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But the reason he remained hopeful about the Titan’s absence was that, ultimately, the two of them were on the same side. If Sermung was truly against the Children, then he would not come to Avar’s defense. Or even if he did, there might still be some room to negotiate.

Though, admittedly, that was not Koh’s strong suit.

Did the Titan know enough about the nature of the Hunt?

Difficult to say. The other emperors only recently learned of it, so if Sermung had known all along, why had he not shared such important information with them?

Well. The man had no reason to trust Morgunov or Dozer, obviously. And perhaps he, too, was aware that the Peacemaker had already been compromised.

But the marshals? Did they know?

Jackson did, of course, but the others? They seemed quite lost at the battle in the Luthic, but to be fair, that situation was absolute madness. Unprecedented, frankly. Thanks to the Nightspinner’s power.

The wind picked up as Koh’s internal debate began to slow. Maligia and Ciroeth still deserved consideration, too, because either one of them could decide to take up Ettol’s mission. Their scents were quite strong, as well. Easy to follow.

But at length, he stood up on all fours again. Break time was over. He knew where he wanted to go.


Chapter Three Hundred Nineteen: ‘Thine imperiled ego...’
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As her eyes eased open, awareness returned in waves. Pain was first. Aching all over her body. Then hunger, mixed in there with the aching of her stomach. God. That didn’t feel good. She didn’t think she’d ever felt so hungry in her entire life.

Then came light and sound. Touch and smell. Everything around her. The world.

The Library.

Emiliana Elroy felt stiff as a board. Agh. What in the world had happened? The last thing she recalled, she’d been settling down to meditate, like usual, when Gohvis came in to give her instruction. Advice. He’d told her...

The thought went unfinished as she saw a smiling face appear in her vision.

“Hey there!” he said with a familiar intonation. “Welcome back to the land of the living!”

She rubbed her head. That was throbbing, too, of course. “What have I been...? Agh...”

“Confused, huh? Not terribly surprising. You were out for a good long while. Almost a month, I think. Though, truth be told, I’ve kinda lost track of the time, myself! Not the best judge, maybe.”