He shifted his weight, looking as uncomfortable as I felt. Maybe he had expected more from me, something that I was incapable of offering. But why should it have been otherwise?
Finally, I asked, “How did you find us?”
“The half-lives brought him here,” Joth said, then to Darrow added, “Where is Loelle?”
“Captured by the Brill as we tried to sneak into the city. I don’t think they’ll harm her, though they said they’d give her to the Coracks. I can’t say what they will do to her.”
Nor could I. Loelle had worked with them for years as their trusted physician, but I knew now that her service had nothing to do with loyalty. She had been waiting for the Coracks to find an Infidante … to find me. Once I’d been chosen, Loelle had manipulated the situation to ensure I obtained magic, then taken me away from the Coracks, solely within her control. Forgiveness would not come easily to her, if it came at all.
I looked from Darrow over to Joth. We had just learned that his mother was being returned to the very group she had betrayed, and he didn’t seem particularly concerned. Would I respond the same way now, if it had been Darrow in captivity? Was I similarly hardened?
Joth saw me watching him and, with almost no emotion, said, “You know the Coracks better than anyone. Will they harm my mother?”
“Not if they have any reason to keep her alive.” Which should have been a thin comfort, but it seemed to fully satisfy Joth. For my own sake, I added, “Loelle is a great healer. That might be enough.”
Joth slowly nodded. “Then we’ll take care of the task ahead of us first.”
“I suggest you go prepare for it now.” Darrow gestured toward the door, and his voice became stern. “Let me speak with my daughter.”
Joth’s eyes darted between Darrow and me as he contemplated what to do. Finally, he licked his lips, then excused himself, saying he would ready our horses. Darrow and I remained facing each other. He looked me over and seemed to understand why I was dressed this way.
“So the attack is tonight?”
I tilted my head. “How much do you know?”
“I know only what Joth has communicated to the other half-lives.” He stepped forward. “Is there anything else I should know?”
I considered telling him about Simon, and almost did, except that when I opened my mouth, no words came out. I had no way of explaining to my father what I could not explain to myself.
His brows pressed together. “What else, Kestra?”
I shrugged. “There’s no one else.” I winced, even as the words came from my mouth. I should have said there was nothing else. Surely Darrow would catch the mistake.
If he did, he put that aside and instead said, “I’ll come with you.”
I considered that for a moment. “You can’t help me. And besides, I must focus on Endrick. I won’t be able to protect you.”
He smiled. “What a cruel twist when the daughter must protect her father. Kestra, I am not asking to come. I am coming. All I need to know is how I can best help you succeed.”
I hesitated. As much as I respected my father, he was a liability if anything went wrong. But he still was my father.
“You may come,” I finally said. “But you must understand that I have only one purpose tonight, and that is Endrick’s death.”
He nodded, keeping his eyes trained on me as I crossed to a small fireplace we had rebuilt enough to cook food without burning down the building. “There is tea here, if you’d like it.”
Darrow noted the cup I was using to pour myself a drink. “How many of those do you have?”
I smiled. “This one is all we found in the wreckage. Meanwhile, the Coracks have taken up residence in Woodcourt with some of the finest porcelain dishes in all of Antora.” I took a sip for myself, then handed the rest to Darrow. “How did you escape All Spirits Forest? When we flew overhead, it was surrounded.”
“It was, until you flew overhead. The Ironhearts saw that dragon and must’ve guessed you were on it, because they left almost immediately to return here to Highwyn.”
Joth ducked his head in the door. “It’s time to leave.”
I started forward, but Darrow said, “Wait.” He added, “When you restored me, I sensed that something was different about you. And now that I’m here, I know it is. You’re in trouble.”
I shook my head. “No more than usual. I’m the same as always, only with magic now.”
“No, you’re not the same.” Darrow put his hand on my arm. “Can’t you feel the difference yourself? For I see it in your eyes and sense it in the tone of your voice. Soon, that difference will be as visible as the graying scars on Lord Endrick’s face.”
I pulled away from him. “That is not true.”
“It is, and if it would matter, I would give my life to change that fact. But you must fight this, Kestra, at least as hard as you are about to fight for Antora.”
“For now, that is her only fight.” Joth widened the door. “It’s time for you to leave, Darrow.”
I nodded toward him. “My father will be helping us tonight. Before we leave, he should understand our plans.”
Joth frowned over at Darrow. “We don’t need him.”
Darrow stepped forward. “I don’t have magic, and maybe I’ve been half-dead for so long that my skills with a disk bow aren’t as sharp as they ought to be, but my daughter is going into a battle. I will be there with her.”
“Your daughter is the battle,” Joth said. “All you will do is get in her way.” When Darrow refused to step aside, Joth finally sighed. “Very well. We’ll find a more … peripheral place for you.”
“I already know my role. What Kestra has to do is something only she can do. My job is to clear every other barricade in her way, if I can.”
“I will do that,” Joth said to him. “You take care that you are not one of those barricades.” He pointed out the window toward the palace. “All right, here is the plan.”
While Joth reviewed the details with my father, I watched as Joth’s eye occasionally brushed over me, slight irritation in his gaze to remind me that he’d rather it was just the two of us moving forward.
Little did he know that it was not the two of us now, and it never would be. Tonight we would ride under the cover of darkness, determined to make an end of things before the night was finished. Whatever happened tonight, I had no intention of leaving the palace. By morning, I would either be dead, or I would be sitting on the Scarlet Throne.
I took one glance at Joth.
I would sit on the Scarlet Throne … alone.
Only two days ago, I had met with the other leaders of the Alliance. But for all that had happened since then, it might have been months. So many people had come and gone, seeking direction for each new development, that I could hardly keep up with the whirlwind.
It began with the arrival of Reddengrad’s army. Basil received an enthusiastic welcome when he went out to greet his people, though he still walked with a limp and seemed to startle at nearly every loud sound. He wasn’t ready yet for any fighting.
Not long after, Huge and his patrol of Corack soldiers brought Loelle in as a captive. She looked exactly as when I had last seen her a little more than a month ago, although considering the way she had betrayed us, I expected to see at least a glimmer of humility or fear. If she believed things would return to what they had been before, she was mistaken. I could never think of her with the same respect and friendship as I once had.