Page 50 of Realm of Crows (Wings of Ink #5)

“I guess, Erina did us a favor, then, sending his troops across the mountains for a guerrilla attack.”

Myron’s black waves shift over his shoulder as he nods. “His soldiers definitely alerted King Dimar to the possibility of a Tavrasian invasion. Perhaps he even believed he was being attacked—if only for a little while.”

“What do you think changed since the last time you were there to negotiate?” I remember vividly the day Myron returned from Jezuin with news about Dimar’s hatred for Crows and his unwillingness to aid Askarea.

It was also the day Myron and I were reunited after my flight from Ephegos’s caravan.

The day I tricked my own bargain to return to my court.

Myron shrugs. “Perhaps I was the wrong person to send in the first place. All the pain my people have caused his, all those women taken from their homes and sacrificed to break a curse they knew nothing about. I would hate myself were I in his place.”

Of course he would because that’s the sort of empathic male he is. It’s why he was ready to give up on ever breaking the curse. He could no longer take the guilt of sentencing his brides to die.

Squeezing his hand, I lead it to my mouth and place a kiss on his knuckle. Myron’s eyes close for a long, deep breath before snapping open again.

“Rogue went there ready to negotiate rather than begging for aid the way Sanja’s letters or I did. He didn’t go there with a warning or a threat but with a question of what Dimar would need to join us.”

“Trade.” The answer seems so simple, and why does it still surprise me that Myron knows Rogue’s plans better than anyone else?

They have proven more than once how well they work together when they put their minds to it.

Two great leaders, both equipped with intelligence, compassion, and strength.

Each of them bringing in their unique perspectives to make the most of this terrifying situation.

Rogue’s armies grant us the numbers we need while Myron’s insights adjust our strategies into potentially winning ones.

While individually we might lose this war, together, we’ll actually stand a chance.

“If he meant what he said, opening up the Hollow Mountains is something he never intended to do again for the safety of his realm. His sacrifice will allow us a surprise attack that will perhaps decide this war in the end.”

“Perhaps,” I agree. “Or it will create thousands and thousands of human casualties. Lives that should have never been involved in this conflict in the first place.”

“There is no escaping this conflict ,” Myron reminds me with a pained smile, gathering our hands on his thigh and crossing his legs at the ankles.

He shucked his boots at the door, and his jacket hangs open, exposing the black shirt he’s wearing underneath.

“If they don’t stand with us now, they’ll lose on their own later.

Only together, we might be strong enough to face Tavras and Ephegos’s magical units. ”

I don’t object, because there’s nothing to say. In a few days, we will be facing a battle worse than what we’ve seen north of Aceleau or even at the inn. And I’ll be sending the Tavrasian rebels right onto the killing field.

“So this is really happening,” I breathe, resting my head against the rim of the bathtub.

Myron’s calloused fingertips scrape an inch over the back of my palm in comfort. “This is really happening.”

“We’re going to war.”

“We have been at war for months,” Myron corrects, but his voice is gentle. “First, with the Flames and Ephegos for their revenge, and now, with Tavras for this territory and all our future. ”

“And still with Ephegos,” I amend. “He’s still aiming to rule the world, isn’t he? Even when he’s playing Erina’s general.”

“He is.” Now Myron is the one who sighs.

When I take a closer look at him, the dark circles under his eyes seem more pronounced than they were a day ago, and his hunched shoulders tell their own story of his exhaustion.

“We’re in this together,” I remind him. “You and me. I’m not leaving your side.”

When Myron turns his head, eyes locking on mine, a lifetime of worry creases his brow. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” He heaves a deep breath, rubbing his face with his free hand until all traces of his concern disappear in the unreadable mask I’ve seen him wear so many times.

“What are you worried about?” My stomach ties into a knot as I wait for him to speak, but I already know what he’ll be saying before he does because it’s the same thing that gives me nightmares, too.

“Ephegos will come after me himself in order to kill me and get Shaelak to fulfill his bargain.” His hand tightens around mine as if he’s unwilling to let me go even when his words say something different.

“You can’t be with me on the battlefield, or he’ll snatch you the second he lays eyes on you. ”

All I can do is shake my head as all the thoughts about Shaelak, Ephegos, and the multiple bargains at work converge in my head.

“He can’t kill you without breaking the deal he made with me.

I’ll be yours if you let him live. I swear not to try to return to his Crow Court if you let Kaira go as well.

Alive. The bargain is valid as long as you promise to never lay a finger on either of them again ,” I recite the exact words to him .

Myron shakes his head at me, too, an endless sadness overpowering his empty expression. “You gave him an out. With your phrasing, you gave him a loophole.”

When I just stare at him, he explains, “You told him the bargain was valid as long as he promised to never lay a finger on either of us again, but if he does lay a finger on Kaira or me, the bargain is off.”

“The magic of bargains will devour him.”

“Not if you gave him such a loophole to end the bargain. He can release himself by accepting you won’t be his anymore. And he won’t care because, if he sacrifices your bargain for fulfilling Shaelak’s, you’ll be his anyway. And that attachment will be more permanent.”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Myron so devastated, not even when I made the bargain with Ephegos to begin with. Not even when I was stuck in my bird form and couldn’t speak with him. Not even when he sacrificed himself to save me during the battle in the Seeing Forest.

“I won’t lose you again.” A tear is rolling down his cheek, lonely like a crow sailing on the winds. “So we can’t fight side by side this time. You can’t be anywhere near me, or Ephegos will take advantage of the situation and take you away.”

I hadn’t realized how deep-rooted his fear must be—the fear of losing the one thing he deemed worth fighting for: us .

Climbing onto his lap, I kiss the tear away, leaning my forehead to his, my knees on either side of his hips and my arms slung around his shoulders.

“You won’t lose me. Never.” It’s a promise I’m willing to die for because, if Ephegos succeeds and Shaelak makes me the traitor’s mate, I don’t want to live.

“And when all of this is over, you’ll fulfill your promise to Tori and leave Eherea with your Crows. ”

A breath shudders out of him as he wraps his arms around my waist, folding me to his chest like he’s drowning and I’m the raft keeping him afloat.

“ If we survive this intact, we’ll leave Eherea and find our own little realm where our court can thrive and grow.

” The spark of hope in his voice nearly brings me to tears because it’s all I want.

No matter how much I’ll miss Clio and Tori and even Rogue and the witty Fairy Queen, I want a life with my mate, with my court—a future.

“A new Realm of Crows,” I whisper, nestling deeper into his arms. “ Our realm.”