“Holdout for what?”Hisharsh blue eyes felt like they were cutting into my very soul.
Ifelt doubt starting to crawl its way into my heart.Ishook my head. “Holdout until reinforcements arrive.TheRiverQueens, have they—”ButTaliuswaved his hand again and turned back to the table, examining the figures laid out on the map.
Ithought he was going to answer me when he said, “Justbecause you sharedAbraxas’ bed doesn’t mean that your opinion is welcome here.Ifthat was a criterion, we would need a much larger council chamber.”Inearly stumbled back in surprise.Hurtand anger seethed in my belly.So, this is how he wanted to play.
TaliusandIwere the same height, but he still managed tosneer down his nose at me.Avlynmoved to intercede, butIraised my hand, and they stilled. “Theenemy is at our gates.Wemust stand united.”
“United?Behindyou?”
“No, beside me.Ihave fought alongside your armies and trained with them.Imay not be royalty of this court, butIam fae royalty, raised in the art of diplomacy and strategy.And—”
“Aprincess whose own kingdom rejected her for the role.Whata mockery ofAbraxas’ rule.”
Everymuscle in my body spasmed, itching to lash out, to strikeTalius.Itightened my jaw, and did not move, did not react.Thosewords rose up in my head again,you’ll never be good enough,butIcast them into the emerald flames in my heart and incinerated them.
“Youmay not trust me,Talius, butIwill not let the people of this kingdom suffer because of your stubbornness.”
“Youhave no authority here.”Severalof the other commanders started trying to join us.ManysupportedTalius, but a few stood in my defense.Theydidn’t matter.Taliuswas the oneIhad to convince.Iopened my mouth, but he cut me off. “Thiskingdom deserves better than a princess playing at being a general, at being queen.”Thelast word was spat out like a slur.
“Iam no general, andIam no queen.Iam the mate of your king, so you will honor me.”
Therewas a long pause as many of the commanders glanced at each other.Finally, oneIknew asPixsospoke, “Soit’s true, he really is…”
Theyall looked at me, silent.IguessIhad their attention now.
“Yes,Abraxasis a dragon.Thelast dragon.”
“Whyhas he not returned?”Taliusasked.Ifelt it in the smallest tremor of his voice, fear and… betrayal.
Avlynflattened their lips, but these commandersdeserved the truth.Theyserved this kingdom loyally, and they should be shown the respect they deserved.Thecommander might not have agreed, but secrets are what got us into this mess in the first place.
“Abraxasretook hisDragonform inKoronat great personal cost.Rightnow, we do not know when he will return… if he will return.”Theroom was suddenly deafening with the commanders’ shouts, each upset for different reasons.
Islammed my fists onto the table, and silence fell again. “Heis not lost to us yet.Iwill do everything in my power to get him back.Untilthen, you will stay the course.Wewill help our allies and defeat our enemies.Butmost importantly, we will protect those to whom we owe our allegiance, the people of this kingdom.”
Therewas still some rumbling in the room, butIhad enough.Itugged on the golden bond between me andAbraxasuntil it blazed green, andIthrew a flame onto the table, incinerating the letter from the capital.Everyeye, evenAvlyn’s, snapped to the blaze as the paper crumbled into nothing but floating embers.
“Wewill not yield,” my voice boomed, mana still flowing through me. “Hadeonwill not take one more good thing from this world.Iwill protectXyr, protect this kingdom until my dying breath.So, will you stand with me or not?”
Taliusapproached without saying a word.Hestood tall and proud.Wemay have been the same height, but his formal armor gave him bulkIdidn’t have.Istood my ground, planting my feet in a fighting stance.Ididn’t bring my hand to my sword; this was never going to work if we came to blows.Iheld his stare, and he did not blink.
Hispiercing blue eyes were fierce, unrelenting.Suddenly, he dropped to one knee. “Pleaseforgive my harsh words,YourMajesty.IrememberTenebrae.Ididn’t enter with you, but allmy men told me the same thing on their escape.Youfought for them with valor and cunning.Ihad to see you would not yield.Weface an enemy we cannot defeat if we show even a moment of weakness.”
Heslowly removed his sword from its sheath and held it aloft, the handle in one hand, the blade in the other, over his head.Hebowed his chin. “Mysword is yours; my life is yours; do with it what you will.”
Idared a glance atAvlyn, and their eyes were sparkling. “Rise,CommanderTalius.Ihave no desire to see you kneel.”Hesheathed his sword, andIgripped his forearm just asIwould with any of the soldiers to help him rise.Itsurprised him for a moment, butIsaw a grin flash across his face.
“Iam a warrior, not a general.Iwill need all of you to win this fight.Ido not need you to kneel, just to fight at my side, as you would have doneAbraxas.Canyou do that for me?”
Taliusslammed his fist into the armor of his chest. “Untilthe sky burns,YourMajesty.”
Thesound of the remaining leaders slamming their fists to their chests was deafening, and they all shouted as one, “Untilthe sky burns.”Avlyn’svoice rang just a moment longer, and they sent me an approving wink from the back of the crowd.
Chapter 24
Hadeon
522 years ago
