Emberhawk - Jamie Foley Page 0,127

Alliance council and commander of its forces.” Her tone held no arrogance, and yet it seemed heavy with the weight of her titles. “I am no witch.”

“Sorry.” Kira bowed lower this time. She pointed at Tekkyn. “I’m very sorry. But that’s my brother. He hasn’t done anything wrong. Please release him.”

Tekkyn shifted on his knees. Blood shone bright on his lip, and a swollen eye widened as it flicked between them.

“Oh?” Brooke glanced over her shoulder, then at Ryon. “He claims he gave you a letter proving Malaano involvement in the attack. But if that were true, you would have given it to me immediately, yes?” Her umber eyes were solid as granite.

Ryon kept his breathing steady. His close relationship with Brooke would only protect him so much when she had that glint in her eye. “That was the plan,” he said. “But the attack began before I could get to you.”

“So you waited too long to inform us.” Brooke turned to Tekkyn and put her hands on her hips. “How long were you sitting on this information, exactly?”

An azure mask behind Brooke leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Her gaze went back to Kira and thinned. Ryon sidestepped to stand between them.

“I had to get proof,” Tekkyn said. “I’m not your enemy. My brother died defending this city. Please, listen—”

“He’s telling the truth,” Ryon interrupted. “He was drafted into Imperial service, but he used his position to gather intelligence for the Navakovrae Resistance. Seems they’re just as fond of the Empire as we are.”

“Resistance?” Brooke murmured. Her brows furrowed, and she tugged at a braid. “The Malaano have not been hostile until now, and this smells more like a game than a declaration of war.”

“They will declare war. It’s just a matter of time.” Tekkyn began to rise but one of the masks put a hand on his shoulder and sent him right back to his knees. “The Navakovrae will rebel, but there aren’t enough of us. But if we join forces, we could drive the Empire to the Sea of Bones.”

Brooke snorted. “We just finished a bloody war a decade ago, and now my people are suffering from this attack.” She turned and placed both palms on the table, leaning over one of Ryon’s maps of Jadenvive that had been blotted with charcoal. “The Tribal Alliance is barely holding together as it is, and obviously we don’t have the support of the Emberhawk. It would be extremely unwise to pick a fight with the Malaano now.”

Ryon frowned at his ruined map and assumed that the charcoal-marked portions of the city must have been those damaged by fire. But they’ve already picked a fight with us.

“They will attack you, regardless,” Tekkyn said. “The only question is whether or not you’ll ally with the Navakovrae Resistance when the time comes.”

Brooke stared at the map like she expected it to come alive and tell her what to do. The room fell silent as Ryon inched closer to her.

The chieftess strode to Tekkyn and peered down at him. Tekkyn gasped and reeled back, but the masked men behind him held him in place.

Kira stepped forward but Ryon caught her arm. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “She’s searching his memories.”

“What?” Kira blurted, her eyes fixed on her wide-eyed brother.

“She can read minds,” Ryon said in her ear. “He’s all right. Trust me.”

“So she is a witch,” Kira muttered under her breath. “There’s no element for mind-reading!”

“It’s the fifth element—aether,” Ryon whispered. “A lost art, but not evil, I promise.”

Agonizing minutes passed, and Kira fidgeted like a cornered cat. Both Tekkyn and Brooke seemed frozen in time, but the men in trace cat masks looked bored, like they’d seen this surreal occurrence hundreds of times. Ryon wondered how long they’d had to wait when Brooke had searched his own memory last time.

Finally Brooke looked away, her face dark. Tekkyn let out a breath as if he’d been holding it that entire time.

“Untie him.” The chieftess’ voice was rough.

The azure mask behind Tekkyn shifted. “Ma’am?”

“Let him go.” Brooke turned back to the map. “I want a protection detail on him while he’s in Jadenvive. And this one.” She nodded at Kira, who took a step back.

Ryon gave Kira a reassuring smile. “See? I knew it’d be all right.”

“Kiralau,” Brooke called. “Please come here.”

Ryon’s reassurance fractured. What now? Did she find something about Kira in Tekkyn’s mind?

Kira took one hesitant step, then another. “Yes, ma’am?”

“You probably saved thousands of my people.” Brooke slumped into a