her is unblocked.

No one will look for her if I kill one of the dark-haired palace servants and mutilate her beyond recognition to fake Sanja’s death.

Where she’ll hide afterward, I yet need to figure out.

Somewhere near Ansoli, perhaps. There’s always work on a boat, and if she’s lucky, one day, a ship will go east to the lands the Crows supposedly came from, and she’ll be able to start fresh.

“Go back to Aceleau and set things in motion. I’ll see you on the battlefield.

” Ephegos turns around and starts picking through his weapons, settling on a jeweled hunting knife and a longsword.

“Once Myron is dead, what’s left of the Crows will flock to me like they are supposed to, and we’ll attack Askarea as a united front. ”

My stomach knots at the thought of the one Crow I’d mourn if he fell in battle: Silas.

There is something about the warrior that reminds me of redemption. He’s the one reason I’ve regretted my choice to pledge loyalty to Ephegos. But Crows are immortal, just as fairies. When Ephegos wins this war and his plans come to fruition, Silas may forgive me with time…

I’m not sure if it’s Kaira pulling out of Tata’s memories or if it’s Tata shoving us all out of her head, but I see the cell once more instead of the winter forest, and Silas’s pain-torn face is the first thing I look for.

Kaira has removed her hands from Tata’s temples, staring open-mouthed at the revelations we witnessed .

“I’d never forgive you,” he murmurs in a low, deadly tone that makes even a tough-minded warrior like me shudder.

“It doesn’t matter,” Tata hisses, her tone so similar to that of a Crow stuck in their half-form that I shudder all over again.

“Ephegos has Ayna, and Myron is dead. There is nothing you can do to change the outcome of this war now. Either kill me, or wait for Ephegos to take Aceleau and this palace. He’ll release me from the dungeon, and I’ll spit on all your graves. ”

By everything that is holy—she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know Myron is alive and celebrating his reunion with his mate. She is oblivious to the failure of at least this part of Ephegos’s plan. A glance at Astorian confirms he’d like to keep it that way.

“If Crows murdered your family, how can you trust Ephegos? Why work with him at all?” Again, Astorian is the one to ask the question, but Kaira doesn’t need to dig her way into Tata’s mind again. The fairy talks, and what she has to say nearly turns even my stomach.