They could defeat Carlyle.
He didn’t let go of Dallin’s hand as they walked into the dining room.Everyone was there, except for Ansley and Parker.There was tension in the air, but most of the people sitting around the table were smiling.They all knew that it wasn’t over, but their win yesterday helped.If they could win once, they could do it a second time.
“I’m fine,” Emory complained.
Sol slid into a chair next to Dallin, who was already talking to Penley.Sol’s attention wasn’t on his mage, though.It was on Graham, and he had to press his lips together so he wouldn’t laugh at Emory’s expression.
Emory was sitting a few chairs down on the other side of the table.Graham was next to him, and from what Sol could see, he was fussing over Emory as if he were on his deathbed.When he reached for Emory’s fork—possibly to feed him—Emory slapped Graham’s hand away.He didn’t do it hard, and Graham wasn’t hurt, but his eyes widened, and he stared until Emory’s shoulders slumped.
“I’m fine,” Emory repeated.“You saved my life, and I’mfine.I can eat by myself.”
“You would have died if I hadn’t pushed you away.”
“I didn’t die.”
“You were wounded.”
“Jarvis and Keylon healed me.I had a good night’s rest, and I feel better than I have in a long time.”
Sol wasn’t sure if that was true, considering what had happened yesterday, but he wasn’t about to call Emory on it.They hadn’t even talked yet.Sol wanted to, but Emory was still healing, and after his fight with Carlyle, he probably needed time.
Tyne and Meyer were at the table, too.Meyer looked fine and was talking to Bennett, but Sol didn’t miss the way Tyne kept glancing his way.Maybe Tyne wished he could fuss over Meyer the way Graham was fussing over Emory.Had things changed between them?Sol had no idea what had happened last night after he’d dragged Dallin to his room so they could go to bed.Maybe Tyne and Meyer had talked.Maybe they’d spent the night together, too.
Or maybe things were still tense and awkward between them, and nothing had changed.It looked like Tyne had softened, though.At the very least, he wasn’t snapping at Meyer and telling him to leave him alone.
“Sorry we’re late,” Ansley said as he breezed into the room, pulling Parker along.Ansley’s hair was all over the place, and his mouth was red, making the reason he and Parker were late obvious.
Keylon snickered and threw his napkin at Ansley’s head once Ansley was sitting at the table.“You could have done that last night or woken up early.”
“Why?I felt we all needed some time off.”
“I don’t disagree, but we need to talk about what comes next,” Jarvis interjected.
Ansley groaned.“Way to bring down the mood.”
“It wasn’t my intention, but you know this is necessary.Carlyle is still out there.”
“We almost won this time.I’m sure we can win the next time he decides to do something stupid and attack us.”
“I don’t want to wait until he attacks,” Tyne said.“I think we should take the fight to him.”
“How?We have no idea where he’s hiding.”
Graham cleared his throat, getting everyone’s attention, including Tyne’s.Graham looked like he was about to run out the door, but instead, he squared his shoulders and raised his chin.“I remember some of the houses where we stayed.I don’t know if he’ll be there, but it can’t hurt to check.”
Sol held his breath, waiting for Tyne to say that this was probably a trap and that Carlyle and Simon would attack them as soon as they got there.He was sure he wasn’t the only one who expected Tyne to have that kind of reaction, but to Sol’s surprise, Tyne stayed silent.He was playing with a piece of bacon on his plate and didn’t seem to have even heard Graham.
Jarvis slowly nodded.His attention was still on Tyne.“We can do that,” he confirmed.“I doubt he’ll be there because he probably knows you can lead us to some of his safehouses, but we can rule them out.Emory, you said you visited some of the safehouses Carlyle had back before our first fight with him?”
“I did, and all of them were empty,” Emory confirmed.“I have more people to talk to, though.I can leave as soon as breakfast is over.”
“Or you can use modern technology and call them,” Graham said.It was clear from his expression that he wasn’t letting Emory out of his sight.
“I’d feel more comfortable with that,” Jarvis agreed.“We know what Carlyle was trying to do when he took Sol now.We were lucky that Sol’s bond to Dallin was already in place, but if Carlyle grabbed you, he could force you to bond to him again.It might not be a full-blown bond, but it would be enough for him to be able to steal your magic.I’m not willing to risk that.”
Emory’s jaw tightened, but he nodded, even though Sol expected him to argue.Maybe Emory was afraid of what Carlyle could do to him.He wanted revenge, but at what cost would he get it?Sol didn’t think that Emory was willing to sacrifice himself or his dragon, and no one would ask him to do that.They cared about him, and it would give Carlyle more power and magic.
“We need to regroup,” Jarvis continued.“Emory, you call your allies and whoever you think might have news about Carlyle and where he is.Me and the other mages have to check the protective spells around the castle to ensure that Carlyle didn’t do unredeemable damage.We’ll strengthen what needs to be strengthened and maybe add some spells, just in case.I don’t thinkCarlyle will attack us anytime soon, though.He lost our last fight, and he was hurt.Even if he manages to use healing spells on himself, it will take him some time to get his strength back.”
