"Even Uri has to see the danger," Yestin said.
"For years, Uri has argued for our kind to take the upper hand. Nothing like this happened. Either something has changed within his brood, or someone else has a stake in beginning this war. Either way, if war comes, we all lose."
CARINA OPENED THE door from the sitting room almost immediately after Jonmarc entered his rooms.
"I thought I heard you in the hallway." She stopped and took in his dirt-streaked great coat, and the bruise from the fight beginning to darken on his cheek. "What happened?"
"Someone ambushed me in the stable. No idea who it was-but he wasn't mortal."
Carina moved to stand beside him, reaching up to heal the bruise on his cheek. Her touch was warm and her healing magic sent a calmness through him. When the bruise was gone, she let her hand stroke down his cheek and rest on his chest. "Anything else I should know about?"
"My back is probably already black and blue after how hard I hit the post in the stable," Jonmarc confessed, wincing as she helped him slip his shirt off. He sat on a couch with his back to her so that she could ease the stiffness and mend the scraped skin. As Carina worked, Jonmarc told her about the attack on the herders, only to discover word had reached the manor by midday..
"Lisette is beside herself she's so angry," Carina said. "I could feel the difference in the mood today-the people who came for healing were afraid. Lisette told me that the vayash moru servants are afraid, too." "Something else is bothering you." Carina withdrew a letter from one of the pouches at her belt. "It's a letter from Cam." "Rough life guarding Donelan?" Carina handed him the letter. Jonmarc scanned the paper, making out Cam's cramped handwriting as best he could. "I don't get it. He sounds like Isencroft's on the brink of uprising."
"It's because of Kiara-and Tris. Kiara's the only direct heir to the Isencroft throne, remember? When Donelan dies, the thrones of Isencroft and Margolan will be joined until heirs can be born for both. That's not going over well in Isencroft." She shook her head. "There was an incident in Isencroft before Kiara left for the wedding-some crazy divi-sionist tried to kill her. I'm afraid, Jonmarc-for Cam and Donelan and Kiara."
"I figured whoever sent that magicked beast at the wedding was after Tris."
"So did I. Maybe we were wrong."
"Cam's pretty good at taking care of himself. Donelan's got an army to protect him. Kiara has Mikhail and Harrtuck, as if she needed any help in a fight."