“What are you talking about?”
One quivering hand grabs the handle of one of the drawers and pulls it open. She retrieves a red box and places it on her bed. From inside, she pulls out a tiny blanket—a baby blanket—a lock of dark hair tied with a ribbon, and an amulet with a blinking eye. An amulet that is the exact twin of the one I saw on Jaqual.
“I am interested, Eloise, because I believe Jaqual is my son.”
“Your son?”
“When I was a young woman, I met a handsome and charming Rivertoad who had wandered into our village. He had the heart of an explorer, you see. Wanted to meet the famous witches of Dimhollow. Of course, he was almost killed by the guardians. I nursed him back to health, and he lived with us for some time. We fell in love, and I became with child. I planned to return with him to live among his people. Impure relationships are not accepted in Dimhollow. Witches marry witches. Always, you understand. A non-magical child would never survive among our kind.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Aurora was supportive of my leaving. I was young, but old enough to make my own decisions. But when we descended the mountain, we were attacked by elvenhunters. They killed Wolfram and took every quill we had saved for our journey. In time, I learned the truth. Wolfram had come to Dimhollow not as an explorer, but to escape his debts.
“Devastated, I lived alone in Wickham Wood until the baby came. I left the infant with his people. Left him with the sister amulet to this one.” She holds up the eye between her fingers. “Yes, I am interested to learn that my son has risen to be king of the Rivertoads, and I fear for his life now that he’s helping you fight this war.”
I release a huff of frustration. “Is that what you think? Do you think the Rivertoads are helpingme?”
“Isn’t that what you said? The bond you formed, he’ll be fighting for the rebellion.” She juts her chin in the direction of my arm.
“He’s fighting forhispeople, Catarina. Haven’t you been listening to me at all? King Entrydal wants all of it for the elves. All of it. Every wagon. Every home. Entire towns have been burned. Jaqual is a wise man. He saw New Stygarde coming for his people and decided to join us. He’s not fightingforus. He’s fightingwithus. We are fighting together against a common foe. And make no mistake, if we lose, Entrydal and New Stygarde will come for you next. You are already at the peak of Mount Perilon. The only way to go is down. You and your people need to consider what you will do if we fail.”
Lip curling, she shoves the blanket and the hair back into the box, along with the amulet. “How my mother got it wrong. The prophecy said you would defend us. We are not warriors. Our presence on the battlefield will end only in our deaths.”
I lift my chin and say the words that have beenburning in my chest. I don’t enjoy confronting her. I owe her my life. But leaving this unsaid could compromise her future. “You can make a difference,” I say. “The vampires helping us are vulnerable to sunlight magic. They won’t be as effective as shades against New Stygarde unless you help shield them. If all you have is defensive magic, then we will use those defenses. Your defense will become a key part of our defensive strategy. We can win this war with your help. But you have to decide to engage. You have to stop gazing at the stars and studying prophecy and start fighting. Because at some point, your decision not to stand against Entrydal and Nevina is a decision to be complicit in their rule.”
Silence wages between us until Karyl appears in the doorway. “Mother and I have finished preparing the ingredients. What should we do next?”
Catarina straightens. “We add them to the cauldron and brew for twelve hours.”
Karyl turns on her toes and strides for the kitchen. I move to follow her, but Catarina grabs my arm. “I will try. I will speak to the other elders, and I will recommend action.”
A bloom of hope expands in my chest, and I pull her into my arms, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. “Thank you. It’s the right thing to do.”
Clumsily, Catarina moves past me toward the kitchen, supporting herself on the doorframe in an all too human way. “The problem with doing what is right, Eloise, is that the ones who give the most rarely have the opportunity to enjoy the outcome of their sacrifice.”
33
Attack
Damien
Iwake in my room above Maiden’s Voyage, shadows vibrating around me in a way that makes my hair stand on end. Quickly, I dress in my uniform, sheathing Dawnbreaker on my back. Some deep mating instinct has me calling for Eloise, but she’s gone. As far as I know, she’s still in Dimhollow. I rush into the hall to find a dark cloud coalescing there. Thane.
“Code red! We’ve been breached!” he yells. “Prepare for battle. Incursion in sector one.”
I twist into shadow and surf across the darkness to the area where my men sleep. They’re awake but in various states of readiness. “This is not a drill,” I announce. “We’re under attack. Operation Aendor is in motion!”
We’ve been planning this for weeks. The first step in waging this war is securing Aendor—and my men, as former umbrae, are responsible for leading that offensive.Warbill takes up his sword. “Finally, we get to kill someone.”
I chuckle. “Just make sure you stab the ones in the silver coats.” As for us, we’re all wearing black. A decision made of necessity rather than aesthetics. Black is the cheapest and most available color of material in Tenebris. I wait as my team arms themselves with Stygian blades of every length and type.
We may not have many advantages in this war, but thanks to Seamus, we have plenty of weapons.
In minutes, we are ready, and we surf to sector one, the long passageway that leads to the hidden door behind the Maiden’s Voyage. Now, the wisdom of this compound’s design shines through. As the silver coats charge us, arrows fly from the slits in the walls, the Stygian steel slicing through heart and head.
At the front of my men, I make eye contact with the shade leader attacking us. It’s only a moment, but I see fear in his eyes. His lips move, and the shades among them shadoweave toward us as the elves in the group draw their sunlight swords.
We collide in a frenzy of tangling shadows.
