Page 62 of Black Crown

And repeated.

Again and again and again.

Because one day,thiswould have to be enough.

* * *

The crisp mountainair did nothing to cool my anxiety; it crawled over my skin and, even in my Drae form, made my stomach churn. The plan was to leave for Azule today, but Lani and the Phaetyn were still nowhere to be seen. This was my third flight in search of her gold veil, and it would have to be my last.Our last. Keeping my Drae shield wrapped around my mind and my Phaetyn veil in place were easier now, but we were running out of time to beat the army to Azule.

I’m going to land.

Why? Do you see them?Tyrrik asked, swinging his head toward me.

No. But see those trees over there?I tilted my chin toward the small copse of evergreens.Maybe the trees out here will talk to me like they did in Zivost.

Gone were the days where I would consider talking to trees the height of crazy.

Clever.Tyrrik followed my lead, and we banked hard within the moss-green confines of my Phaetyn veil, dropping altitude fast due to the limited flat area on the slope where we intended to land. I touched down on the gray shale, Tyrrik landing behind me. The mountain side plateau where we’d perched was just large enough to contain us. In front, the level space was bordered with a dozen tall evergreens clustered together.

The area felt bigger as soon as we shifted—for obvious reasons.

With Tyrrik still by my side, I strode forward, wove my way to the base of the trunk of the tallest tree, and put my hands to the rough bark, kindly asking to speak with Lani.

I frowned and glanced at Tyrrik. “Nothing,” I said. “It’s not working.”

Tyrrik grimaced. “Have you ever tried to talk to the trees outside of Zivost?”

“No. But Lani said it didn’t matter as long as I was in my Phaetyn form.”

“Try covering the tree with your Phaetyn-mojo,” he said with a cheeky grin.

You’re hysterical.I actually thought the word mojo on his lips was pretty funny.

I tuned into my duo powers. The last three days, I’d done my best to keep the Phaetyn veil and Drae shield up as much as possible while awake. By the time I went to bed, I’d crash, but Iwasbetter at maintaining both simultaneously.

I expanded the moss-green veil to cover the tree and tried to converse with it again. “Nope.”

Was Lani wrong about how this worked? Was she okay? Had something happened to the Phaetyn? We needed them, especially if Zakai’s numbers regarding Druman were correct. Good ole Pops had fathered a lot of mules, and we couldn’t take them Druman-to-human. Not without the Phaetyn’s help.

“Maybe we should wait another day,” I said uneasily.

Tyrrik’s smile disappeared, and he shook his head. “We can’t afford to put off our trip to Azule any longer. We have to get there before the army arrives to smooth the way, and every day we wait is another day for Draedyn to plan. We need to get those boats in the water and bring the human warriors back. Time is everything if we want to be on the offense in this war.”

I sat down and scooted close to the trunk, the pine needles poking and scratching my legs and knees. I placed my hands on the trunk and then rested my head on the rough bark. “Tell me, tell me, tree of pine, tell me, tell me how to find . . . Lani?”

Tyrrik snorted.

“Not my best rhyme,” I grumbled. Desperation obviously didn’t make me brilliant. I closed my eyes, burning with fatigue, and felt my Drae shield slip as my energy sought Tyrrik’s. As soon as the shield around my mind fell, I caught an image of the Phaetyn army marching. “Whoa!”

I straightened and grinned at Tyrrik. “Phaetyn powers and Drae powers don’t mix.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I’m fairly certain every Drae and Phaetyn know that, my love.”

Shifting my butt on the gray stone, I glared up at him. “No, I mean they don’t mix, and I’m mixing them. Stay close by. I’m going to have to let my Drae shield down to talk to the trees.” I bit my lip as nerves twisted my stomach. I didn’t like the thought of dropping my Drae barrier, but Tyrrik was here.

I relaxed the tendrils of my Drae power from where they’d been wrapped around my mind, letting them crawl and wind with Tyrrik’s onyx energy. With a deep breath, I placed my hands back onto the rigid bark of the tall evergreen.

Hundreds of Phaetyn were marching through the Gemond mountains with Queen Lani, their expressions concentrated and serious as if they each understood the task they’d chosen to undertake.