Page 146 of While the Dark Remains
Ballast’s eye meets mine.
“Tell me,” I beg.
“There is no sign yet of the Skaandan army. Your brother has come out of the mountain, with the Yellow Lord on a chain, and prisoners beside him.”
My gut twists. “What prisoners?”
Ballast shakes his head—the owl doesn’t know.
“Is the Iljaria queen with him?”
“No. But there is an army of Iljaria camped just outside of Tenebris.”
“An army? How many?”
“Four hundred strong at least.”
I gasp. I had noideaBrandr had that many Iljaria with him—or perhaps they arrived with the queen.
Ballast looks at me with his one eye, waiting for me to absorb this information and recalculate my plans. “We have to assume the Skaandan and Daerosian armies are still at our disposal,” I say, “waiting for the signal to attack.”
He raises his brows. “What we have to assume is that we’re on our own.”
“You and I and a few hundred animals can’t fight off that many Iljaria.”
“What’s the alternative?”
The animals are growing more and more restless, lions tussling in the snow, stags trumpeting and bears growling, with the owls flying in circles above them, a wheel of white wings.
“Brynja, you have that look about you.”
I eye him sideways. “What look?”
“The look that means you’re plotting something I’m not going to like.”
I grimace but don’t contradict him.
He puts his hands on my shoulders and gazes down at me with his one blue eye. “Brynja.”
“Brandr doesn’t know I have my magic back,” I say. “If I go alone, I might be able to catch him unawares. Stop all of this before it even comes to a fight.”
“No way in hell I’m letting you do that.”
“Do you trust me, Ballast?”
He blanches in the face of his own words turned back at him, and curses softly. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I’m always careful.”
This pulls a smile out of him. “No, you’re not.”
I have to laugh. “I will be this time.”
He just shakes his head and kisses me, swift and wild enough to make me dizzy.
“I’ll be behind you,” he says when he pulls back again.
“I’m counting on it,” I reply. “Lords keep you, Bal.”
