“I got the full report at sunrise. So far, we have lost twenty of the king’s guards, but five more are still seriously injured. Ten citizens also perished as they tried to escape the approaching rebellion.”
“Far too many,” Cole murmured.
“Yes, milord.”
“Did you send men to hunt down the rest of the rebels?”
“Yes. They went out this morning. I only sent ten of them. I thought you would prefer if most of the guards remained here. I can send more if you’d like.”
“How many rebels do you think are left?”
“Best guess? I’d say thirty survived. The craz chased a lot of them across the field and took them down.”
Lexi glanced up at Cole when he became quiet. She could practically see the wheels spinning in his mind as he considered Niall’s words.
“Ten should suffice for now,” Cole finally said. “I’ll decide if there should be more after we go outside.”
“Yes, milord.”
“You’ve called me Cole for our whole lives, Niall. Please continue to do so.”
“Yes, mil—Cole.”
“How many displaced fae are in the courtyard?”
“The last report I received said there were a few hundred fae seeking safety within the courtyard.”
Cole nodded, and Lexi tried not to glance nervously at him as they descended the stairs. He walked with confidence and grace, but he was still healing and weak from blood loss. He hadn’t had the chance to feed or eat.
Her fingers tightened on his arm as they reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped into the hall. A few helots were in the hallway, and when they saw Cole, their mouths fell open. One of them let go of the supplies they held.
Glass shattered across the floor, and the woman who’d dropped the stuff jumped back to avoid the scattered debris. Amaris appeared in the hallway and froze when she saw them. Her hand flew to her mouth.
“Mi-mi-milord?” she stammered.
Cole bowed his head to her as he strolled past. Amaris looked like she was staring at a ghost, and maybe, in some ways, she was. She’d believed he was dead, so, to her, he did return to the land of the living.
“Was it not fae metal?” one of the women whispered after they passed.
“It was,” another whispered. “You saw it. Weallsaw it.”
Following Cole’s lead, Lexi didn’t look back at them as Cole opened the doors. The courtyard looked worse under the sun than it had beneath the moons’ rays.
Dark fae were scattered everywhere. The injured lay sprawled across the ground as others tended to their injuries. Their moans and weeping intermingled with the barked commands of those trying to return order to the realm.
It was all so horrible, but they were alive and would hopefully remain that way.
Lexi searched the sky for the hideous birds but didn’t see them anywhere. “Where are the craz?”
“When they finished with their meals, the fire eventually drove them off,” Niall said.
Lexi gulped at the term “meals” and tried not to picture those birds pulling the flesh from their victims.
“Once they were gone, and we were able to regroup enough, the fae used their powers to smother the fires,” Niall continued.
Lexi shifted her attention to the land beyond. It had once been so beautiful and vibrant, but now all the green grass and homes were gone. The scorched earth looked like something out of an apocalyptic movie as giant chunks of torn-up earth, ashes, and dead craz remained.
It would take a long time for this realm and its inhabitants to recover from this, and while she’d always been a little intimidated by the dark fae, her heart ached for them. Though, most of them would probably prefer to see her leave this realm and never return.
