“No. She lacks magical power, so I cannot connect to her.”

Ah. “How about Sepp? Do you communicate with him?”

Tohon drank his tea, but he kept his gaze on me. His brow furrowed as if the beverage was too bitter. “No.”

“Why—”

“Aren’t you full of questions tonight. Next you’ll be asking me about Cellina’s attack plans.”

“Since you mentioned it...”

He set the teacup down. It clanged on the saucer. “All I know about her plans, I’ve learned from you. And I’m guessing from your half-empty infirmary that she hasn’t engaged Ryne’s pathetic army in quite some time.”

“We think she’s setting a trap like you did with the dead soldiers.” I shuddered at the memory of the ring of buried soldiers that had surrounded Estrid’s army.

“Not without Ulany.”

Ah, yes, Ryne had killed her.

Tohon’s anger pulsed. “He shot her with a dart filled with the Death Lily toxin you sent him.”

Oh.

“At least she died right away and didn’t linger in agony like some do.”

“You mean like my sister.” My turn to snap.

“I didn’t want to hurt her, but you made me so mad that day.”

“So it’s my fault she died?”

He gazed at me with a quizzical squint. “Of course.”

While I agreed that I held some of the blame and felt guilty about her death, the fact that Tohon failed to see that his actions also played a part in her death just proved, once again, that he lacked basic human compassion and a conscience.

“I don’t regret my actions. Your dead soldiers had to be stopped,” I said. “What I do regret is missing your heart with my sword.”

“My sword. You used my sword.” Tohon growled.

I laughed. “Ouch.”

Tohon stood. I clutched my chair arms. He couldn’t hurt me in my own dream. Could he?

“If I were you,” Tohon said, “I’d be worried about what Cellina’s up to. We stayed up many late nights discussing strategy. She’s smart and devious. Who do you think came up with the idea to bury my dead soldiers?” Tohon smirked. “It’s not so funny now. Is it?”

I jerked awake. Disoriented, I stared at the ceiling. Torchlight flickered on stone. Had I slept all day? Hard to tell inside a cave. Private Jannes groaned in pain. Clambering to my feet, I checked on him. White blisters marked his skin and a few bled where he’d scratched at them. I dug into my pack and retrieved the gloves Belen had given me. Sadness gripped my heart for a moment, but another cry from Jannes spurred me into action. I slipped the gloves onto the private’s hands, then cleaned and coated the blisters with a salve.

When I finished, I glanced up and met Sergeant Phelix’s gaze. He had pushed up on his right elbow. Sweat stained his nightshirt.