“I was praying.”
“For me? I just needed some rest.”
He massages the bridge of his nose. “For an answer to our situation. I was worried for you as well, but the sound of your heart gave me peace.”
“We still don’t have enough men, do we?”
“No.”
Hearing him acknowledge it aloud makes it all the more real for me.
He stands and walks to a tray of food that has appeared while I was sleeping. Loading a plate, he brings it to me, along with a full goblet. “You should eat. You must keep your strength up.”
As much as I want to continue this conversation, hunger takes control, and I down all the blood at once, then gobble everything on the plate. Holding open the portal was harder than I expected. I’m relieved that I was capable of transporting the soldiers and that they could come now. It gives us time to prepare and time to recover before we attack. But it’s still not enough.
Think, darling, comes Phantom’s voice in my head.You have soldiers, but you also have magic.Might there be a way we could help you?
I chew my food slowly, carefully.Perhaps we could somehow shield our troops.
Too many, Phantom says.We could do a single unit if they were in the same location.
I swallow and rub my head.
“I went to see Jaqual while you were gone.”
My brows shoot up, and I turn my full attention on Damien. “You’re lucky he didn’t have you killed the moment you entered his territory. We didn’t exactly part on great terms.”
“The conversation went better this time.”
“Better, how? Did he agree to help us?”
“No, unfortunately. He considered it, but he wants an election if we win the war. I tried to promise him one, but he doesn’t trust me.”
“That’s why he wanted me. Not because hewantsme, but because he knows you would follow through if my life were on the line.”
He runs his fingers gently through my hair. “I told him it was out of the question. We need you and your dragon to fight this war. I know he couldn’t hold you. You’re too powerful. But I don’t trust that he wouldn’t abuse your good nature.”
“Fair. It would be an unnecessary complication. He’d expect me to stay with the caravan, which would mean I couldn’t protect you. I can’t promise him my physical presence, and that’s the only thing he trusts.”
“I think you’re right about that, little bird.” Damien crawls into bed beside me and stares up at the ceiling.
“But the rest of it, the election, is that something you’re willing to barter? It would mean there’s a chance it’s not you on the throne.”
A muscle in his jaw twitches. “My mother, the queen, still lives among the witches. My sister too. It pains me to think of them losing their home all over again. But here we are, Eloise, at the crossing point, and the bridge is about to wash out from underneath us. Better that Stygarde be Stygarde with a Rivertoad on the throne than the Hymirs remain in power. If Jaqual would have agreed to help us, I would have allowed the election and stuck to my word.”
We can make it so, Phantom answers when I send a thought in their direction.
Damien groans. “I know that look on your face, little bird. You have an idea, and why do I think I’m not going to like it?”
“We—my ancestors—have a binding spell. I have a way we can magically ensure your compliance with Jaqual’s terms.”
That muscle in his jaw pops again, and he scowls at me. “I don’t relish binding myself or you to a Rivertoad.”
“He would be bound to us as well. He and his people. Neither of you could change your mind without consequences.”
He releases a heavy sigh, his eyes drifting closed. “We need his men. If he’ll go for it, I will too.”
I turn on my side and watch his profile. “I should be well enough in a day or two. I’ll return to the caravan and propose the option to Jaqual.”
