Dawn Study (Soulfinders #3)(130)

Good or bad news? Hard to tell.

“Let me know if you learn anything new.”

“Will do,” Ayven said.

*

Over the next two days, more reports of the Ixian withdrawal arrived. It was the day of the planned Firestorm, and nothing happened. My emotions swung from confused to concerned to relieved, and settled into a general feeling of unease. Was this a trick? Perhaps the Commander had found a way to get all of his troops behind ours.

Zitora relayed a message from Teegan that the unit was headed east toward the Emerald Mountains. We had positioned a battalion near the tunnel the smugglers had used to get into Ixia. Perhaps we’d moved them too late—not that we’d had a ton of time. We’d only had ten days since we regained control of Sitia and the garrisons.

I sat at Bavol’s desk that afternoon, staring at the map of Ixia and Sitia. Was there another tunnel beneath the border? Or another way past our defenses? Onora had left to fetch me some tea, but the baby’s rhythmic hiccups made it difficult for me to concentrate. Poor little soul suffered with the hiccups at least once a day. I put a sympathetic hand on my mound. Calling it a bump no longer applied, I’d lost sight of my toes and couldn’t touch them without great difficulty. And I still had ten weeks to go! If I grew any larger, I wouldn’t be able to fit through the door.

A knock roused me from my musings. Fisk stood at the door with a pleased grin on his face as if he’d scored a good bargain.

“Don’t tell me,” I said, raising a hand. “You found the perfect hat for your latest client. What’s her name?”

“Mrs. Catava.” The glow dimmed just a bit. “Not yet. Soon—it’s close, I can feel it. However, I found something better than a hat.”

“Oh?”

“I found a husband.” Fisk stepped aside with a flourish.

Valek stood in the doorway, and the rest of the world disappeared. The next thing I knew, I was wrapped in his arms. Not as close as I would have liked, though, because of the mass of baby between us.

He laughed and rested a hand over my girth. “You’re—”

“Watch it,” I warned.

“—more beautiful than I remembered,” he said.

“Nice recovery.”

Cupping my cheeks with his hands, he met my gaze. “I mean it.”

Then he kissed me and proved he wasn’t lying. By the time he broke away, I was gasping for breath and thinking of continuing our conversation in my bedroom.

A polite cough reminded us that we weren’t alone. Fisk stood nearby with Sergeant Gerik.

“Do you know where Onora is?” Gerik asked me.

“The kitchen. She’ll be ba—”

He disappeared.

“He thought she was dead,” Valek explained. Exhaustion lined his face, and he was too thin. His hands slid down my arms, and he laced his fingers in mine. “I heard you defeated the Cartel. Did anyone... Are there any...”

I understood his reluctance to hear bad news. “Bain Bloodgood had massive heart failure during the attack on the Krystal garrison.”

“Ah, sorry to hear that.”

“Everyone is still reeling. And now Zitora is First Magician.”

“That’s a heck of a homecoming.” Valek braced for more bad news. “Anyone else?”

“A few soldiers were killed by the blasts from the orbs. It couldn’t be avoided. And we can’t find Hale in any of the garrisons. I suspect Bruns killed him soon after we escaped the Krystal garrison, but I can’t ask him.” I explained how Onora had saved our lives.

Valek squeezed my hand. “I owe her a debt of gratitude. How is she doing? Any problems with guilt?”

“I don’t think so, but she’s been acting like a mother bear protecting her cub. Guess who is her cub?” I tapped my chest.

“That’s normal.”

“Says the man who wants to lock me in a tower.”

“That’s normal, too.”

“For you, maybe.”

“Well, I’m glad she’s been protecting you. Were there any...incidents at the other garrisons?”

“Other than a few injuries, none of our herd died. Thank fate.”

“Injuries? How bad?”

“Janco has a couple of new scars to name. No doubt he’ll be boasting about them when we see him. Mara cut her hands pretty badly. Seems Rika Bloodgood had a knife at her throat, but Mara wasn’t going to let Leif surrender, so she took matters literally into her own hands.”

“Good for her.”

“She saved us all. If Rika had warned Bruns...” We all knew the consequences if that had happened. “Irys has already healed Mara, and Irys is talking about giving her a medal for her bravery.”

“My siblings?”

“Fine. However, Zohav almost drowned Zethan, or so your brother claims, but I suspect he’s exaggerating.” I smiled, but sobered when I remembered Bain. We’d all miss him. “Now it’s your turn. Owen?”

“Had a very bad case of overconfidence and died in my arms.”

“I’m not sorry to hear it. I take it that’s when the Commander woke up and recalled his army.”

Valek tensed. “Not exactly.”

“What happened?”