I let my head fall ba the sand and exhale my relief. My heartbeat pulses through my entire body, adrenaliill pumping through my veins, exhaustion and soreness ag in my muscles. Kind of missing that refresh that es with a level-up.

  If another cactus shows up before this night is out, I think I’m just going to let it eat me. Lord, I could use a drink.

  The Crimson Aegis, meanwhile, is cheering in my mind. We did it! That foul creature has been banished. No monster or adversary possibly stand against us! ime we will win even more swiftly, our victory even more certain. The only blemish upon an otherwise fwless triumph was the ck of blood in such a loathsome creature. Pathetic! At the very least it should have—

  I add the Crimson Aegis to my Iory, and my mind bees blissfully silent. It hadn’t even had a ce to react; I’m sure I’ll be hearing all about that ter.

  Darian stands over me, breathing hard, eyes on the now-felled monster. She wipes a hand across her brow, straightens up, and then turns tard the rest of camp.

  “Casualties?”

  “None so far,” Prince stance reports, striding back over to us. He waves a dismissive hand, and the sed carrion cactus dissolves into motes of light behind him. The embers flicker out as they drift toward the ground, vanishing into the night.

  There’s calls and answers, some asking for medical treatment, but he’s right that no one seems to be dead. That’s a small miracle itself—or maybe it was due to stance’s strategy, taining the fight everywhere it threateo get out of hand.

  “You?” Darian asks, me a hand. “Injured?”

  “Just my pride,” I say, accepting the help up. “I think you saved my life. Squished by a cactus would have been an embarrassing way to go.”

  A faint smile threatens to overtake her perpetual gre. “Least I could do after you took that thing down. That’s some iing magic you have. What type of ara?”

  “Er.” Echo? I ask helplessly. I don’t even really know what she’s asking.

  [The user has a Blood Affinity.]

  Oh, well that’s just peachy. And the shield? I ask.

  [Inanimate objects ot have Affinities.]

  Great. But given its sanguihirst, I’m starting to see a pattern.

  “Blood, I guess,” I say to Darian.

  “That’s… iing,” the captain remarks.

  staops nearby, haing on the hilt of his sword. “Though likely the magic we just witnessed was due to something else entirely. I wish to speak with you about your shield.” He pauses then, gaze flickering around the se. “What have you doh it?”

  “I stored it in my Iory,” I say.

  stance raises an eyebrow. “I have many questions.”

  Yeah, so do I.

  “ons talk wait,” Darian says, clearly not uanding the uling e stand I experiehrough our respective ons. “Where is Prince Quell? You said you were going stay with him.”

  “I left him with the guards,” I say, gesturing toward the tents. Hesitantly gng between stand Darian, I lead the way back to where I st saw Quell. “Figured the best way to protect him would be to deal with the monster first.”

  She snorts, and there’s a hint of sarcasm ione when she responds. “Yes, that would be the easiest way, wouldn’t it?”

  “I didn’t say it was easy.” I wrinkle my the sand as I trip over some hidden stones. Walking on sand is really annoying. Each step takes more energy than it should, running in it feels like one of those slow-motion nightmares, and I’ve got about two cups of sand in my boots now. It’s only been a couple hours, and I’m already sick of it.

  “You certainly made it look easy,” she says.

  “They would, with a on like that,” stance remarks. He turns to Darian. “Ehey’re kept under close guard. Their arrival coupled with the atta our camp is suspicious timing.”

  I sigh, annoyed. “Why would I have helped out just now if I was the enemy? For that matter, why would I have freed Quell from the Umbral Bdes in the first pce?”

  “Umbral Bdes?” stand Daria simultaneously.

  “Are you sure?” Darian asks.

  I hesitate. That was something Echo told me, though is there any evideo support my cim? They weren’t wearing clothes with symbols on them, like these soldiers are. This knowledge might just make me sound even more suspicious. “Pretty sure,” I say.

  stance frowns.

  Before I think of any other ways to dig myself into a hole, we e upon Prince Quell, around whom has clustered a rge group of guards. It’s like they’re multiplying.

  Darian whistles sharply and jerks a thumb toward me. Ear and Xamireb peel off from the group, taking up posts oher side of me once more. I guess I should have expected that.

  “Is everything alright over here?” the captain asks.

  Quell’s face floods with relief as he catches sight of me. “Thank the gods. I was worried I’d gotten you killed.”

  “Not for ck ,” I say.

  He grimaces, and I feel a sting ret. A very, very small sting. I’m still mad at him for running into the fight.

  stance appears to be, too. “You shouldn’t be here. You were supposed to have left already. What if we’d been overwhelmed? Liz is gone, and if you or I became injured, or worse—do you know what that might have meant for our lineage?”

  Quell’s grimace flickers into worry. “We don’t know that Liz is gone. We still find her.”

  Nearby, raised voices cmber through the din of camp, and Darian turns to the h a sigh. “What now?”

  A group of guards rounds the ent, towing a struggling womaween them. She’s a dhampyr, like Darian—and me, I guess—but her clothes are of white and purple silk; in the midst of all the soldiers, she looks starkly out of pce.

  “Captain,” one of the soldiers says upon finding Darian. “We foutempting to flee the camp.”

  They dump the woman on the sand at Darian and stance’s feet.

  “Ambassador Ash,” Darian says, her voice weary. “What might be the cause of this disturbance?”

  “This wasn’t me!” the woman cries. She looks up at the captain and the prih a frazzled look. There are crow’s feet at the ers of her eyes, and streaks of white in her long, dark hair. Her frame is thin, and her hands and clothes delicate. An ambassador would certainly make sense; she doesn’t have the build of a fighter. “I swear on Kero’s hands—”

  “We also found this,” one of the guards says. They step up to Darian and stance, holding out a wooden box. There’s a spiked design carved into the lid, and when they open it, the box is empty, save for padded cloth ied as if to hold a round object.

  “A carrion seed holder,” stance observes.

  “What?” the ambassador cries. “No! I didn’t—I don’t know where that came from.”

  Darian’s expression hardens. “Ambassador Ash, why were you attempting to flee camp?”

  “There was a fight,” she says, lookiween everyone desperately. “I thought they’d e here to kill me.”

  “Who was it you were expeg?” stance demands. He gnces briefly toward me, as if recalling something. “Were you w with the Umbral Bdes?”

  This seems to catch Ash off guard. “You know about the Bdes?”

  stance shakes his head in disappoi, and Darian sighs.

  “Restrain her,” the captain ands. “I will speak with her privately.”

  “As will I,” stance agrees.

  “No, wait!” the ambassador cries as the guards haul her to her feet and start t her away. “Please! This wasn’t me! This wasn’t Moonfall!”

  Given Echo’s insight, I’m pretty darn sure it was.

  Darian rubs a temple, turning bae and Quell. “I o hahis. She might have information on where Princess Felicity was taken. Prince Quell, I will meet you in the a when all this is settled.”

  Without waiting for a reply, she heads off.

  I hesitate, lookiween Quell and the retreating form of Darian. “What about me?” Not that I’m particurly thrilled to be tagging after Quell like a dog on a leash, but I’d also rather not get dragged away for interrogations like that ambassador. “Are we good?”

  Prince stance cps a hand on my shoulder; the grasp is heavy and firm. “I appreciate the tip about the Umbral Bdes. And I appreciate you proteg my brother, if the story is to be believed. Your appearand timing is still highly unusual, yet you fought beside us to protect the camp. I suspect, somehow, you are not actually involved in all of this. Even so, we will o speak about that shield you carry. While the Captain and I deal with the traitor, I will be assigning several guards to you and my brother. I hope you uand that the prote of my family es first.”

  Well, that’s better than handcuffs and an interrogation. “I uand,” I say.

  He gives my shoulder o heavy thump, then turns and disappears into the camp after Darian. Four more soldiers fall into formation around me and Quell.

  It doesn’t escape me how Darian had spoken differently to the two princes. Quell received orders, while stance gave them. I guess it makes sense you would be paying more respect to your future king, but it still feels like Quell and I have beeo sit at the kid’s table while the adults go have a talk.

  Holy though, I’m more than happy to take a breather. God knows I need o’s beehing after another since I got here. Plus, Quell and I are overdue for a private chat.

  I g the guards assigo us. Well. Mostly private.

  As we’re escorted to one of the few rge tents further ba the camp, Quell turns to me. He chews at the er of his lip and nervously fidgets with the broken lens of his gsses.

  “You know, you’ve saved my life twiow, and I still don’t know your name.”

  I raise an eyebrow. Not what I was expeg him to say. “You never asked.”

  “I’m sorry.” He has the good seo look ashamed. “This night has been a bit of a blur.”

  Tell me about it. “It’s Nye,” I say.

  His face lights up. “hank you. I’m Quell.”

  I snort. “Yeah, I know.”

  “Ah, right,” he says, gng away unfortably. “I’m the prince. Of course you know.”

  His flustered behavior is so awkward, so pletely opposite to his brother, it borders on amusing. I’m just some dude. He’s a freaking prince. “You don’t get out of the pace much, do you?”

  He gives a wing smile. “Is it that obvious?”

  “Painfully,” I say, and I ’t help but give a small, ironic smile, as well.

  At least I’m not the only one who’s out of their depth tonight.