The Wizard and the Warlord (The Wardstone Trilogy Book Three) by M. R. Mathias

fresh blood and gore might attract something they couldn’t handle. Besides, she would rather not know what she ate out here.
    A few moments later Corva returned, carrying a fat, bloody chunk of meat. He gave Telgra a forced smile, and then with a wave of his hand caused the soft blue flames of the fire to flare yellow and red. He carefully cut strips of the flesh and arranged them on the rocks around the flames. Within moments the savory smell of roasting meat filled the air.
    “What happened?” Telgra asked. She hugged her knees to her chest, readying herself for the answer.
    “Like you, lady,” Corva started, looking at her sadly, “I was overwhelmed by Brevan’s great spell. When I came to my senses, they were—they were…” he looked away.
    “I’m no sapling that needs sheltering, Corva,” she said. “Out with it.”
    “We were set upon by those dark things. Wyvern I think, by the way the bodies were corroded.” He looked at her, unashamed of the tears that were trailing down his cheeks. “A larger creature, a Choska maybe, grabbed hold of you. Your father, Brevan, and most of the monks that were outside were killed.” He looked at Dostin sleeping soundly beside them. “Dostin found you. You’d fallen a good distance and were in bad shape. He prayed over you for a very long time, keeping you alive. After he brought you back to the monastery, it took several attempts to stabilize your body.”
    Tears streamed freely down his face now, and had she not been drawn up into such a tight ball, Telgra’s trembling might have been violent.
    “Why are we out here?” she asked.
    “The King of Salaya sent men up the mountain, many men, to investigate the attack and to protect the monastery. We managed to—” he sobbed and looked grateful when Telgra uncurled herself and moved to his side. “We were not to be seen by the kingdom folk. Those were our orders. So I helped the monks quickly bury them.”
    He hugged her close, trying not to get any of the sticky blood from his hands on her. She sobbed and shuddered into his chest as he continued.
    “The monks gave us the little craft,” he said. “Dostin, I think, came without his brothers’ permission, but he did so because of his loyalty to you.”
    For a long while they were silent, then the wind kicked up and sent a whiff of the now charring meat into their faces. Telgra relaxed her grip around Corva and let him tend the food. While he was turning the meat she asked, “What of the fiery trees?”
    “Those that were inside the spell circle are alive and thriving.” He dropped his head. “The rest of them withered to their deaths.”
    “We have to get home and organize a party to do something.” She sniffled and tried to gather herself.
    “I wish it were that easy,” he said. “The Queen Mother will not allow us to interfere or interact with the kingdom people. She will say that this is a human problem, and that the humans should deal with it.”
    “The fiery trees, and those dark things that killed our people…neither are humans,” she replied.
    “I agree,” Corva said. “But I don’t think the Queen Mother will. You know her heart better than any other. She may listen to her daughter, but we still have to get ourselves all the way back to the Evermore before we can even begin to try to convince her.”
    “That may take too long, I fear,” she said, standing. She took in a deep breath. “I will have to go to this High King Mikahl for help.”
    “We cannot disobey the Queen Mother,” Corva argued. “We are not to meddle with the humans at all.”
    “Dostin is a human,” she said. “And I’m ordering you to do this, so the responsibility of it falls on me. I’ll deal with my mother.”
    “Yes, m’lady.” Corva handed her an arrow with a piece of cooked meat speared on its tip. She saw that his gaze was full of respect. But deeper in his eyes she saw a want for vengeance. The feeling that the decision she had just made might