“It’s safer if you don’t know. Trust me,” Marcus said.
I scowled. Marcus was hiding something. Like we needed any more secrets around here.
Marcus sighed. “Point is, he’s one of the top Deacons in the angel hierarchy, which means he’s pulling the shots with the Celestials. Whatever he wants, the angels are going to give him.”
“We know the Warden is looking for demigods because he wants to use their powers for his own will, probably to gain control of the other supernatural races, and open the portal to the Blessed Haven that’s on Darke Island,” Kallie said. “I bet he wants to make the angels the overlords of everyone, with him at the top, and he needs demigods to do it.”
“Seems really extreme, even for him,” I remarked.
“I found out he was a soldier during the first Great Supernatural War. He was angry the angels were humiliated in defeat, and wants his second shot to prove the angels deserve to be our overlords,” Marcus said.
“Really?” I asked. The Warden seemed so young— the Great Supernatural War was a hundred years ago.
“Angels are immortal, like the Elves,” Kallie reminded me. “He might be young for an angel, but not to us.”
We thought on this for a moment, before I suggested, “We should assassinate the Warden.”
“Ava,” Charlie said tiredly.
“Why not? Kill him, and it solves all our problems!” I said.
“And how do you expect to murder a powerful angel? They’re hard to kill, even with magic,” Charlie said.
“I hate to say this, but Charlie is right,” Kallie admitted reluctantly. “Their mastery over life-force manipulation makes them invulnerable to most attacks. The strong ones can heal themselves, and we know the Warden is strong. Even with my experience as an assassin during my vigilante days in Malovia, that’s one job I wouldn’t take on.”
“Plus we’d get caught,” Marcus pointed out. “No way we’d get away with it, not at the prison. Without a means of escape, the guards would trace it right back to us.”
“Wouldn’t it be worth it, if it meant stopping the war and saving the Elves?” I asked.
“Not when there are easier ways to fight back that won’t get us killed,” Charlie said.
I huffed. I sure thought taking out the Wardenwasthe easy way.
Charlie rubbed his hands together. “You guys can do what you want. I know this isn’t your fight.”
“No, Charlie. Thisisour fight,” Kallie said quietly. “Saving the Elves involves everyone. If we have another Great Supernatural War, Malovia will step in, and the fae are already feared and hated all around the world. The other races would jump at the chance to try and take us out, too.”
“And the Miriamic Coven,” Marcus added. “Some supernaturals think witches and warlocks are weak. I could see both the vampires and the angels attacking us to claim Octavia Falls for themselves. They’d want to enslave us like they did the Elves, but we won’t go down without one hell of a fight.”
“The Elementai won’t be safe within our borders for long,” I mused. “The tribe won’t be able to stay out of it this time, and if our allies have already been conquered, it won’t be long until we’re next.”
“The angels and the vampires will definitely team up,” Marcus pointed out. “They hated Elves back then, and they still hate them now. Look at how the Warden talks about them. He wants to use them, then dispose of them when they no longer serve his purpose. And together, the vampires and the angels aren’t anything to mess with.”
“Who will the fae side with?” I asked Kallie.
Kallie shrugged. “I don’t know. Malovia’s history suggests they’d side with the angels, but my family is in charge now, and my dad will soon pass the throne onto my brother next spring. My entire family wants to make reparations with the other supernatural races for what we did during the last war, but not all fae see it that way. My parents could be overruled by the Circle, but at the same time, Malovia’s views on the other races have somewhat changed. Maybe they’d want to help the Elves.”
“That would mean the fae would have to side with the witches,” Marcus pointed out.
“Yeah, I know.” Kallie sighed and dropped her head. “It’s never been done.”
“Whatever the case, I don’t want to live in a world where the Warden makes the rules, and that’s going to happen if we don’t get the Elves to safety and stop this war before it happens,” Charlie said. “The angels and the vampires can’t see an opportunity to strike before we’re ready. If they do, we’re all in big trouble.”
Charlie held a breath. “Either way, the only way for me to protect the Elves in the meantime is to teach them how to defend themselves. But it’s not enough. I—we— need to start looking for those keys again. So… are you guys with me?”
Marcus stood. “I’m always with you, man. Count me in.”
He shook Charlie’s hand, and Kallie got up. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and said, “We wasted time by not talking over the summer. Whatever happened back then is in the past. It’s over now. I’ll be here for whatever you need.”
