Page 45 of Season Warriors & Wolves

Right behind her stood Elias. “Before you all strangle me with questions, yes, she is well and so is your brother. Well—”

“Well?” I asked a bit louder than I should.

He cleared his throat. “I’m a widower.” We were all stunned a little before he continued. “As you can guess—”

Thora jumped up and down, quickly finishing the sentence for him, “Snow killed Fren. Very badly.”

He nodded. “Silas had been…messing with your brother and Snow found out. The rest of it I believe you can figure out. Both are safe and well though.”

Messing? Messing how?

“Should you be here considering that you will now be Silas’s main point of concern?” Nia asked Elias who seemed rather content despite the events.

“They are quite busy at present,” he said, dropping to sit on a stone. “Silas has readied ships to Vrammethen though we have no idea how they plan on crossing the Solaryans, the channel guarded by the unblessed or even your ships. He knows that he has you to get through, Kilian, and that is why he left the unblessed piece for last. He knows you will strike now.”

“Portals, that is how they will cross,” Visha said, slowly ascending the step stones that lead to the small mountain terrace. “Sequences of portals—considering that would consume a considerable amount of magic and that Vrammethen is the furthest from Eldmoor. That would mean most of their Crafters will be in Eldmoor. Considering that he expects you to be there, I would think all of his Crafters will be there.”

Elias shot to his feet and then sat back down just as quickly.

Visha shot him an unimpressed look. “Elias. Glad to see that Silas has not made you feed for his beasts.”

The Venzor heir smirked. “Come on, V, I know you have been worried sick for me.”

“Oh yes,” she said boredly, walking to my side, not a single muscle in her face moved to indicate any form of emotion, but her shadows were sneaking out a little behind whatever veil she wore to mask them.

Nia stepped forward, fearing that we wouldn’t be able to hear her. “Wouldn’t that give us an open door to Tenebrose? It would be least protected.”

“It could,” Elias said. “Moregan is apparently on our side. She could help us inside while I keep the outside safe.”

She gaped. “Moregan? As in general Moregan? Silas’s Moregan?”

Elias shrugged at Nia’s astonishment. “Snow is convincing in her ways.” The man raised a brow at me. “Yes, Kilian? You’ve resisted long enough, ask away.”

Ignoring Nia’s and Thora’s chuckles, I asked, “Have you seen her?”

“Only at the funeral, but I’ve heard plenty from servants and soldiers. They seem…taken with this heir thing.”

“Taken?”

“Really pleased with Snow as a choice for the throne and Snow seems to make them feel…confident, stronger.”

“She is playing again,” Cai’s voice filled the pocket of air formed by the clouds around us. “How is Silas reacting to the support?”

Elias shrugged once more. “Too busy to pay attention to what lowly soldiers and maids say. I would think he doesn’t care or hasn’t noticed.”

Her friend turned to me. “We could use that.”

“How, Cai?” Nia asked. “Isjordian won’t open the doors to Tenebrose just because they have started to like Snow.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Divide and conquer has always been Her Majesty’s grand scheme of things.”

“You think she did this on purpose, don’t you?” I asked, not bearing to look at the accusatory shadows gathering around him. “You think she wanted to waltz right inside Silas’s torture once again.”

He rolled his eyes at me. “And what makes you think so?”

“Your teenage hormonal attitude. Need to be held or something?”

Nia stepped between us despite any of us making a move, threatening or not. But she knew none of us needed to even take a breath to hurt the other. “How about we go down for dinner before Alaric dispatches hounds?”