But Aedion ducked out of the room,
shutting the door behind him.
Lysandra barely slept. Every time she closed
her eyes, she saw the expression on Aedion’s
face, heard his words.
He didn’t expect to survive this battle.
Didn’t expect any of them to.
She should have gone after him. Run down
the tower stairs after him.
And yet she didn’t.
Dawn broke, a bright day with it. So they
might see the size of the host waiting for them
all the more clearly.
Lysandra braided Evangeline’s hair, the
girl more straight-backed than she’d been
yesterday. She could thank Aedion for that.
For the words that had allowed the girl to
sleep last night.
They walked in silence, Evangeline’s chin