Shifters began shouting. Sorceresses let out cries of agreement, and noise began welling over the crowd, until the entire camp seemed like it’d been set aflame by passion.
“We all have a choice, and this is mine,” Desmona bellowed. “I will not flee my home and my nation as a coward. I embrace a good death, and consider it a privilege to fight for my king and queen!”
Her armor clanked as she knelt before me. She took her sword out of its sheath and stood it upon the earth, both hands on the hilt as if she were a knight honoring her monarch. At her actions, Lucien knelt to one knee, and beside him, Finlay bowed. Theo, Alexei, and Stefan sank downward, while Odette, Kiara, and Delmare gave us curtsies.
Then, something miraculous happened. Everyone in the campbowed.Tous.The crowd appeared a wave as heads dipped low, and each refugee took a knee. The thousands of fae collected in the field all gave their respects to us, until there was no one left standing but me and my mate.
I couldn’t feel anything but honor and gratitude. Tears threatened to spill over my eyelids as I was overcome with emotion. My lip wobbled, so I bit it to keep it still. Ethan slipped his hand into mine and squeezed it as he let out a choked sound. Through our bond, I could tell he was doing his best to hold it together.
Professor Desmona rose, and pointed her sword to me. “To the White Wolf, and his White Rose!”
The sound of metal ringing out resonated through the plain as fae after fae withdrew their swords. Thousands of blades glimmered in the sunlight as the fae pointed them at us, chanting in unison.
“White Wolf! White Rose! White Wolf! White Rose!”
Their faith in us was astounding… but maybe it wasn’t faith in Ethan and I, but faith instead in themselves. Life could regrow, and we had a chance to start over. So long as we were willing to do whatever it took to win.
We’d inspired them to follow us. And I refused to believe we were leading them to their doom.
We would succeed tomorrow. Even if I lost.
The restof the day was spent making battle preparations. I managed to choke down some food between busy moments while trying to get the refugees ready to fight. We had so little time to get everything in place, but whatever we managed to accomplish would have to do.
Since Gabby was in possession of my sword, Professor Desmona had given me one of her own to use. She’d forged it herself, and it’d served her well in former battles. I couldn’t thank her enough for everything that she’d done for me.
By the time night settled over the camp, fires had sprung up outside of each tent. The smell of cooking meat wafted over the area as fae partook in the traditions of our kind.
Kiara, who was our group’s honorary priestess, performed the rites. She had told me the legend as she prepared the ceremony, sharpening knives and gathering wooden bowls.
“The night before a great battle, go into the woods, and capture a deer. Bring the deer to your priestess, who will cut its throat in front of the entire company. Catch the blood into a wooden bowl. Cook the deer and eat each part, even the eyes, even the bones, leaving only the antlers and the blood. The morning before the battle begins, paint your face with the blood of the deer, in the runes of your chosen god, each member of your company. If you have found favor with the gods, they may accept the deer’s life in place of your own, and you will find victory that day. But if you have not, the spectral spirit of the deer, whose life you took, will be the last thing you see before you leave this world.”
Stefan had consumed the bones, while Alexei and Ethan had eaten the more grizzly parts, devouring them with a sharp beak and hardened fangs. I’d eaten as much venison as I could before the deer had been wholly consumed. I sat around the fire with my friends, watching the flames flicker against the light of the stars.
“I can’t believe this is it,” Theo said. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for years, and now it’s just… here.”
Stefan shifted as he stared grimly at the flames. “Feels worse than the fighting, this waiting. I just want to get it over with.”
“Where’s your son?” I asked him.
“Miroslava and Jonathan took Isaak to Paris,” Delmare explained. “He’ll be safer…”
She gave a slight sob. Stefan put an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder, looking pained himself.
I felt so bad for them that they’d had to separate from their son. This wasn’t fair.
“You should be with him. Leave this battle, and take your child somewhere safe,” Ethan insisted.
“And ditch you guys? No way,” Stefan said. “Besides… we all took an oath to unite the Crystals. We can’t go back on that magic now.”
The dragon oath. My second semester at Arcanea University, we’d all magically bound ourselves to the task of uniting the Crystals of Harmony and opening the portal to Edinmyre at whatever cost. That power would hold us to our word until the job was done. Even if Stefan and Delmare wanted to leave, they couldn’t. We’d all taken the vow, and we had to see it through.
“None of us can be ready for what’s coming,” Odette offered. “The only thing wecando is face it together.”
“I thought you swore you’d never do battle again, after the fight at Arcanea University,” Ethan said.
“I have to this time,” Odette said. “Even if it’s too much for me to bear.”
My heart stuttered at both her faithfulness, and my guilt. “I don’t want you compromising your values for me. You’re a prophet. You’re supposed to remain impartial.”
