Page 247 of The Edge of Darkness

In all reality, we both knew there would be no sleep. Not good sleep, anyway. Perhaps sleep kept its distance from battle camps because it knew those within would find no peace in it. Perhaps this was what Aremis meant when he told me that warriors often sought something on the eve of battle that would take their minds elsewhere.

A noise rustled outside the tent, and a guard stepped through the flap and cleared his throat. “There is an emissary here to see you.”

Niall nodded. “Let him in.”

The guard backed out, and to our surprise, Breck took his place.

“Breck?” I jumped to my feet. “What are you doing here?”

He looked out-of-sorts. Like he, too, had been deprived of sleep.

“They found the king,” he said. “He’s in The Great Wood, just outside of Elandrew. The queen delivered a message to our patrols stationed along The Veil. She needs your help.” He held up a piece of wrinkled parchment, no larger than my palm.

I unrolled it.

Bringer of Light, we have located Broderick, but we need your help. Meet me in The Great Wood, just past The Veil, and I will find you there.

- C

I turned back to Niall, who was analyzing Breck from where he still sat. When he reached up for the note, I passed it to him. He read it, and quickly tossed it into the fire.

“No,” he said, firm and final.

“No?” I stepped toward him. “Niall, what if⁠—”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight. Not with what just happened. Not when we’re on the brink of war.”

“But, if they’ve found the king, he could have information. The queen could have foreseen something⁠—”

“If she needed our help, she could have delivered the message herself. I’ve given her a way to port.”

“But what if she’s trying to stay hidden? What if . . .” My rebuttal died out in my throat as I watched him stare into the fire. I knelt beside him and took his hand in mine. “She is asking for help, and I don’t think she would ask unless it was absolutely necessary. There may be a reason she didn’t come here herself. If we ignore her plea, and the king dies, or worse . . . if she gets captured . . .”

“And what about Fallon’s vision? What about the male and female he saw lying injured at her feet?”

“It could be the king⁠—”

“And it could be you, lying next to him.”

I opened then closed my mouth, not able to find an argument against his statement. He could be right. We didn’t know who Fallon had seen beneath the queen in his vision.

The flame’s reflection danced in his golden irises. “War is not the time to trust lightly, darling, and I don’t trust this message.”

“But you trust the queen, right?”

He hesitated before answering. “Anyone can fake a correspondence.”

“Niall.” I squeezed his hand, forcing him to meet my eyes. “Please. She knew who to get the message to. She knows that we trust Breck.”

He pressed his lips into a hard line and worked his jaw, wrestling with himself on the matter, until finally . . . “I cannot go with you. I cannot leave the army.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

He gave me a look that said he already knew that, but he still did not like me going alone.

“Send Remic with me, or Silas⁠—”

“They are busy receiving the Dionachs. The first dozen landed an hour ago, with more to come.” He tapped his temple. “I’ve been checking in with them.”