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“A hundred or so have been turned.”
My brows raised. “Mortals?”
He nodded. “Would you rather they had no fighting chance?”
I gulped. “Only the ones who wanted to be turned, right? I’m sure we can protect most of them in the buildings at the back of the city.”
Adrian gave me a look, as if I shouldn't ask questions I didn't want to the answer to. Sebastian stepped in front of me, holding both my hands in his. A light mist hung in the air like a curtain and the evening frost clung to his black stands. “We have to make decisions, as rulers, that we won't always like.”
I nodded, but it didn't make me feel any better. “How do we know they'll control themselves?”
“We don't, but they've been fed, correct?”
Adrian nodded. “Yes.”
The wind whistled through the spaces between the sangaree who readied themselves to take on Salenia, tension filling the spaces between us. Every movement was observed. Hostile stares were thrown towards one another, as no one trusted each other.
I watched as Azia and Charles, along with a few others, reinforced the shield. My magic thrummed, as if begging to help. But I needed to save it for the fight.
Dust slowly encompassed the city, the indigo sky fading into darkness, a few stars emerging like silver pinpricks against an inky canvass.
The mark on my palm tingled as I sensed her grow closer. Salenia lurked just beyond our walls, ready to invade with hundreds of their aniccipere at any moment. Night fell, and Elizabeth rushed over to Sebastian. “The scouts have returned,” she told him in a hushed voice. “Asland's armies have flooded the south.”
Niall looked at me knowingly and nodded slowly.
Sebastian grabbed the hilt of his sword, his eyes set on the gates. He’d been busy while we were gone. “Thanks, Elizabeth.”
Niall pulled Elizabeth to his side, who readied herself with a dagger similar to Erianna’s. “It's now or never, your majesty”.
A million thoughts raced through my mind. What if we all died? I’d finally found everything I wanted. I looked from Zach to Erianna, who met me with a solid smile, as if to tell me we would be okay. Anna touched her fangs, while Zach had never looked so solemn.
Sebastian entwined his fingers with mine, sending sparks of warmth through my veins. My heart skipped a beat as I watched my king, my soulmate, ready himself for battle. If we were to die here today, at least we would have each other. “I don’t regret a thing,” I told him. “Just so you know. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
His eyes clamped shut, and he pulled me close, pressing a kiss against my forehead—the gesture worth a thousand words.
The walls trembled, and Azia cast his gaze at mine. Behind him, Charles trembled, but poised himself to fight, despite his old age.
Erianna stood, dagger in hand, Zach and Anna at her side, with two long swords glimmering in the pale moonlight. Power thrummed from me as I braced myself, sensing a shift in the air. The blood tie between Salenia and me rippled. I stepped forward, ahead of everyone else.
Sebastian squeezed my shoulder, then whispered. “We’ll capture her,” he promised. “Just focus on binding her. I know you can do this.”
Azia stepped up next to me, followed by five other sorcerers who'd come to fight alongside us. Niall, Adrian, and Elizabeth moved next as the walls shook again, the shielding spells weakening. I turned my head as more emerged between the buildings, surprised to see how many came out. “You weren't lying,” I said to Azia.
“There are many who've been biding their time. You can thank Elizabeth too. She’s been forming her network for years. Or should I say, Anastasia.”
I ran cold, peering back at the woman whose brown gaze met mine, her hair blowing softly against the gentle breeze. “Then….” I calculated, and Niall simply nodded.
Niall was Vener. I was right, and theyknewwho they were.
Sebastian looked back, as if he realized the same thing.
The howl of aniccipere erupted from outside the walls, the ground trembling beneath us. Azia and Charles sunk their fingers into the dirt, holding the shield for as long as possible, muttering spells under their breath. Azia side-eyed me, sweat dripping from his forehead and into his brows as the vampires around us panicked. “If you want to do some kind of battle speech, now is the time.”
My eyes bulged, and I leaned down and whispered. “I can’t.”
“You are queen,” he said. “Small armies win all the time, when they are filled with loyal and resilient troops. Give them something more to fight for.”
A lump formed in my throat as I pivoted, facing the crowd. The snarls and echoes of screeches pounded into my ears. As I looked around at not just the faces of the people I knew, but those I didn’t, a sense of responsibility weighed on my shoulders. I thought back to my first ever lessons with Azia. He’d said the vampires needed saving, that most here were turned against their will, and just needed to be shown a different way of living. They had no hope, with only eternal damnation to look forward too, most losing their mortal loved ones, knowing they could never see them again in the afterlife.
