"Build it now," she murmured back. "With your choices."
He swallowed.
She always does that. She takes my jokes and turns them into vows.
Mikhailis almost smiled.
And you're jealous because she does it better than you.
He held back a laugh.
Cerys took a step forward.
"Give me an assignment," she said.
Elowen looked at her.
"You will take a small unit," she said. "Not an army. Quiet. Fast. You will secure the western mouth routes. If the Walkers surface, you capture. If they resist, you cut."
Serelith's eyes gleamed again.
"And if the Walkers are blessed?"
Cerys's answer was simple.
"Then their blessing bleeds," she said.
Mikhailis looked down at the pane.
Rhaen's image flickered—dark crawlspace, then nothing.
Gone.
His stomach tightened.
Don't die. Don't be a candle.
He forced his voice steady.
"I'll prepare a counter," he said.
