Smolder (Crown of Fae #3) - Sharon Ashwood Page 0,42
and Barleycorn, but not before he knew if she was friend or foe.
“You know my name,” he said lightly. “My fame precedes me, even here.”
“Not in a way you’d like,” Anna replied, sitting back as casually as if he were a guest. “Most consider you a puppet of the Shades, even here among the exiles. Few of us know what really happened.”
That was unsurprising, given Morran wasn’t sure himself. “And what do you think that is?”
“You lost your bird.” For once, the sarcasm was gone. “My sympathies. I understand what it is to have a dual nature. My wolf is who I am.”
So he’d guessed right about her lineage. “Have you ever heard news of my other half?”
Her eyebrows rose. “Only that the Shades are furious because it’s nowhere to be found.”
His heart leaped, but he pushed down the surge of emotion. Hope could be treacherous. “Are they?”
“There’s chatter, and it makes sense. If they had a phoenix under their spell, they’d be using it in the war.”
As they had his father’s phoenix. “Go on.”
“I don’t know much more than that. Essentially, they screwed up.” She shrugged. “It’s not hard to see how. Catching a burning raptor big enough to fight and kill a dragon—failure is a possibility.”
He sat back, matching her casual posture. This Anna, whoever she was, had to be a spy. How else could she know so much?
“If the Shades wanted the phoenix as a weapon,” he said, “what possible use does Juradoc have for me?”
Her smile was sharp. “Why do you think I know?”
“Maybe you don’t.”
“He wants power.”
“Don’t we all?”
She gave a low laugh. “When the Shades failed to capture the phoenix and make it a weapon, they planned to execute you. Juradoc took you prisoner instead.”
“Why?”
“He wants free access to the Flame at the Great Temple, and you’re the key to that. Anyone studying the war has figured that out.”
“Except I have no idea how to unlock the Flame or how to render it safe enough for the Shades to access its power.”
“Not without the bird.”
“Not without the bird,” he agreed. “And you’re giving me answers rather easily. Aren’t you afraid I’m here to harm you?”
“You’ve already guessed these answers. You’re just looking for confirmation.”
That was true.
“What’s more, you came with a temple cat. I would know, animal to animal, if she had been forced or corrupted.” She gave another sharp smile, “Her presence says you’re here of your own free will.”
Morran decided he might be a cat person after all. “Then tell me this. How does Juradoc think I will summon the phoenix?”
“Who knows?” Anna sat forward, warming to the discussion. “My best guess is Juradoc believes your death will summon the bird. He’s kept you alive until the time is right.”
Was that why Juradoc had kept Morran deliberately addled? So the summoning would wait until they reached the Great Temple, and then Juradoc would order his execution?
The delay also gave the general a chance to perfect his power-draining techniques. It was why he’d been interested in the fire dancers. They didn’t provide ultimate access to the Flame, but what they summoned was more manageable. As evil plans went, it was well strategized.
“What do the other Shades think?” he asked.
“They think Juradoc’s a fruitcake. Even if the Shades could access pure elemental magic, it’s deadly to consume right from the source. Otherwise, they would have done it before. He says he has a plan, but untried theories are a good way to die.”
“And yet they leave him in command of a large army.”
“He’s just dangerous enough that they’re reluctant to cross him. Rumor has it he’s a deadly enemy even to his own kind.”
Her words made sense to Morran, like bricks forming a neat row. “How did you become so well informed?”
She sat back, wary again. “Because I’m no stranger to Faery. I keep my ear to the ground.”
“Let’s be plain. You’re an intelligence agent. Who do you work for?”
Morran waited, letting silence fall. Most people would eventually feel the urge to fill it. A long pause followed.
“I have to say,” Anna said in a bland tone, “you must be strong to have survived this long in Juradoc’s camp. Stronger still to find a way out and go looking for answers.”
“I had help.”
At that moment, Leena returned with Kifi and Mo at her heels. The blood and scratches on the cats had been cleaned up.