Page 45 of Realm of Crows (Wings of Ink #5)

Thirty-Three

Ayna

Clio and Tori take Pouly, Andraya, and Rochus with his children to the rebel camps the next morning. After a tight hug with Andraya and Pouly and a few brief words of thanks to Rochus, Ed, and Gabrilla, I watch them dematerialize in the throne room of the fairy palace.

“They’ll be fine,” Myron reassures me, his hand firmly wrapped around mine as if to make sure I won’t vanish like them.

Silas bobs his head, still staring at the spot where Gabrilla stood a few moments ago. “They know how to use their weapons, and they’ve survived captivity before. They know what they are getting themselves into, and they are ready.”

The grim expression has returned to his face, giving away how much he hates sending humans into a battle we will most likely lose.

“You can’t think like that,” Kaira inserts herself into my thoughts. “You need to believe in them.”

“I know,” I say out loud, too tired to think.

Myron, Royad, and Silas all nod at me like they seem to think I responded to Silas’s statement, and I let them believe it.

“Rogue headed out to inspect the troops closest to the border. He’ll be back later today,” Royad informs us on our way from the throne room. “He said he intends to return to Cezux before he’ll join us for dinner.”

On instinct, my gaze darts to the side in search of the Fairy Queen who often wanders the hallways, restless from the strain of pregnancy.

“Have we heard anything from Cezux?” I hold my breath, waiting to hear the same response as always, that we haven’t, and as expected, Royad shakes his head.

“Rogue said he’s worried about Tavras using the mountain roads at the Cezuxian border again to infiltrate Askarea.”

“That’s why we’ll need to fly patrol there,” Myron responds as if Royad had stated a question.

“Fly?” I look him over, the strong Crow King incarnate, despite what we’ve all been through, ready to hop right back into battle.

I wish I didn’t sense his anguish and worry through the bond; then I might believe the facade.

King or no, he’s concerned for the safety of this court and for Askarea and Tavras, even when he has no obligation to care for either one .

“It’s the easiest way to keep track of what’s going on out there,” he says with one of those glances that make me worry he is volunteering to fly out right now.

“It’s also the easiest way to get yourself killed,” Silas points out with familiar dark humor. It’s good to see him returning to normal, even with Herinor gone and Gabrilla headed into one of the rebel camps. Because I’m certain he’s come to like the human woman a little too much.

“Let’s wait until Rogue’s back,” I suggest, ignoring the squeamish feeling in my stomach. “If he succeeds at convincing Cezux to stand by us, the mountain passes will no longer be an option for Tavras.”

Silas eyes me with deep black eyes. “Can’t he just use that fairy name control he threatened us with when we first came here?”

It’s a neat idea, but knowing Rogue, he will never force anyone into going to war.

“And why haven’t the fairies used it in battle? It would have spared us some drama, especially with Erina.”

Silas is right; it would have been an excellent tool, but—“It’s not like they know the soldiers by their names, so how could they control them?

” I start pacing, one slow round at the center of the room.

“And Erina never showed his real face on the battlefield. Always projections.” Exploding from frustration seems like a viable option right now, but that would leave our team one Crow short, and we need all the help we can get, so I blow out a breath and stop at Myron’s side once more, savoring the warmth of his palm against mine as he laces his fingers through mine .

“I wish my aunt had taught me about projection when I was still a mage.” Sanja almost startles a surge of magic to my veins as she appears in the hidden door behind the dais.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough power to do much human magic when I was still human, and once I turned into …

this ”—she gestures down her fir and gold-clad form—“I no longer had need of the sort of magic she could teach me.”

With a few long strides, I meet her at the side of the dais, throwing my arms around her. Her black hair is braided, golden clasps pinning individual strands in a half circle around the back of her head.

“You look beautiful,” I tell her as we sit down on the edge of the dais, Sanja supporting her belly with her hand as it quivers.

“The little one hasn’t given me a break since midnight.

” She braces her other hand behind her, grimacing.

“I can’t wait for him or her to be out of here.

” She pats her belly. “At least, then I can send Rogue on his way to get the youngling back to sleep.” A strained chuckle ghosts across her features.

“So what were we talking about? Ah yes, projections.”

While I’ve made myself comfortable next to the Fairy Queen, the others have joined us by the dais, curiously waiting for her to enlighten us.

“What do you know about projections?” Kaira prompts, eyeing the female’s swollen belly sideways as if it might attack any moment.

Sanja shrugs lightly. “Nothing really. At least, I thought I knew nothing. Now that we know Erina has some sort of magic, we know the projections must be his doing. ”

“Tori and Clio mentioned he must have been using something small—an artifact of sorts,” Kaira notes. “Do you have any idea what it could be or how we could neutralize it so our enemies can’t spy on us with virtual soldiers?”

Royad seems to be particularly interested in a solution.

“If they project entire armies, how can we be sure where to focus our own troops?” The scar on his cheek tugs his mouth into a crooked line as he purses his lips, hands on his hips and pacing in a small circle in front of the dais.

“Does he need to touch the item to do the projection? At what distances does it work? And most importantly”—he stops next to Silas, who’s positioned himself to Myron’s left at the edge of the dais—“how can we destroy it?”

We all look at Sanja, half expecting her to shake her head and tell us she doesn’t have the slightest clue, but she surprises us with a smile.

“Knowing he’s a Mage—an untrained one at best with little experience—gives me hope.

I understand human magic well enough to tell there’s no way he can perform this sort of magic without a spell.

And if there’s a spell, it has to be in one of the old books from my aunt’s old residence in Aceleau. ”

I want to ask her about her aunt, about her story, how she ended up in Aceleau to begin with, and if there were times when humans roamed these lands, but we have other matters at hand. My curiosity will need to wait.

“Any chance we can take a look at those books?” Myron prompts with the velvet tone of someone who’s willing to give his negotiation partner all the time in the world even when our time is running out.

Every day, Tavras is closing in on Askarea; every day, more soldiers are equipped with the magic-nullifying serum.

Every day, we’re closer to the final battle that will define the future of this continent.

For a moment, Sanja seems to be musing, her index finger placed over her lips and her eyes on the glimmering ceiling.

“I could have them brought to the study for all of us to comb through, but I doubt we’ll have much success.

If Erina has access to a Mage Stone or something similar, he needs someone to refill it with magic whenever he uses up the stored power within the artifact.

It has to be Ephegos. That’s the connection of power they share, and that’s why Erina got into bed with the traitor Crow to begin with. ”

I only understand half of what she’s saying…

“Mage Stone?” Kaira asks before I need to.

Sanja shakes her head. “When I was young, Mages were more common on this continent. Some ancient Mage families carried on the tradition of human magic, but the dependency on fairies made our profession dangerous. We could only use as much power as was stored in our Mage Stones, and we needed to trade for more power with the very creatures who loved enslaving us.” Sadness fills her eyes as she gazes back into her memories.

“That was under Rogue’s father’s rule. Rogue is different.

He passed laws to protect humans, but that doesn’t matter much.

No one trusts fairies enough to come here.

No one cares enough to aid us in a war—not even my own family. ”

Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I scoot closer, letting her lean against my side. She looks exhausted with dark smudges under her eyes and her lips paler than I’m used to. “I’m sorry.

“That was a long time ago.” I can tell by her tone that she remembers like it was yesterday.

“I don’t know how Erina came across a Mage Stone, but Ephegos is surely the one to refill it whenever Erina depletes it.

And before that, it might have been Jeseida.

That’s how they made the drug. Erina used his magic. ”

I’m trying to follow her train of thought.

“Human magic,” she explains. “Some of the things human Mages can achieve, no fairy power or Crow magic can do. The drug must be one of them… A natural protection against our kind. I need to dig into my books and figure out if we can find something to reverse the spell. Because that could be done with fairy magic or Crow powers.” She gets to her feet, ready to storm from the room.

About three strides toward the hidden door, Sanja sways, hand grabbing for support and finding only thin air.

“Sanja—” I’m next to her before I can think, stabilizing her with a hand under her elbow and guiding her back to the dais where she sits on the edge once more.

“I’m fine,” she pants, leaning slightly forward, legs braced apart to accommodate her belly. “I’m … fine.”

I don’t believe her, but there is nothing in this world that will stop this female from accomplishing her mission, so I don’t try talking her out of some reading.

Instead, I rub soothing circles between her shoulders, wondering if we’ll see the little one before the next battle or if it will choose to remain coy and wait until this war is over .

“Maybe I should have the books brought right here,” Sanja admits with a forced smile, gripping the edge of the dais hard with both hands on either side of her hips. “The little one doesn’t seem to agree with my running around the palace right now.”

Royad sits down on her other side, a crease etched deep in his forehead, while Myron perches next to me, taking my hand and rubbing small circles on the back of my palm with his thumb.

“What can we do to stop him?” he asks. “I mean, what can we do to stop him from using his powers altogether? The projections must be only part of what he’s capable of.”

Much as I agree with Myron, I wonder if pushing the topic might make her condition worse, and Rogue will happily tear our heads off if anything happens to Sanja or the baby on our watch.

“His power comes from the Mage Stone. Find it and destroy it, and Erina will be the mere human bastard we believed him to be this entire time.” She turns her head, eyeing me from the side.

“I should have thought of it myself. That he must have magic, I mean. We knew he was human and that he accomplished things humans normally don’t, but I chalked it up to working so closely with Flames and Crows.

I believed it all to be their doing, not his. ”

“It seems we all underestimated him,” Silas allows, his hand on his hatchet like he could fight the false Tavrasian King here and now.

“We can still fix this, right?” Kaira’s gaze darts from Silas to Sanja to Myron to Royad.

“We can destroy that damn rock and stop him from projecting armies and producing more of the serum.” The real question she wants to ask gleams in her eyes, but she doesn’t voice it, probably too afraid of the response.

“We’ll get him back,” I think at her, hoping she’ll pay attention, even when I don’t want to speak those words aloud, too scared to make a promise I cannot keep.

“He might be dead by now,” is all Kaira thinks in return, and my heart splinters for her at the thought of having lost Herinor after just opening her heart to him.

“He isn’t dead. We’ll get him back.” If I repeat it often enough, I might believe it eventually, but Kaira is right.

He might be dead. And he might be far from Erina’s reach, so finding the Tavrasian king might do us no good with finding the Crow.

Herinor is in Ephegos’s claws now, and all we can do is pray he’ll not be forced to do anything that will destroy our chances at winning this war.

But knowing Ephegos, he’s already on his best way to push Herinor into turning on his court once more.

Kaira’s eyes are lined with silver as she holds my gaze, reading each and every last thought from my mind, but her gaze is steely as is her tone as she thinks at me, “We’ll get him back.”