Kingdom of Ash

would have been here.
A fool’s path, to wander down that road.
Aedion was who he was, and most of the time,
didn’t mind that one bit. Rhoe had been his
father in the ways that counted. Even if there
had been times when Aedion had looked at
Rhoe and Evalin and Aelin and still felt like a
guest.
Aedion shook the thought from his head.
Being here, in this castle, had addled him.
Dragged him into a realm of ghosts.
“Don’t expect Darrow to put out a
breakfast spread like the ones we used to
have,” Aedion said. Not that he expected or
wanted one. He ate only because his body
demanded he do so, ate because it was
strength, and he would need it, his people
would need it, before long.
Ren surveyed the city, then the Plain of
Theralis beyond. The still-empty horizon. “I’ll