Umm . . . Right. I sat back. I really hadn’t thought about that, but he was correct. My stomach twisted as I thought of the night we’d left Zivost. What if Lani went back only to encounter resistance? She really didn’t know anyone there. Yes, the Phaetyn child-adult was Kamini’s elder sibling and possessed ancestral powers the rest of her kind desperately needed to restore their defences against the emperor. But the Phaetyn hadn’t exactly been the accepting, peace-loving, prancing people I’d envisioned. Last I’d seen, they’d been shoving blades dipped in Drae blood into each other.
I wasn’t letting Lani go into that alone. “I’ll go with her.”
“No,” Tyrrik said flatly, all traces of humor gone. “You will not.”
My M-word often said no to things, lots of things, really. I decided then and there to translate the word as yes from now on. I said to Lani, “Great, so when do we leave?”
Tyrrik stood, his chair grating on the stone floor. Towering over me, he growled, “Whenever you transform into a Drae, the emperor gets a reading on your location. You’re not going back to Zivost.”
“General location,” I corrected. “And I am going.”
“We killed his Druman. Do you think Draedyn is stupid?” Tyrrik asked the table though I knew the words were directed my way. “Over a hundred of his Druman are dead in the last few weeks. Some in Verald, some outside of the Phaetyn forest, and then a whole hoard of them right outside of Gemond. Do you think he hasn’t put two and two together? If Irdelron knew a rebellion was afoot before he died, do you think the emperor has somehow missed the signs of his starving and embittered Realm gathering to revolt? Even if Draedyn did, there aren’t many creatures that can slaughter dozens of Druman at one time. There’s only one.”
Tyrrik had a point, but that didn’t change the fact we’d need the Phaetyn later. And the best chance of us uniting them sat right next to us. “The likelihood of our success against Draedyn is best with the Phaetyn. If Lani goes by foot, the trip will take her weeks. Weeks that she’ll be vulnerable.” I hastily shot her a look. “I mean don’t get me wrong; your trick of shooting roots through people is great, but you were in big trouble when we met.”
“No offense taken,” she said, her violet eyes twinkling.
I admired her sense of humor. Little eight-year-old girl-adult laughing at the two Drae arguing. But this wasn’t really funny, and I wondered if anyone had pointed out the obvious, like plebe-brilliant who stood by the door. I turned to Lani, but the questions were to make a point. “Would you be able to harm your own people if they attacked you? Could you escape if dozens of Druman found you again?”
“I’ll go then,” Tyrrik said in a menacing voice. “If we need to get her there safely, I can do that. With relish.”
You just proved why you shouldn’t go. This isn’t a revenge mission. The Phaetyn hadn’t exactly treated him kindly when we were there. They’d sliced him with knives while he was injured to get his blood to use on weapons. Tyrrik might be still nursing a grudge. I’d be nursing a grudge except I’d already squashed the Phaetyn responsible.
Of course, Lani had the courage to disagree out loud. “I think it unwise, Lord Tyrrik. Drae are our natural enemy, and while you are not my enemy, the rest of the Phaetyn have not yet seen you as an ally. Since I will be appearing to them as a stranger and asking to be Queen, I’m not sure showing up with you by my side will endear them to listen. Even having Ryn there will present challenges.”
I was certain we’d be fine as long as Kamoi and Kamini were in charge.
“It has to be Ryn,” Dyter said with a grim face, and quickly added, “Just Ryn.”
Tyrrik exploded. “You’d have her go out there alone? After everything? Are you insane?”
Kudos to Dyter. Though he paled significantly in the face of Tyrrik’s snapping anger, he didn’t back down. “No, Lord Tyrrik,” he said softly. “It is because of what she’s been through that I know she’ll be okay.”
I stood and rested a hand on Tyrrik’s arm. He tensed under my grip, and his pulse feathered in his neck, but he didn’t otherwise acknowledge me. I could feel his anger and underneath it, his fear.
“Tyrrik could come with me.” I glanced around the table. Zakai and his son were halfway between sitting and rising, their eyes frozen on the Drae beside me. “He can wait outside the forest until we’re done.”
“You’d be giving Draedyn the perfect opportunity to ensure Gemond can’t join the rebels,” Dyter said, shaking his head. “The emperor must know there are two Drae by now and probably that you’re both in Gemond. When his Druman confirm both Drae have left the kingdom—because you know there are more out there—I can’t see why he’d hesitate to attack us.”
“Then how are you proposing Ryn gets away safely?” Tyrrik snapped, a dark undercurrent to his words. “They’re still going to see her.”
The king straightened, looking much healthier now than he had a week ago, but it was his son, Prince Zarad, who said, “Decoy.”
“Decoy?” Lani repeated, silver brows drawn as she looked from the father to the son.
“That is how we’ve evaded the emperor’s Druman in the past,” King Zakai explained. “Some of us pop out on one side of the mountain range, intentionally being spotted by Druman. The Druman follow them, and a few usually split off to report our movements to the emperor. While on the other side of the mountain range, our real traveling party sneaks off, undetected.”
“My father is proposing Tyrrik stay here as a decoy to fool the Druman when Ryn leaves. His continued presence in Gemond will also discourage the emperor from attacking us,” the prince interjected softly, flicking a look at his father. The Gemondian was around my age, maybe a few years older. Short and stocky, like most of the mining people here, and kind like his father.
Perhaps, once the young man got used to my unique sense of humor and stopped being nervous around me, we might be friends.
Tyrrik still stood, leaning over the table. He gripped the edges, the exposed muscles of his arms coiled and tight though his unfocused gaze was fixed on the stone table. “He’ll feel her when she transforms remember.”
“Yes, but you pose the greater threat to the emperor,” Lani put in, already nodding.
The Drae released the table and curled his fists. “Ryn is the greater prize. She is a female Drae and his daughter. The emperor will go to great lengths to secure her.”
King Zakai smiled at the Phaetyn who seemed unperturbed by Tyrrik’s anger. If she could feel how near to the boiling point he was, she may not be so calm.
Tyrrik, I thought at him. It will be fine. It takes one-and-a-half days to fly to the forest. If you go out and distract the Druman, they won’t follow. If Kamoi and Kamini have resolved the Phaetyn war, getting Lani settled won’t take long. If they don’t accept her, I’ll bring her back. I’ll be returning in four or five days, either way.
Ryn, I don’t know if I’m physically capable of letting you go.
Well that stumped me. I understood his qualms. I didn’t completely relish the idea of trying to stretch the bond that much. If being apart from him within the confines of Gemond was uncomfortable, I wasn’t sure how I’d manage being a two weeks’ walk away. One-and-a-half days’ flight, I reminded us both.
He’d turned to me, and the others continued their conversation while Tyrrik and I discussed the matter separately.
If we cannot bear it, we’ll only be the better part of a day from seeing each other if we leave at the same time. I paused, knowing this was where my reason would help overcome his instinct. This wasn’t only our best option; it was our only option, which meant we had to make it work. Doing my best to lighten the mood, I quipped, Although, I’m faster, so we’d meet a little closer to you, like maybe sixty-forty.
He narrowed his eyes as he appraised me. Sixty-forty? You think you’re that fast?
Didn’t you hear what King Zakai called me when we arrived? I teased with a smirk.
Tyrrik sat down again, and we looked into each other’s eyes. The conversation dwindled to a murmur around us.
You said if we cannot bear it, Tyrrik thought. Did you mean it?
What if I did say we? I held my breath for his answer, unsure what I wanted him to say in response.
“I hate it when they do this,” Dyter muttered, covering his eyes with his sole arm.