Page 27 of A Courage of the Chosen

“I’m sure Callahan and I are more than capable of working together,” Hector looks at Callahan then. “Are we not, General?”

The gesture is entirely unexpected and a knot forms in my throat. When I intended on giving them both a seat on the council, I didn’t expect or anticipate that we would end up here. But there’s no denying the rightness of it.

Callahan is speechless, something I’ve never known him to be.

Hmm, General Callahan Knox certainly has a nice ring to it, my subconscious purrs. Heat starts to unfurl at the thought of him commanding an entire army the way he led the rebellion for close to a century.

I check to make sure my walls are still intact, and only his emotions are reaching for me, before I chide myself. It’s really not the time or place to be lusting after him. Especially as I’m trying to stand my ground.

Callahan shuffles in his seat, awareness of just how momentous this is creeping in at the edges for both of us.

“Yes,” Callahan eventually replies.

“I must object,” Lord Fettis says hesitantly.

“On what grounds?” I ask. “If I’m right, then you have no say in how General Macleod structures the army?”

That shuts him up.

“Quite right, my lady,” Lord Haddow says, wariness still lingering in his eyes. “And since I’m assuming she will not object to the appointment,” he looks to me briefly, reluctantly acknowledging the fact I’m queen, and I shake my head. I can think of no one better deserving of the titles than these two men. “Then there is nothing to be accomplished by laboring the point when we have more important matters to discuss.”

Lady Calder snorts into her glass of water. “I’m sure Colonel Stewart will be thrilled to know he now shares his rank.”

“I’m sure Colonel Stewart is still reeling from the fact that his son has been working alongside us for a very long time. After me, he leads our forces,” Brodie smiles from his seat.

Lady Calder scoffs again. “That tracks.”

My gaze darts to Callahan in question.

“Eòghann,” he provides.

Huh. How did I not know Eòghann’s last name by now?

The conversation moves along quickly after that. Callahan agrees to connect Lady Calder with his uncle, Lord Sellar, who has been secretly running supplies from this city to the rebellion in Morven for a long time.

From what I gather, Lord Sellar is incredibly elusive, and despite maintaining a position at court, he doesn’t have any kind of relationship with any of the longer-standing council members. Which obviously meant that people had a lot to say on whether they can trust him.

“He’s done more to prevent this world from falling in the last year than you have in your entire life,” Callahan said lazily in Lord Fettis’s direction, when they started to question his uncle’s loyalty. I don’t know if it was the threatening undertone to the way he delivered it, or if it’s because Lord Fettis is legitimately scared of what Cal might do to him, but he promptly shut the fuck up after that.

Through the barbs and sarcasm, our instruction is clear: the resources to properly aid Seelie in defending themselves need to be shared.

Tomorrow, villages and towns across Elfayne will finally be given the support they should’ve received decades ago, including the flame creeper weapons we developed in Morven.

Remarkably, we’re able to quickly agree plans to get necessary materials to all the major towns within the next twenty-four hours, with the intention of them being shipped to the smaller villages from there.

While we need to protect the people of this world as much as possible, we also need to focus on training the army on how to fight the Dorche properly, and we can’t do that if they’re spread too thin. The debate on whether additional guards would be posted along with the new supplies shouldn’t have taken as long as it did, most of it containing no logic but stemming from an apparent need to disagree for the sake of it.

In the end, we agree not to deploy more units. It doesn’t feel right to leave Seelie vulnerable, but we’re damned either way. At least by sending additional provisions, they’ll stand a better chance.

“There hasn’t been a report of an attack since the battle. No sightings of Brollachan either,” Lady Navin says. Since her role is to act as the intermediary between the lords and ladies of Elfayne and the crown, escalating issues as she deems appropriate, she’s the first to know of attacks, alongside Hector.

“None at all?” Lord Garside asks.

“Not a single one.”

The quiet before the storm. Tavish and Raghnall will be calling their soldiers to them, readying for what comes next. Whatever hell that might be.

The weight of war threatens to crush my chest. And the more time that passes without us hearing about their movements, the stronger that pressure becomes.