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stand before they were up, hours before dawn.
The rest of the keep was awake, too, the
ruks restless on the tower roofs and
battlements, the click and scrape of their
talons on the stones echoing in every hall and
chamber.
The drums kept pounding. Had pounded all
night.
He’d kissed Yrene good-bye, and she’d
seemed like she wanted to say more but had
opted to hold him for a long, precious minute
before they parted ways.
It would not be the last time he saw her, he
promised himself as he aimed for the
battlements where his father, Sartaq, and
Nesryn had agreed to meet at dawn.
The prince and Nesryn had not yet arrived,
but his father stood in armor Chaol had not
glimpsed since childhood. Since his father had
ridden to serve Adarlan’s wishes. To conquer