I shrug. “Sure. I have plenty of time. A few days, at least,” I say sarcastically.
“Days?” He frowns.
A human dressed in a cop’s uniform opens a thick vault door for us, and I enter the now-familiar apartment where Sabrina and Tobias live. The sound of the piano meets my ears, then stops abruptly when we’re announced. The next second, a lanky redhead is pulling me into her arms, her blond dragon mate waving to me from behind her. “Eloise, it’s been too long. And, oh! You’ve gone through some changes!” Her eyes sparkle with wonder as she takes me in. She darts a glance to Tobias.
For the next hour, we sit in their parlor, and I recap everything that’s happened since the last time I sat in the same chair, in the same place, asking for help. It’s the fourth time I’ve told the tale in three days, and I notice I’m getting better at it. I end with my plea for help. “We can’t win this war without more warriors. I’m here to ask you for a favor, to ask you to send troops to fight on our behalf.”
Tobias winces and rubs the back of his neck. “That’s a bigger ask than you might think, Eloise.”
Sabrina leans back in her chair and crosses her legs. “What my mate means is our coven is spread thin rightnow protecting our territory. We don’t have many men to spare, and if we send them to Tenebris, they aren’t available here if things on the border graduate from harmless tension to full-scale conflict.”
“More than that,” Tobias says, the tenor of his voice bringing me back to the night his brother visited me and fed me his blood. The two brothers carry the same grittiness in their tone, like their throats are lined with embers. “Dragons like me come from a place called Paragon. Our kingdom follows a prime directive to avoid interfering with the political outcomes of other worlds. While we do have a trade agreement with Tenebris, we never meddle in our partners’ governmental affairs.”
I snort. “You would allow these tyrants to rule and enslave our kingdom’s children over a moral principle not to interfere? What, like you are a scientist, watching colonies of bacteria kill each other under a microscope? You Paragonians are above it all?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“But it’s what you meant. What do you think will happen if King Entrydal wins this war? Do you think he’ll stop at Tenebris? Your brother Nathaniel witnessed firsthand the extent of the dark elf’s cruelty. Entrydal told me that he doesn’t consider any being superior to dark elves. His goal is to rule or annihilate every other creature. Mark my words, Tobias, he will not stop at Tenebris.”
The dragon shifter runs a hand through his short blond hair, casting a look in Sabrina’s direction. “I do not speak for Paragon. I abdicated my role in political affairs when I married Sabrina, but I can tell you this—the same issue you had crossing from Earth into Tenebris would exist for any dragon from Paragon attempting to inflicttheir rule on a citizen of Tenebris. We are ruled by the goddess of the mountain. You are ruled by the goddess of night. According to our mythology, those two aren’t bosom buddies. I might be able to convince the king of Paragon to risk political fallout and assist in a foreign war, but angering the gods is another thing altogether.”
I let out a long sigh. “I think Nathaniel shared some of this with me. Although, at the time, I’d lost so much blood, I thought he might be a hallucination.”
“He was real and is horribly worried about you, and I don’t think he’d mind my saying that, if things were different between the two kingdoms, he would have busted you out of there himself. But the fact is, nothing is simple when it comes to our two worlds. If I open a portal to transport Lamia vampires to your world, as I am a former prince of Paragon, it will be seen as an act of war between the two kingdoms. I can’t put Paragon in that position.”
I shake my head. “You won’t have to open the portal. I will. The same way I opened the rift that brought me here for this visit. I am the key, Tobias. I can open the door between worlds at my will. If you don’t want to risk being involved, don’t be. Send Cassius and whatever vampires you can spare.”
He and Sabrina exchange looks, and then both of their faces turn unreadable. But Cassius’s jaw tightens. “Master, I…must return to Tenebris with Eloise.” I do a double take, my eyes bulging as the weight of his words hits me. “My parents, Jozius and Faurine, still live in the Borderlands, not far from Covellton. Their land will be in the war zone. I must help Damien win this war. I will resign if you require it of me, but I must go.”
My shoulders sag in relief. A warrior like Cassius is worth many men, and his support in this moment means everything to me.
“You will do no such thing,” Sabrina says quickly. “I will not accept your resignation. You may take a thousand men of your choosing and return to Tenebris with Eloise, but I expect you back here when the war is won.”
One thousand. It’s not nearly enough but is better than nothing. And having Cassius is priceless. “Thank you. Thank you both.” I clasp my hands in front of my chest and try my best to look grateful. At least it’s something.
But Tobias’s handsome face is scowling like he ate something bad. “I think Sabrina and I agree that no one should underestimate you, Eloise. War is unpredictable, even under the best of circumstances, and I’m sensing you don’t have the best of circumstances. If things don’t go as planned, I want you to know you and Damien always have a place here among the Lamia coven.”
“I appreciate that.” Although I know Damien and I will never take them up on the offer. We will die before we give up this war. We can’t abandon our people. We will fight for them to the death. And with adding only three thousand vampires to our count, that death is looking more and more inevitable. I blink back unshed tears and swallow the lump in my throat. “I’ll coordinate the portal with Cassius.”
I stand and give them both a shallow bow. Sabrina and Tobias respond with a silent tip of their heads.
“I’ll see you out,” Cassius says solemnly. It’s so quiet, it feels like a funeral. But then, everyone in this room knows I’m on a suicide mission. I leave the apartment, a dead woman walking.
25
Homecoming
Damien
Ireturn to Aendor with a stag over my shoulder, the largest beast I could find. Although I’m careful to reenter the city through the darkest shadows, I know it’s a risk, and I’m relieved that I make it from Wickham Wood to the compound without interference. But I could not return empty-handed, not after my second attempt at getting the Rivertoads to help us failed so valiantly. One stag will not go far to feed thousands of hungry men, but it is something. The least I can do now.
“Thank you, Damien,” Tempest says. Thane thumps me on the shoulder.
“It’s with a heavy heart that I must tell you that my visit to Jaqual, while well received, did not result in his alliance.”
“Damn Rivertoads,” Thane seethes.
I shake my head. “He’s doing what he thinks is best for his people. He’s wrong, but I could not convince him.”
