Illusion: Book Four of the Grimoire Saga (13 page)

Braeden let out a sigh. Gavin didn’t deserve Evelyn, either. He deserved better.

Evelyn sat at the far end of the table, as far away from Gavin as was possible, while Frine sat a few seats from Braeden. With the massive table mostly unoccupied, Braeden stood to begin. This was a meeting of the Bloods alone.

He pointed to a map of the Ayavelian guard tower they’d used in practice. “The war game taught us a lot about our strengths and weaknesses as a team. I’ve collected reports from your generals and captains to get a solid understanding of what happened. While our tactics and approach are solid, I’m afraid we need to make some changes for our attack at the Stele to succeed. Namely, we have three problems to discuss. But first, I have a question for Blood Aurora.”

Aurora perked in her seat, eyebrows arched in surprise.

His fingers tapped on the table as he toyed with his words.

“Your wing…” he finally began.

Her shoulders drooped, but she held up a hand to stop him. “General Gurien and his men have fashioned a chariot for me. I’ll be able to join them at the summit, though not in the battle.”

Braeden nodded. Fair enough. He let out a huff of air, grateful he didn’t have to word such an offensive question. A Kirelm Blood unable to fly and join in a war—it would have made lesser kings and queens hang their heads in shame. But Aurora offered him a thin smile and nodded for him to continue.

He shuffled through his papers and pulled out an aerial map of the Stele. He slid it toward the center of the table, where all but Evelyn could easily see. He carried on regardless. She should have sat closer to the group.

“To begin, the Kirelms dropped fireballs with uncanny precision, hitting a target almost every time. The downside is they aimed without pausing to question if their target was an ally.”

“My men attacked our own foot-soldiers?” Aurora asked.

Braeden nodded. “It’s understandable in the heat of battle, but we can’t afford such losses. We need a way to mark targets. I propose we do so with bolts of lightning. If there’s a thunderstorm on the day of the attack, we stand the chance of some interference, but not enough to abandon the idea.”

“Are storms common this time of year in the Stele?” Frine asked.

“Not particularly, but they do happen.”

“That sounds like a good plan to me,” Aurora said with a shrug.

Gavin nodded. “Lightning is a common attack, so it should be easy enough for the ground soldiers to implement.”

“Blood Evelyn?” Aurora prompted.

Evelyn waved her hand as if dismissing the question. “It’s fine. Continue.”

“Very well. It’s decided. Next concern?” Frine asked.

Braeden plowed ahead. “Our second concern involves my mission into the Stele to find Carden. When Kara and I entered with Gavin’s team, we were held back and often deterred by the defending forces. It took us forty minutes to get inside the fort when it should have taken ten.”

“So what will you do instead?” Evelyn asked, eyes suddenly on him.

A flare of annoyance twisted in Braeden’s chest, but he took a deep breath and forged ahead without looking up at the girl he had loathed for so long.

“My team and I will go in another way, allowing for Gavin’s forces to further draw attention away from us.”

“Where will you enter the castle?” Evelyn asked.

Braeden’s jaw tensed. “I believe it’s best only Kara and I know that.”

The Ayavelian Blood scoffed. “First, you refuse to tell us the names of those joining you in your little expedition. Now you expect us to allow you to disappear on the eve of the most important battle in this war? Why should we trust you with so much of the attack when it’s shrouded in secrecy?”

The other Bloods shifted in their seats, eyes on Braeden. He kept his focus on the table and took a slow breath to steady himself. He needed to chose his words carefully. “On my last reconnaissance mission to the Stele, Gavin and I were ambushed. As both of us are masters of stealth, Carden could not have known we were there unless someone told him. I’m afraid he has a source close to our armies.”

Frine gasped. “A traitor?”

“I can’t confirm that, but it’s my guess,” Braeden said.

Aurora’s eyes widened. “How can we attack the Stele if there’s a traitor? He could know everything we do! We should wait until we can either confirm or deny your suspicion.”

Braeden shook his head. “I disagree. It’s only a guess, and to waste an opportunity to attack the Stele would prolong this war. By keeping my team’s placement and numbers a secret, we can still win.”

“I don’t see how,” Evelyn said.

He glanced across the table, observing her for a second. She glared at him, her eyes narrowed and arms crossed as she sat straight in her chair with all the posture of a queen. Whatever goodness was once in her—whatever bit of her Gavin once loved—no longer remained. Acquiring Aislynn’s bloodline had destroyed her.

“That’s the point,” Braeden finally said.

“Everyone, please. Let’s be civil,” Frine said.

Evelyn lifted her chin and looked out the window, back straight as a board. Braeden returned his gaze to his papers.

Gavin leaned his elbows on the table. “Braeden has proven himself time and again. We should trust him.”

Aurora crossed her arms. “I concur. If Kara trusts him enough to bond with him, I trust him to lead us.”

Evelyn leaned back in her seat and coughed in what could only be disgust.

Frine gestured toward the Bloods seated around the table. “You have our collective vote to do this, Heir Braeden. We trust you.”

“Thank you,” Braeden said with a nod.

“Will your team leave separately from us?” Gavin asked.

“It would be best. Our small team can move faster. Your armies are slated to leave together, headed for the secret lichgate I found not long ago. We will leave after you, and visit a different one,” Braeden lied. They would be leaving far sooner and using the same lichgate as everyone else, but he didn’t need the supposed traitor to follow him and find out who was in the group or where he was headed.

“Very well,” Frine said.

“What’s this third concern of yours?” Aurora asked.

Braeden leaned back in his seat. “Organization. The battle was chaos. Though each army has a purpose of its own, they didn’t work well together when it came time to interact, as will inevitably happen in the final attack on the Stele. I mean, look at each mission—Hillside is meant to lead the onslaught on the front gates, effectively distracting the Stelians from my team; Losse is approaching from under the city, using its aqueducts to enter from the city’s wells; and Kirelm is offering air support for the ground teams. But in practice, everyone began at different times and aimed for sections of the wall that weren't needed. We need some way to coordinate and organize the attack.”

“But how?” Gavin asked.

“Vagabonds,” Braeden answered.

The room hushed. Aurora’s mouth hung open.

Braeden continued. “Vagabonds can communicate through their grimoires, effectively giving us instant access to each other as long as each vagabond in each team keeps his or her grimoire open as much as possible. While it won’t be possible for them to do this at all times, it can at a minimum give us a coordinated attack effort at the beginning. Then, when I loose the Stelian banner over the armies, the battle and effectively the war itself will end.”

“Have any vagabonds agreed to this?” Frine asked.

“Kara is asking for volunteers. The plan is to station one in each army with the Blood and one at the kingdom’s home city as a security measure.”

“Why do we need vagabonds in our homes?” Evelyn asked.

Braeden didn’t look at her as he answered. “To ensure that the home kingdoms are safe in the Blood’s absence. This allows for two-way communication if they need support and to allow them an understanding of what’s going on across the world, but in real time.”

Gavin laughed. “Brilliant.”

“I agree,” Aurora said.

“Will we meet these vagabonds?” Frine asked.

Braeden nodded. “Whichever vagabonds are able to join us will. Those who cannot will still give you their full identities.”

“I appreciate the courtesy,” Frine said with a bow of his head.

Braeden crossed his arms. “It’s settled. The Kirelms will attack only targets marked by streaks of lightning. Kara and I will take our team into the kingdom separately from the main assault. And vagabonds will help to orchestrate the opening attacks.”

“Should the order stay the same?” Aurora asked.

“Mostly. Garrett should attack first, taking whatever form inspires him to distract the Stelian guards. Hillside will follow with what isen Kara can persuade to join us.”—everyone cringed, but Braeden plowed ahead—“Kirelm will then attack from the air, and Losse will attack after Hillside has drawn attention from the central hub of the city, where most wells are located. When I release the banner over the city, we’ll all meet here”—he pointed to his map—“in the throne room, to regroup. As a final note, it’s imperative only we in this room know about my team’s purpose. Though there have been some rumors since the war game, I ask that all Bloods keep quiet about our purpose for our own safety.”

Gavin nodded. “Agreed.”

A murmur of agreement bubbled through the room, but Evelyn remained fixated on the window. Braeden balled one hand into a fist, watching her as she sat still as a stone.

“Blood Evelyn, do you agree?” he asked.

Her eyes shifted while the rest of her remained still. She looked at him and smirked. “Of course.”

An hour later, Braeden lay alone on the bed he shared with Kara, staring up at the ceiling as the night spun around him. His notes and maps sat in a loose pile on the desk by the door.

Crickets chirped outside the window, their trilling muffled by the glass. Floorboards creaked in the hallway. A pair of feet bustled past the entrance to his room and toward the door that hid the service stairs, which the castle servants sometimes left open. A bird squawked somewhere in the night sky.

Braeden sighed and rubbed his eyes. Soon—too soon—he would be breaking into the Stele to take it from his father. He would face the man who terrified him for decades and end him or die trying. Either way, his struggle with his father would be over within a week.

In only seven days, his world would change—all of Ourea would change, for that matter. It would either see a tyrant’s final ascent to power, or it would see a new age of peace as the yakona kingdoms united for the first time in eons.

He rolled over and buried his face in a pillow. His shoulders tensed at the thought of climbing into the Stele, of murdering his own people to kill their Blood. If he survived, he would have to find some way to make it right to those the dead left behind.

No—he couldn’t think like in such a way. He wouldn’t die. He couldn’t leave Kara. He couldn’t surrender his people to an evil man. Death wasn’t an option.

He closed his eyes and let exhaustion pull him under. As the tension in his shoulders eased, he wrapped an arm around Kara’s pillow and pulled it close.

Chapter 8

The Guild

Kara took a deep breath and surveyed the half-empty arena seats. Hundreds of isen watched her, all eyes narrowed in some fashion.

Stone frowned. “Well, go on, girl. Tell them why you’re here.”

She nodded. Her lips parted, but her voice died in her throat. She couldn’t summon words. Panic erupted in her chest. Sweat lined her palms, so she wiped her hands on her pants. Her gaze moved along the sea of faces, their stares weighing on her shoulders. Her breaths slowed, shallow and almost not enough to keep her standing, much less fuel her voice. A tickle raced up her neck, the warning bell for unwanted attention from behind. She glanced back, eyes moving unconsciously to a man with brown hair in the front row. He grinned, eyes dancing with desire and malice.

She was here to recruit them, yet they looked at her like wolves circling a wounded animal.

She clenched her fists and took one more deep breath. Now or never.

“I’m here to offer you a bargain,” she started.

She all but cringed. What a stupid opening.