“We do.” Declan pushed off from the dresser he leaned against. “We know every choice, every decision you make, is not made lightly.”
“We know your intention is always to look out for us, all of us,” Nico continued.
I pulled Lennox into my side, her eyes blinking rapidly as our friends approached us.
“Thank you. It means a lot—you saying all that?—”
“What are friends for, after all.” Lennox grinned at the harpy, and I couldn’t help myself—I smiled too. Declan didn’t let people in often, but I could see it—I could see the relationship formed between him and my mate.
“Okay, enough of this sappy shit. If we don’t stop, I’m going to cry.” She steeled her shoulders. “Luce, you can do the spell, but not yet. There is still a lot we need to do. And I’m assuming you need time to research?”
Luce and Hecate shared a look—a silent conversation occurring between the two.
“Yeah, we need some time,” Hecate said finally.
“I was thinking we wait until we meet in battle—we only get one chance at this. If Keziq catches on to what we’re doing, she’ll never let us get near her again.”
“Is that worth the risk though? Waiting until we meet in battle? What if she figures out the spell before then?” Kara countered.
“If we don’t have access to her, we can’t kill her anyways—I’m sure with a spell of this magnitude she’d feel the shift—correct?”
Hecate dipped her chin in confirmation.
“If she knows we cut her tie to Luka she’ll hide away until she’s successfully completed her spell. Waiting is another risk we have to take.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. “We leave in two days time to start marching to Arcadia,” Declan reminded us.
“Is that enough time to get the legions ready?”
“Yes, that’s plenty of time. We’ll be ready.”
“How’d it go in Verbial—was everything dealt with accordingly?” Lennox asked.
“Soldiers were given two options, either fight with us or stay and defend Verbial. If they refused to choose, theywere thrown in the dungeon to be dealt with after the war.”
“And Viona? Was she found?”
“Yes, Adreona had all but left her for dead. Kara healed her. She was left in charge of the Twilight Court at your request.”
“And she was given a communication crystal?”
Declan nodded.
“How many Twilight Court soldiers decided to come with us?”
“About half.”
“Good, that’s good,” I murmured. “What of Bergan?” I asked tentatively.
“I threw him in the dungeon,” Nico said, a smile breaking out on his face. “He, too, will be tried after the war. He didn’t have anything kind to say about anyone during his questioning in case you were wondering.”
“Well, that’s one less problem to worry about.” Lennox quickly changed the subject. “Declan—as someone who has studied war their entire life, do we have a fighting chance to win this?” Lennox asked tentatively.
“I’ve trained the Blood Courts army over the past few years, I know what they are capable of. They’re lethal fighters. But they won’t have the numbers on us. Especially with all of the courts siding with us now. They might have better skill, but we have the numbers.”
“What if—” I shook my head.
“Say it.” Lennox nudged me.
