Andr walked to his side, kneeling at the edge of his small cot.
"What happened?" Ryl whispered in response. His voice was scratchy, it sounded different, a shade darker than he'd grown accustomed to hearing.
"All the tributes have been undergoing the remedy for a little over a week," Andr explained. "Their suffering is much more manageable than yours was. The last of them lost consciousness the day before last."
There was something off to his voice as well. Though its timbre was familiar, there was an undeniable tone of hesitation and remorse.
"What of the Lei Guard? What of the tributes? Were any lost?" Ryl blurted out as momentary panic struck him. Andr placed a calming hand on his shoulder as he tried to rise to his feet.
"Fear not, none were harmed in the initial attack," he admitted, surprise flavoring the words that rolled from his lips. "The Lei Guard remain unharmed. The Erlyn has seen to their care. She’s led us here."
The hints of his apprehension grew with every word.
"Something's happened," Ryl added, more of a statement than a question.
Andr sighed, lowering his head as he responded.
"Aye. There has," he acknowledged. "It's Elias. He's gone."
The deluge of emotions that ran through Ryl in that instant ranged from infinite loss to anger to confusion. They'd been reunited for less than a moon. What cruel fate had robbed him of his friend so soon? What had happened?
It took Ryl a moment before he could settle the questions that rampaged through his mind. He opened his mouth to speak, but Andr interrupted the silence first.
He was wholly unprepared for the words that registered in his ears.
"There's more," Andr lamented.
"He has Kaep."
FROM THE PUBLISHER
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ALSO IN SERIES
A TRIBUTE AT THE GATES
FULCRUM OF LIGHT
GHOSTS OF THE ERYLN
About the Author
CJ Aaron is an American Fantasy Author who relocated from the four seasons of the northeast to the nearly perpetual sauna of the third coast.
When he isn’t writing fantasy, you can find him working as a jack of all trades in the digital world or spending time with his wife, two children, two dogs, two cats and an ever-changing menagerie of foster animals.
Raised on a steady diet of fantasy and science fiction, he is still an avid reader, lover of movies, video games and pretending to be a musician.
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