The Shadows That Burn (Daughter of Fire #2)

Ch.13: Preparations

"She's keeping Queen Adria restrained in the palace," said Teo. "The attack came out of nowhere. It's like a moment had flashed, and suddenly wizard hunters swarmed the city. The queen had given them access through the mountain passage. I was ordered to secure King Rivan and teleport him out of the grounds. Malla...she stayed with the rest of the soldiers to rectify the situation."

Her voice cracked a bit, quieting down as she reeled in a breath.

"And the people?" Came Ayana's soft voice.

"Some were evacuated through the underground caves. And some..." She recalled, her jaw tightening as she examined the blood on her gloved hand...blood that wasn't hers. "It was too late for them."

King Rivan prowled closer to Agatha's face, those keen eyes of his burning with disdain. "Which wouldn't have happened if your 'ranked wizards' hadn't done such an incompetent job of protecting the borders of our kingdom. Or better yet, if you hadn't sent only three of them."

Just three ranked officials? Gods! No wonder those wizard hunters invaded the city so quickly.

Agatha didn't cower under Rivan's cold stare but instead dared to raise her chin and said, "My wizards are more than competent to handle such matters, perhaps your -"

"Ha!" Teo's empty laugh made the vein on Agatha's forehead twitch. "With all due respect, Your Excellence, your men didn't even make it through the first group that attacked."

Rivan turned to the founder with a sneering grin. "You heard that? Your men didn't do shit, you daft hag!"

Agatha gritted her teeth, but I was too busy trying to suppress my laughter to notice what kind of expression she had made. Elsie didn't even bother and just cackled at the angry woman's face.

Lucius was able to step forward and speak before Agatha or Cleo (who was glued behind her boss the moment she stepped inside the room) could open their mouths. "We still need to dispatch teams to Vallas and Imarnia for aid. And from what Teo just explained, Malla is risking her life and the lives of her soldiers to keep Adria confined. We must move now before we lose both kingdoms."

"Wait," I said, realizing my tone of urgency. "What about Imarnia? Is the princess safe? And Ga -King Gabriel, how did he get -"

The doors to the council room opened again, and matted pink hair was the first thing I saw before a set of golden, butterfly-like wings followed. Lysa looked unlike herself as she timidly walked into the room, her violet dress torn and dirty at the hems. She gasped when she saw me, her narrow eyes misting as she clutched what looked to be a glass of water in her hands. Something inside me shattered at the look of pure devastation shadowed over her bruised and bloodied face.

"Lydia!" A small cry broke from her as the glass slipped to the ground. Her body rushed to embrace mine, and she sobbed into my shoulder, and I pressed her closer, trying not to dwell too much on the coldness spreading to my fingers and toes.

I looked at Lucius, who explained, "Aero brought her here, and that's how we knew about the attack on Imarnia."

"What? Aero? Is he here?"

Maybe he brought the princess too...otherwise, I wasn't sure how to handle her still being in Imarnia. Lysa pulled back, sniffling. "No, he teleported back to the palace. Gabriel, he suddenly appeared in the throne room...with her."

My insides seized. "Evine."

She nodded, wiping her nose with the back of her sleeve. "Yes. And the next thing we know, there were shadows everywhere."

Agatha moved from Rivan and looked down at Lysa's short stature. "You're Nura's girl. Her eldest?"

Lysa pursed her lips, and those violet eyes brimmed with something I hadn't seen before on her; hate. It seems not even Lysa was a fan of Agatha Alastair. She managed a soft, "Yes."