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He did look fierce. Less elderly, and I wondered why I categorized him as a helpless man in my head.
He most likely didn’t need protection. Especially from a human. I was sure his sword had dished out a few deaths a time or two. Especially looking at him now with his grim set jaw.
Phillip stood slightly behind him. He also looked as though I had underestimated him somehow. Elegantly clad in his own armor and ready to serve the king as need be.
It was the role of every feeder. We went where our fae went so that we could be of service should they need more energy. Energy to draw on the small amounts of magic they had to heal at the very least.
Phillip had no choice. Though given the friendship I’d seen between him and the king, I doubt he would have chosen to stay even if he could have picked.
And maybe that was why Vanessa had crushed so many of the staff. Though we were servants, tied to a job that was demeaning if we thought too long about it, we weren’t all treated that way. Those who were, didn’t care much either way about Vanessa, though I’m sure they’d say she was a bitch regardless.
But those of us who were treated as friends, confidants—we hated her more for making us feel less than.
The king stood straighter as he faced all of us. Noah and the queen flanked him on one side, standing slightly farther back, almost equal to Phillip and Captain Coltrain on the opposite side.
“My friends,” the king started. His warm smile flashed in the dewy morning light. “War with the Seelie has always been inevitable. We knew that the quiet murmurs would turn to shouts once more because what was started all those years ago has yet to be finished. But we are not the same Unseelie they fought some fifty years ago.”
“That’s right.” A voice rose up from the crowd and a few of the warriors standing in a group to the right of the staff whooped their own battle cry.
“The years have given us time to train more. Train smarter. Grow wiser. Those are things the Seelie could have done as well, but if our spies are correct, their arrogance has prevented them from making any real strides.”
He shifted, walking forward toward us. “While I leave you today to go to the front lines and face our enemy, I tell you this. I will return with the information we need to win the war, or I will return with news that it is already finished. Because the Unseelie have too much to live for. Too much to fight for. And I’ll be damned if it’s taken away from us. I’ll be damned if one patch of land is taken, one city, one town.”
The cheers rose to our right again and even some of the staff tacked on to it. A low hum of excitement spread through all of us gathered to bid farewell to the king.
I’d pressed myself to the front of the staff, not wanting to be far from Noah during a time I knew would be hard for him, but also wanting to make sure the king knew I was there. There for him. There for the Unseelie.
As I watched him, he seemed to catch my eye, giving me a smile that made me feel like he was talking just to me. “We will be safe again. And we will live again.”
He raised his arm up high as the warriors jumped up and down chanting and cheering.
The king turned to Noah and they hugged, patting each other’s shoulders a few more times than normal. Then he bid farewell to his queen. Her tears were obvious, but she still looked like someone no one would want to mess with.
Noah and Aron said goodbye, and from the corner of my eye I saw Nicole slink toward the tree line where she’d get to take a final look at the captain before he disappeared down the road.
The king bowed his head at me as I held a hand to my chest. Phillip glanced my way as well, and I maintained the motion for him, too.
The men turned, making their way down the marble staircase to their horses. They jumped on, riding off together to the sound of a loud, echoing cheer from all of us behind.
My throat was raw though, and I couldn’t cheer. Instead I stood watching their retreating figures toward the horizon.
What now?
A hand slipped into mine and I looked up into Noah’s eyes. His were glistening, though he was holding himself together.
“You forget we’re a warrior people, Cora. It’s in our nature to protect our home. And for a king to protect his people.” Noah’s grip tightened on mine, and I wasn’t sure if he was saying the words for my benefit or for his own.
Noah didn’t let go of my hand as he led me back toward the doors. The staff was dispersing and so were the warriors. Off to training or meetings or the countless other things that had been added to everyone’s list since war had officially begun.
The queen stood at the stairs, a hand raised over her head in a still wave. Almost like it had been captured in a picture.
She’d remain there. Watching him go, I knew, until she had gathered herself.
Noah was right, the king was a warrior. He was made for battle.
But even that knowledge didn’t help the fear coiling inside of me. Fear that I’d felt before I shut myself down so well in foster care. The feeling of goodbye being one that was said to a person you’d never see again.
And every fiber in my being was trying to push that thought away as it continued to grow stronger.
What kind of goodbye had I just given King Remus?
