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Claire wanted to correct her that they weren’t her commanders but Andy left before Claire could say anything. The group that Claire had named headed to her. Alpha Bryson, Cody’s father, and Pride Leader Sadara, Bethany’s mother, joined the group and Claire thanked them for being there.
“You’ve made quite the impression on my daughter,” Pride Leader Sadara gave her an assessing but not unkind look. “Along with others. It’s an honor to fight alongside the Queen of the Elves.”
“And the Ruler of the Fae,” Kallan broke in gently.
Pride Leader Sadara tipped her chin in acknowledgement. Looking very much like a golden queen instead of just a pride leader. Every inch of the woman was packed with lean muscles giving her a warrior’s appearance.
“What is the objective?” Alpha Bryson asked. “What are we facing here?”
“Right now we have the element of surprise,” Claire said. “The corrupt Councilmembers and whoever they have working for them don’t realize that I’m able to open portals through the barrier. At least we don’t think so. They’re probably expecting a small contingent of the Fae in addition to our group which they already observed entering the barrier. I’m hoping with the element of surprise, we can subdue the corrupt Councilmembers and their forces quickly and bring them before a trial of the people for justice.”
“You don’t want to kill the men who murdered your parents?” Alpha Bryson asked with a raised eyebrow.
Claire took a breath as Everett stiffened. She sent a calming feeling down their bond and answered the Alpha. “Honestly, no. I don’t wish to take their lives even if they deserve it. That would make me like them. I will, if necessary, but I would rather them answer for their crimes.”
The Alpha didn’t say anything in response to that and Claire continued. “We know they have someone who wields dark magic so we will have to shield against that. Other than that, I don’t have battle experience. You all do. What are your recommendations based on the force we have?”
“Are these all the forces we are expecting?” Frederick asked her, eyes scanning the crowd. “What about the dragons?”
“Desmond and Malcolm flew to the Dragon Mountains about an hour or two ago to get the dragons as well as dismantle a ward.” Claire quickly explained the ward that Councilmember Vanya had placed around Maxios’ hoard and the ensuing blackmail.
Frederick’s eyebrows shot up but he nodded. “We’ll form the plan without the dragons for now and work with them when they get here then.”
“We should divide the forces up so our flank is protected,” Kallan said. “We can’t discount a rear attack. Especially not with the children and non warrior Fae at the rear. The barrier will probably come down all at once.”
Toan frowned and turned. “Aeris!”
Claire recognized the Elven commander who came jogging towards them as Synora’s team leader from the Forest.
Toan clapped a hand on his shoulder as he joined the group. “Aeris can open portals at will. If someone points them in the direction of the children and the others, Aeris can evacuate them to the Elven Forest as soon as the barrier is down and then return here.”
Claire felt Everett’s surprise through the bond.At will portals are a rare thing, he told her down the bond. Claire nodded slightly to show she heard him.
“It would be my honor,” Aeris replied. He crossed a fist across his chest and bowed his head to Claire.
Kallan called a Fae warrior over and he and Aeris set off for the rear of the village at a jog.
“I think the bulk of our forces should be concentrated here,” Frederick said after they left. “The witches can provide shields for the shifters against the dark magic. We can pair our people together,” he told Bryson and Sadara.
Sadara nodded. “That’s wise. Hopefully the element of surprise will be on our side.”
Frederick turned to Claire. “There’s a few weaknesses of Roland and Vanya’s you should know about. They’re closely guarded secrets among the Council, but given the circumstances I think we need every edge we can get.”
Claire’s eyes widened but she nodded. She would take every edge they could get.
“Roland’s going to be tough as he doesn’t have many weaknesses. But he does have an old knee injury that he masks with help of a magic talisman in the form of a pocketwatch that’s always around his neck. If you can tear that off of him, you should be able to subdue him. But you’ll have to force a shift if he’s in his tiger form as the talisman shifts with him. And to force a shift you’ll have to be close so be careful as he’s quite a ferocious fighter in his tiger form.”
Sadara scoffed. “Leave that old cat to us. We will deliver him.”
Claire sensed there was some bad blood there based on that comment and what Bethany had said earlier but she didn’t have time to get her curiosity sated. They had limited time as the holes in the barrier were growing fast.
“Vanya keeps extra magic stored in his familiar. Like Puck is to you, his raven is to him. Their bond is older however and stronger. If you can break the bond you should be able to disrupt Vanya’s flow of magic and subdue him.”
Claire had a feeling that breaking the bond meant killing the raven. “Anything else?”
Frederick shook his head. “Just not to underestimate them. I have sparred with them occasionally. These are not men who became Councilmembers by accident.”
Claire nodded and stored the information away for later. Just in time as shouts of warning rang up around them. The barrier was about to fall.
