Page 548 - Fourth Wing

any sight of the infantry and riders who should be here. “There’s no way

they’d abandon it for War Games.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” Xaden looks out over the valley, then

narrows his eyes on the trading post a thousand feet below. “Liam.”

“On it.” Liam moves forward, leaning on the stone battlement as he
focuses on the structures in the distance beneath us. The trading post is

maybe a twenty-minute walk along the wide gravelly path winding down

the mountainside our outpost is perched on. The roofs of several buildings
just poke out above the circular stone wall of its defenses, a drift of

gryphons and their fliers approaching from the south.

Xaden turns on me, and the look in his eyes is anything but welcoming.
“What did Dain say to you before we left? He leaned in and whispered

something.”
I blink, trying to remember. “He said something like…” I search my

memory. “I’ll miss you, Violet.”

His body goes tense. “And he said I was going to get you killed.”
“Yes, but he always says that.” I shrug. “What would Dain have to do

with emptying an entire outpost?”
“I have something!” Garrick calls from the southeast tower, holding what

looks to be an envelope as he and Imogen cross the thick rampart, coming

in our direction.
“Did you tell him about my trips here?” Xaden questions, his eyes

hardening.

“No!” I shake my head. “Unlike some people, I never hid anything from
you.”

He draws back, his gaze shifting left and right as he thinks before settling

on me again and widening. “Violence,” he says softly, “did Aetos touch you
after I told you about Athebyne?”

“What?” My brow furrows, and I shove an errant strand of hair out of my
face as the wind swirls around us.