same. Her head was spinning. It felt like a chess game, and she didn’t know how to guess the next play.
“We need to send messengers out to catch as many of our people as we can. We need to reroute Seanev away from this area,” Nevyn said, circling the area where the Elvasi soldiers disappeared.
“We can’t,” Alchan whispered. “It’s too late. We didn’t send him with a spy book because those are easy to breach. Shadra can read Andenna. Anyone with useful information in the groups knows how to die before torture breaks them. They’ll kill themselves on the battlefield before they let themselves get captured now. Everyone here knows that.”
A dark mood took over the room. Mave understood, even if she couldn’t keep up with the mental plays of the king and Empress. There were traps, and there was no stopping any of their people from walking into them.
Mat and Zayden are out there walking into a trap, and there’s nothing I can do. Nothing at all.
“We need to send out more teams, more often,” Luykas said softly.
“We need to hit them over winter,” Nevyn countered. “She can’t make a final push before winter hits. We can make some good plays over the winter. It’ll be hard on whoever goes, but we can do it.”
“I agree with both of you,” Alchan said softly. “Nevyn, put together three more teams to hit…here, here, and here. Bryn, send your fastest scouts to those locations. Leave them waiting for the teams to approach to judge the situation before they go in. That might mitigate any potential issues.”
Mave wanted to scream. She stopped hearing what they were saying, focused on Mat and Zayden. Her heart began to race, and a hand grabbed her wrist.
“Calm,” Luykas whispered in her ear. “They’re two of the best, and you know that. Trap or no trap, they’ll make it back. They know how to call a mission before they get themselves killed.”
She took a deep breath and looked up at his gold eyes for a long time before nodding. He was right. They would come back. Her husbands always made it back.
“Mave, come take a walk with me,” Alchan ordered.
She frowned and followed him.
“There are things we need to do in there,” she said, gesturing back to the war room as she made it to his side, frustrated by this sudden private chat he wanted to have.
“You missed me giving all the orders I can give,” he retorted. “That’s on you, not me. I want to give you news I know you don’t want to hear.”
“How bad can it get?” she snapped.
“I’m not sending you out. Nevyn and Varon are going to take a team, but you are staying here. Don’t feel too bad. Because you’re staying, so is Kian. Senri imparted to me the severity of my punishment if I sent either of you without the other, and I’m never in the mood to argue with a pregnant female.”
“I’m staying? Still?” She growled, grabbing his arm. “Alchan—”
“Don’t argue with me,” he warned. “Sister, now is not the time to argue with me.”
“Why the fuck not?” she snapped. “I understand sidelining me right after I got back, but now? I should be getting ready to go out there and kill some fucking Elvasi—”
“Autumn. That’s the deal we made, remember?”
“Yes, I remember the fucking deal we made. Did you need to drag me out here to tell me?”
“Not exactly, but I felt it needed to be said first.” He shrugged and started walking again. “I just wanted to talk to you. As my sister, actually.”
That hit her in the gut. Alchan offered his arm like a true gentleman, and she warily took it, eyeing him, filled with a strange anxiety.
“What’s wrong?”
“This is going worse than I expected. The rebellion…the war,” he admitted. “But it’s made me think of things I feel need to be said before anything potentially terrible happens. Things I should say more often or discussions I should have had ages ago. One, if Mat or Zayden don’t come back, I’m sorry, sister. I know it worries you.”
“Luykas was right. They’re strong warriors. They worked with you for a thousand years and were warriors before that. They’ll make it home.” She tried to keep power in those words. She had to keep faith in them. Fretting solved nothing. It never could.
“Second, I wanted to ask for a favor. I know you’re angry with me because you want to go out and kill Elvasi. You’re very good