the role she had been forced into.
She needed Wesley.
They all did.
The door opened and Saxony’s face brightened when she saw Karam.
When Saxony smiled, even the leaves rustled, like they were giggling alongside her, perfectly synchronized to her happiness.
Saxony’s grandma sat at the table behind her, every bit the warrior Karam hoped she would remain when she reached her age. Her hair, braided down to the very edges of her fingertips, was the color of Arjun’s sword and gleamed in the same way when the sun hit it just right. Her dark skin matched Saxony’s perfectly, though her eyes were not the same guarded brown, but instead shone in the color of stars and fresh clouds.
“Karam,” Saxony said.”Did you come to join us for dinner?”
She opened the door wider for Karam to come in and sat back at the table, opposite her grandma.
“Help yourself,” Saxony said. “Amja cooked enough for the whole army.”
It truly was a feast, with nearly a dozen plates on the table, some sticky with sauce and sweet steam that Karam could smell even from the doorway. It made her mouth water, especially since she had skipped lunch to train with Tavia.
“No, thank you,” Karam said.
She was here to talk, not get distracted with such a delicious spread.
“You’re quite the dedicated warrior.” Saxony’s grandma nodded in approval. “Always focused on the task at hand.”
Karam smiled, because she didn’t trust herself not to say something stupid. A war ground was not the ideal place to meet Saxony’s family, and Karam hadn’t had nearly enough time to practice small talk and the right way to make them deem her truly worthy.
“I am glad you are both here,” Karam said, lingering by the door. “I have to talk to you and I am not sure if it is something you are going to like.”
Though the sad truth was, whether Saxony liked it or not, Karam had to go.
The Loj was spreading, Nolan had escaped, and despite Karam sending their best scouts after him, he’d disappeared into the woods. Even with the Lieges coming from across the four realms to help, and with Tavia’s deal with Casim bringing them buskers, they still needed one thing.
They still needed Wesley.
Saxony stopped eating and turned to look up at Karam. “Do I need to stay sitting down for this?” she asked.
“I have been thinking and I have decided that it is time I went to look for Wesley,” Karam said.
“Wesley can wait.” Saxony waved her spoon, dismissing the idea.
Karam sighed. “He cannot. And it is important that I find him.”
“Why?”
“Creije will fall soon if we do nothing,” Karam said. “And now that we know that the Loj is spreading to the other cities, the time for delaying the inevitable is over. You know the Crafters and Tavia knows the buskers, but I know how to fight, and to do that properly, we need Wesley. He is the one with the ideas and he will help us in this battle. If Ashwood turns him, then I fear our fight will be lost.”
Saxony slammed her spoon suddenly onto the table, sending grains of rice across the floor. She stood and all signs of the smile she’d had just moments ago quickly dispersed.
“Damn it,” she said. “Why you? I get that Wesley is important, but I’m not trading your safety for his.”
“And yet you may need to,” her grandma said.”We must not let him be under Dante Ashwood’s thrall.”
Her voice was stern but gentle, and when she looked to her granddaughter, Saxony brought her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose, as though just the thought of having Wesley back gave her a headache.
“Since when do you like underbosses?” Saxony asked her. “Amja, I would have thought that you of all people wouldn’t want to trust Wesley Thornton Walcott.”
“There is a lot you don’t know about what I want or what is best,” her grandma said. “Which is why you summoned the other Lieges behind my back instead of heeding my warnings.”
Saxony thrust her hands into the air. “Will you ever stop being angry about that? I won’t apologize for trying to help our people.”
“I’m not asking you to apologize. I’m pointing out that you went against the wishes of someone you love to do what is necessary, because you felt it was right. Karam clearly feels the same.”
A smile found its way onto Karam’s face. If Saxony’s grandma thought she was making the right decision, then that must have meant that she’d made a good