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“It was not as if I did not invite you into our room, Tanaka,” I said, my eyes shifting to Gavriel, who offered no apology. Clearly, he had enjoyed the sight of my wife.
“I merely thought the queen would want to know the state of her homeland as soon as possible,” Gavriel said, his gaze lingering on Isolde. If Killian had not also been glaring at the vampire, I might have thought I was being overprotective.
“As urgent as this news is, I think we can all agree it is best given when we are clothed,” I said. Gavriel swallowed and averted his eyes.
Before I could say anything else, Daroc arrived, and his presence halted all my words.
He looked devastated.
It was the only way I could think to describe him. His face was drawn with shadows, which pooled beneath his eyes and carved the hollows of his cheeks, but it was his expression that was most unsettling. He usually looked callous or angry, but there was a complete lack of emotion within his gaze that made me think he no longer possessed his body.
He approached us and was silent, but I was still watching him, wary, and I noticed the blood on his coat. He had taken out his aggression on something—likely a wall—and while the cuts had healed, he still bore the evidence of it on his clothes.
“Tell us what happened, Gavriel,” Isolde prompted when I was too distracted to speak.
We listened as he detailed Alaric’s attack on Lara. It happened three nights ago. It had been swift, and Castle Fiora fell quickly. I noted how Isolde exchanged worried looks with Killian.
“We were not prepared. And even if we had been, we did not have the numbers to fight such an army. Alaric is clearly out of control…there were women and children among his ranks.”
“By the goddess,” Killian muttered.
I could not help the disgust that curled my lip. I had never turned a child, and I had killed anyone who did. Becoming a vampire needed to be a choice. Sorin was my greatest example of that.
“How many strong?” I asked.
“At least seventy thousand,” Gavriel said.
It was as I suspected. Alaric—or rather Julian—was building an army to take control of Cordova. But they had made a grave error and had not even realized it. Alaric and Julian had only thought of power when they had begun to create their army, not the consequences of thousands of new monsters released into the world. They had created chaos, and it was chaos they would not be able to contain.
I had no choice but to march against both vampires. This was more than a matter of freeing Lara.
“And our army?” Isolde asked, looking at me.
“I have one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers at my command,” I said.
Some were already stationed in the territories I had conquered across Cordova—Jola, Elin, Siva, Lita. Some were left to maintain order, some to rebuild, and on the rare occasion the villagers organized to attack, they suppressed uprisings—but none of those rebellions had been vampire-led.
“How many can you send to Lara?” Isolde asked.
“Half,” I said. “Among them, some of my most skilled warriors.”
“You do not mean to leave Revekka, my king,” Tanaka said.
I looked at my viceroy—the man who ruled in my stead. He was not a fighter by any means, but he was intelligent and wise, and I often appreciated his council.
“I do intend to leave Revekka,” I said. “This is a greater threat, and I will be at the front of my army to face it.”
“Revekka needs you,” he argued. “What will your people do when they watch you march out of your kingdom when they are under such duress?”
“Perhaps rejoice that their lands will not turn into a battlefield.”
“There is more than one type of battle, Adrian,” said Tanaka. “And your people have been fighting it. They are afraid of it, and you are their only line of defense.”
“Let me lead the soldiers to Lara,” said Daroc. “I am your general.”
Daroc was my general and second-in-command, but he was currently not fit to make decisions, much less lead an army.
“I am their queen. I will lead them,” Isolde said.
