“Present and accounted for,” she said as she bid a few Charmers goodbye before joining us. Kaori took her place by Calem’s side and glanced up at him, intently studying the color of his eyes. He gave her a tight smirk, but I saw the sudden flare of mercury lining his irises. He’d never been in a situation quite like this, and controlling his beast would undoubtedly be a challenge. If control was even the best move. Maybe allowing his beast to take over and wreak havoc on the castle would prove beneficial.
Before we could think to cross through the sea of Rhynelander soldiers in their severe, jade armor, Madeline had pushed her way through with a single man by her side.
“This is Joel. He’ll act as your guide once inside Wilheim,” Madeline said, clapping one of her gauntlet-covered hands on the broad man’s shoulders.
With his helmet tucked under his arm, he fisted his free hand over his heart and bowed. “I serve the true king and queen of Lendria.” After a moment, he straightened and pushed his sandy-brown hair out of his face to reveal bark-colored eyes.
“Thank you, Joel.” Leena dipped her chin to her chest. “We couldn’t do this without you.”
A blush dusted his cheeks. “Whatever you need, my queen.”
Leena touched a solitary finger to her bestiary. “I’ve already set the Telesávra’s hearth point to this location. All that’s left to do is take everyone to the realm and onward to the castle. My father’s Iksass knows we’re coming, so it won’t take nearly as long this time to get through.”
My shoulders tensed. “I guess this is it, then.”
“Yeah.” She looked up at me, her hazel eyes full and bright. An errant tremor feathered through her jaw. Gods, I hated this. I hated the way she looked as if she wanted to say goodbye. How much I desperately did not want to hear those words in case it was the last thing I heard.
No.I couldn’t think like that. We’d be fine. We’d make it through this. We’d finally be able tolive. Wrapping one arm around her waist, I pulled her close and cupped her chin with my free hand. Angling her face up, I kissed her with everything I had. Her lips quivered, and gods if that didn’t kill me. I didn’t want to let her go. Didn’t want to send her away. I wanted any option other than this, but no matter how many times I’d discussed the matter with Kost privately, or tried in vain to plan out attacks that didn’t involve her sneaking into enemy territory, I came up empty-handed. We were the king and queen of Lendria, and we had our parts to play.
So now here I was, holding the woman I loved and feeling her tremble in my embrace.
Pulling away, I brushed my thumbs along her cheekbones. “I love you.”
She nodded. “I love you, too.”
Neither one of us said goodbye. We just held each other for a moment longer before breaking away. Forming a chain with her group of fighters, she called on her power to open the beast realm door. Breathtaking vines and flowers framed her temple as she focused, and rosewood light flooded outward first from her hand, then the rest of her body. She gave me one last look full of so much weight and emotion that my chest caved.
And then she was gone, the outcome of her fate beyond my reach.
“Bring me the white flag,” I said, voice soft but firm. One of the nearest Charmers rushed off and returned within moments, flag in hand. The crisp, stark linen hung limp against the wooden stake, and I gave it a shake. We weren’t surrendering—far from it—but I had to distract Varek any way that I could. And if I forced him into a parlay, then perhaps I could get close enough for his men to see me and realize that the true heir was still alive.
I strode back toward my Zeelah and stepped into the saddle, swinging one leg over his back. Ozias rode up beside me on his own stallion, and we urged our mounts down the line. Only when Gaige, Raven, Isla, and Madeline joined us did we turn to face Varek’s army.
Raising the flag high to the ever-rising sun, I gave a quick click of the tongue and guided my Zeelah forward slowly, so as not to be misconstrued as an outright attack. Holding the parlay flag up high should’ve been indication enough of our wishes, but there was no telling with Varek. I hadn’t seen him since my days as prince. We’d both been so young then, but he’d aged and taken the crown—and become a horrendous ruler right along with it.
Across the clearing, one small group of soldiers broke rank and stepped out in front of the rest. A single rider coated in silver from the neck down led the pack. With his helm tucked beneath one arm, he used his free hand to lift a white flag of his own. Varek. And all around him stood men drenched in shadows.
Ozias white-knuckled the grip on his reins. “Darrien.”
“Easy,” I said, though I couldn’t ignore the way my fingers twitched. “Don’t let him rattle you.”
We made it to the midway point first and were forced to wait on Varek. He held his horse at a slow trot, and Darrien and his men were on foot. Intentionally, of course. Easier to slip into the shadow realm and move with lethal accuracy. Varek was smart to bring them. Darrien already knew who I was—they all did—and they didn’t give a damn if I was king. They wanted my head on a platter just the same. And, by leaving his Sentinels and soldiers safely at his back, Varek ensured not a single one of them glimpsed me in person, in case that caused dissension in the ranks.
When he finally stopped a handful of feet away, Varek regarded me with nothing more than disgust. “Aleksander. You have no right to be here.”
“I have every right to be here,” I answered coolly. “My father was the king, and his father before that. Wilheim is my birthright.”
“Which you forfeited when you died. And since your parents passed before producing another heir, the responsibility of safeguarding the capital fell to my father. And now, to me.” He handed the flag off to one of the assassins, then placed his palm flat on his thigh. “Leave now, and I’ll spare those who elected to follow you.” His sunken eyes flickered to Raven and Isla. His face turned to ash at the sight of Gaige atop an undead bear beast, but he swallowed quickly and averted his eyes. When his gaze snagged on Madeline, he went rigid. “Except for you.”
Madeline didn’t deign to respond.
“I have a counter proposition,” I said. “Relinquish the crown, and I’ll spare your life.”
He barked out a laugh, the action causing the end of his oiled brown locks to tremble. “Is that what you wanted to say to me? What a waste of our time.” Beside him, Darrien smirked. His amber eyes were full of malice, and he summoned a shadow blade so he could roll it between his fingers.
“We can avoid death on both sides if we just end this now. If you won’t agree to my terms, then battle me directly. One-on-one.”
Looking down his hawkish nose, he sneered. “You have powers that put you at a distinct advantage. Why would I risk that when I’m sure to win if we go to war?” He made a show of looking behind me at the forces we’d assembled. “You’re severely outnumbered, and all my pieces aren’t even in play yet.”
