Page 54 of Winds of Darkness

Enemies or friends?

She will come.

Who will come? Ashtine wondered, desperate to understand something. Anything. Desperate for a reprieve from—

The rivers will run red.

The lands will be divided.

Which side will you choose?

The war only sleeps.

Answers lie across the sea,Ashtine recited in her mind.

Go there!

She sighed.I cannot go there. I do not wish to go there.

Reaching out, she stroked her fingers along Nasima’s feathers. She wasn’t sure when she’d stood and made her way to the window, but she hadn’t heard the last several minutes of conversation between Talwyn and Tarek.

The guarded prince arrives.

She didn’t need the winds to tell her Prince Azrael was here. She knew the male’s heavy footsteps and heard them seconds before the dining hall doors opened once more. More out of habit than anything, Ashtine turned and nodded in greeting to the Earth Prince. His earthy brown eyes were scanning the room before him, but she’d already turned back to the window.

He trusts no one.

He is smart,Ashtine retorted.

Which side will he choose?

“The winds’ whispers are vague and often nonsense,” Azrael was saying. “They could mean nothing, but they could mean everything.”

“She has to have some idea,” Tarek was arguing.

“What stakes do you have in this revelation?” the Earth Prince countered.

The rivers will run red.

The lands will be divided.

“There is a war coming,” Ashtine said, fingers gliding over Nasima’s head once more.

The chatter ceased for a moment, the silence deafening.

Tarek was the first to speak. “The war ended centuries ago.”

“The end of one war does not prevent the rise of another,” Azrael replied from where he stood near the table, his arms crossed.

“There have been no indications of war. Does this have to do with Avonleya?” Talwyn mused.

“Avonleya can do nothing locked behind their wards,” Tarek scoffed.

“They incited the Great War. I am sure they can incite another.”

“We are well prepared for a war. All the Courts are after everything that transpired before,” Azrael said.

Answers lie across the sea.