“Yes, I had a plan for the Dreadgods! Of course I plotted to gain every advantage I could over you. But that world is dead. I cannot be the only one to see it.” He stared in the direction of the Weeping Dragon. “There was a viper among the cubs, and it left its eggs behind. Until we are rid of them, everything else is a distraction.”
“I examined Lindon myself. I find there to be no immediate danger.”
“It will be too late to speak of danger when the stars vanish once more.” Reigan Shen turned his head and raised a hand to his armada, accompanied by a flash of madra. “Until the true threat is gone, we must preserve all the strength we can. We are on the same side now, Northstrider. Whether you can see it or not.”
Spirits unveiled throughout his fleet as House Shen readied itself for war.
4
Yerin’s head lay on Lindon’s lap, and she had an arm thrown over her eyes to block out light. He concentrated on controlling the life and blood constructs that swirled like fireflies around her head; they were really one construct with many separate pieces, and by powering them, he could stimulate her body’s natural healing.
A Herald usually didn’t need medical attention, but she had been suffering visibly during the two hours since she returned. “Guess I can’t set a foot down inside a thousand miles of the Phoenix without a headache anymore. My skull’s about to split like firewood. At least it’s better than going on a mad murder spree.”
Little Blue chirped sympathy and patted Yerin’s temple.
From the nearby table, Orthos raised his head from a bowl of apples as large as he was. “Tell us about the battle.”
“Didn’t see one feather of the Phoenix,” she muttered. “Bunch of bloodspawn crawling over a mountain, like ants. Treated them like ants.”
“Burned them alive,” Orthos said, his face covered by bits of half-chewed apple.
“Close enough. No Redmoon Hall either, which is half a treat. Still have to show my face to the Blood Sage, and now I won’t have to pretend to be sorry for cutting their friends into chunks.”
Lindon wondered why Redmoon Hall hadn’t been present. Now that the Bleeding Phoenix had an entire continent to itself, he had expected them to be reveling in its wake.
“Did you see the Eight-Man Empire?” he asked.
“Oh, right. They’ve got a shine for us. Invited the pair of us to join them. How do you think we’d look in gold?”
Lindon hesitated. “I’m sorry I can’t tell you the details, but we still—”
Her arm was still over her eyes, but she waved her free hand. “You’re waiting for some trouble from Monarchs. I’ve caught it. Doesn’t sound too sharp to tie ourselves to six strangers anyway.”
Lindon trusted in his own perception and Yerin’s, and in the scripts built into Windfall, so he was reasonably certain that no Monarchs could spy on them without them noticing. Even so, it was better to be careful about what they said.
And, of course, there was the oath he’d sworn. He couldn’t reveal the relationship between Dreadgods and Monarchs, but Malice had told him that only Monarchs and those soon expected to be Monarchs were ever informed. That meant he couldn’t explain things to Yerin, or Ziel, or even Mercy.
Which made the current situation awkward.
Yerin trusted him, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t frustrated. He half-expected her to teleport to a Monarch and demand an explanation of her own.
Ziel rose from behind the couch and stuck his horns in Lindon’s face. “What are we talking about?”
Yerin moved her arm away from her eyes. She and Lindon stared at Ziel from inches away.
“Apologies, Ziel, but what are you doing?”
“Popping out from the couch,” Ziel said, with a perfectly flat expression. “I thought it was what Eithan would do. Did it help?”
Lindon couldn’t find the right words.
Yerin made a thoughtful sound. “Bleed me, but it halfway did. If you’re looking for a tip, then veil yourself better next time. We could feel you coming.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Ziel said gravely.
“Don’t push yourself.”
Ziel straightened his spine, visibly steeling himself. “No…no, I can do it. To cheer you up.”
Lindon privately thought that if Ziel wanted to be more like Eithan, he would first have to learn to smile.
“Speaking of him, I’m nine parts sure that’s why we got that friendly invitation to their team. Couldn’t stop asking questions about him. One of them wanted to know if I was his daughter.”