than go back to her maimed existence, her twinless world, no matter the wealth of love and friendship she had discovered since she left her home.
“Come back to me,” Nic said as his essence began to fade away, back through the Veil. His voice struck the wall Dari was throwing up around her heart.
The wall shattered as quickly as she had constructed it.
She opened her eyes to find him waiting, worried but patient, the depth of emotion in his crystalline eyes enough to keep her from bursting into a fresh round of sobs and screaming. Gradually, she became aware of Stormbreaker and Snakekiller and Aron nearby, and her grandfather, and Lord Cobb. Soldiers and Stone Brothers and Sisters stood in silence, weapons at the ready, as if they had been prepared to invade the Veil to protect Dari and rescue her from whatever threat had presented itself. More distant still were Blath, Iko, and the rest of their Sabor contingent, landing in human form to ring the large traveling party.
“She’s at Stone,” Dari gasped. “Kate’s with Lady Pravda, looking at the main gate and keep. I saw Lord Baldric standing with Windblown on the battlements—through Kate’s eyes.” She came back to herself more completely, and held tight to Nic’s hand as she spoke loudly enough for everyone near her to hear. “We’ve made a terrible mistake. Eyrie’s armies aren’t following us. They’re surrounding Triune.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
ARON
Lord Ross embraced Dari, then returned her to Nic’s tender care, and Aron saw her features shifting ever so slightly. Soft became hard, frightened became angry, and that fire she had in her eyes when he met her on his Harvest day ignited with a fury he had never seen before. Her hands twitched as Nic rubbed his palms against her arms, and he didn’t attempt to hold her or restrain her in any fashion. Aron knew Nic understood that Dari was a warrior in her own right, more powerful than many of the soldiers who would draw swords to defend her at her grandfather’s command.
Aron’s mind shifted to the discovery of Kate’s captors. He was so busy working out how he had so completely failed to understand Kate’s presence in his visions, her desperate communications, that he didn’t realize Lord Ross’s attention had shifted to him. His skin chilled as he felt the force of the man’s stare, but he held himself upright and didn’t lower his head like a frightened boy.
A moment later, Nic came to stand beside him, and Dari joined them.
“My intention was to see you, Nic, and Dari safely to the heart of the Cobb and Ross armies, Aron, and to save Triune in the process.” Lord Ross’s voice was deeper than usual, and Aron thought he might be troubled, but he detected no uncertainty in that firm tone. “I had hoped to draw Altar, Brailing, Mab, and the Thorn Guild to us, and to reveal Nic with the might of our forces standing behind him. That would have given the soldiers pause, and offered us hope of talks, of negotiation and treaty.”
Lord Ross’s gaze moved to Nic, and his dark eyes seemed both sad and determined as he spoke louder, for all to hear. “The time for talking has passed. There will be no treaties in this war, only death and blood and tears. Dyn Mab and all of Eyrie will meet its fate in the valley around Triune.”
Nic’s assent came with a single nod. Aron knew Nic’s twisted spine wouldn’t allow him to stretch up from his stooped posture, yet somehow Nic seemed straighter and taller. The soldiers and Stone guild members attended to him with the same rapt attention they had paid to Lord Ross.
“We must give aid to the innocents at Triune,” Nic said, red wisps of his legacy falling from his shoulders like a silken cloak of dynast colors. “We must save Kate before Lady Pravda finds a way to unleash her in the battle. I don’t know how to sort through the many possible outcomes I can perceive, but I know for certain that all paths to victory depend on our reaching the valley as quickly as possible.”
Dari gave an impatient snarl.
Wait, Aron told her on reflex, loading the force of graal into his command, just enough to hold her in her human form for a few moments.
“Yes, wait.” Nic rested his hand on her wrist and seemed to be looking past her, almost into the sky. Aron wondered if the future stretched before Nic