“We need to go over some things before we head out tomorrow. Can we go ahead and do that now?”
I glanced back down at Eva. I really should move her, but this wouldn’t take long. Slowly, I shifted my body out from under hers and tucked her arm underneath her head for support. I kissed the top of her head and smoothed down her hair.
The garden we were in was just next to my bedroom. I had built it as a peaceful escape, and I preferred being outdoors to indoors. The doors to the garden were almost always open, allowing the sweet aromas from outside to drift in.
Kalen followed me inside and we sat down at a table in the corner of my room. We had spent many nights at this table gambling and planning battles alike. Kalen was my only friend, and I couldn’t ask for anyone better to have by my side.
“Angoria is completely compromised at this point,” Kalen sighed and ran his hand down his face. There was no doubt that he had been hoping to deliver better news.
“How did this happen?” I was furious. Our attack was for nothing then. We had put lives in danger for no reason. It was wasteful, and I hated that more than anything.
“I should start out by saying that the casualties on our side were minimal, but that’s not to say that we didn’t lose some damn fine warriors. I would have come sooner, but I was making my rounds.” He was the finest general that I’d ever had the pleasure of working with, that’s why I put him in charge. He took the losses of his troops personally and he took the time to arrange funeral plans for each warrior he lost. We made sure that their families would never want for anything either.
He sighed and poured us both a glass of whiskey. He pushed my glass toward me. “Is it really that bad?” I questioned him.
He leaned back in his chair and took a long sip, staring at me. “Let’s just call it a preemptive measure.” Clearing his throat, he leaned forward again and shuffled papers around before clasping his hands together. “Right! Let’s get into it…”
I don’t know how long we sat together, but it had been far longer than I intended. With Angoria completely compromised, Helia would be much easier to take over.
Helia was the last major kingdom left. It had always remained untouched, largely in part to its royal family. Eva’s mother and father had ruled with an iron fist, but were the most exceptionally kind rulers as well. Their armies were second to none, and no one had dared to cross them before The Horde had risen.
Lachlan was the most wretched creature in existence. I hated him with every fiber of my being and even more so now that I knew what had happened to Eva and her mother. I had no clue that she had watched while her mother was murdered. I could tell that she carried around a sense of guilt with her. But she had to know that it wasn’t her fault.
Kalen’s contact in the city had reported that even the king in Angoria was now under The Horde’s rule, whether by witchcraft or blackmail, it was unclear. The contact had also divulged that Angoria had reached out and their king would visit Helia soon, something about a show of good faith after Helia came to their aide. All it meant was that we were running out of time. It was imperative that Helia didn’t fall to The Horde. If they did, there was no chance of stopping them.
Kalen cleared his throat and brought my attention back to him.
“What should we do about Eva?” He asked.
“What do you mean?”
My chest hurt. It felt as if I couldn’t breathe for a moment. There was panic rising in my chest, but I pushed it away even though something felt wrong.
Kalen looked down at his glass of wine and traced the rim. “All I’m saying is that maybe we could use her to our advantage…”
“I’m not throwing her into this any more than she needs to be. I took her the first time to keep her safe, and- “
“And this time?”
I scowled. “And this time it was her choice to come with me.” I straightened in my seat. Yes, it was her choice to be with me. I didn’t force her hand.
Silence stretched a moment too long for my comfort. “What’re you thinking, Kalen?”
He sighed. “I just think that if we have her, then we should use that to our advantage. That’s all. People follow her Matthew. They look up to her. I’ve seen her with sentries in the streets. I was there at the attack and the way that she took charge… She’s a leader, and if she can-”
A scream sounded through the house. We both looked at each other at the same time. “Eva!”
I jumped up and ran down the hall toward her scream without thinking. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from, and it just kept happening repeatedly. She sounded like she was in agony. I became a man possessed, feral in my need to protect her. Kalen was yelling my name behind me, but I couldn’t stop. I had to find her and save her.
The screams only got louder; I couldn’t breathe, knowing that she was in pain. I burst into the kitchen, and they were so loud that I couldn’t help but clasp my hands over my ears. I looked around, but I couldn’t find her. She had to be here somewhere, though. I was becoming frantic.
“Eva?”Fuck. It was so loud. I looked around again. Still nothing. “Fuck, Eva?”
I felt Kalen’s arm on mine as he pulled me back. I fought against him.
“She’s not here, Matt,” he said. I could barely hear him over the screams in my ears.
No, she had to be here. She was screaming. She was in pain, and she needed me.
