She waved me off as Vivienne came to her side, taking her from me. “You’re all right,” she said, rubbing her sister’s arms.
Cassandra nodded, and Vivienne wasted no time. “Good, you have work to do.”
Before she could retort, she followed Viviene’s gaze to Kalliah. Without hesitation, she approached her, resting a hand on her forehead, closing her eyes.
Her knees buckled, but Storm was there, grasping the sorceress to keep her from crashing to the floor.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she argued, but Storm didn’t let go. She didn’t move from his hold either.
“Kalliah?” Leif’s pained whisper had us all holding our breath.
The fae’s eyes fluttered open, followed by a sharp inhale.
“Fates,” Jax sighed, tugged her toward him, and she curled into his chest, wrapping her arms around him. Leif slumped forward, and I didn’t miss Jax tugging him to Kalliah’s back as he whispered not just to Kalliah but to Leif as well.
Lana let out a relieved breath, and I let her fall into me.
We’d made it out.
Destroyed the weapon.
Even battered, we’d accomplished something momentous.
Cassandra cleared her throat, tired eyes filling with worry as she glanced first at me, then to Lana. My heart dropped.
“He knows,” she said, her voice trembling with a subtle hint of fear. “Thames knows what we’ve done. He’s coming for us all.”
Chapter 35
Lana
“Send any remaining riders we have,” I commanded, standing at the front of the war room table.
The rest sat around the table off the throne room, normally reserved for advisors and the king. In fact, I’d only ever been in this room once before when I was a small girl. To be sitting here now, as queen, even though I hadn’t been crowned yet, readying myself for war, was surreal.
What would my father say if he were here? Would he be proud of my choices? I couldn’t help but wonder what decisions he would have made had he been the one standing in my place right now.
“We need all the help we can get, and there may still be Fae out there willing to fight for us,” I added.
Earlier, we’d sent a few riders out to the closer cities, but we hadn’t covered all the land, hence the orders to push harder and search farther.
Together, we decided to try to cut off Thames at the border, to gather our forces between Firestone and Ellevail in an effort to keep the battle away from those not fighting.
We’d sent word to the Knotted Willow hours ago to give the women and children an option to come to Ellevail to be farther away from the battle if they wished.
I looked at the guard I rattled off orders to. “For those who are willing to fight, you tell them to meet us at the border. At the midway point between Demarva and the Southern Forest.”
The guard nodded and proceeded out the door, prepared to fulfill my command. Ian had vouched for him when I asked for someone we could trust. He had been present at the death of my mother and fought against Andras. I paused, and I couldn’t help but smile at the realization that I’d kept my promise, and not a moment of my time had been wasted thinking of him.
My mind spun, desperate to ensure I’d thought of everything we needed to face Thames, all while my stomach churned knowing how much danger we’d face on the road ahead.
I rested my hands on the table in front of me, looking around at the tired faces of my friends. We’d been running through plans and divvying up final tasks for hours. The sun’s golden rays sank lower in the large glass windows as dusk approached. Our best estimate was we only had a week, if that, before Thames made his move, and there was no time to waste.
“We also need Tommy and the other rebels to prepare our people. I’m not sure what will happen in the final battle, but I want their homes fortified, protected as much as possible. Let’s prepare for the worst-case scenario.”
All of us sat around the table with our map laid out in the center. Pins marked every town where we’d completed a Hidden Henchman drop, those who’d already pledged their allegiance, and the ones we could still check in on for additional forces.
“Do you think we have the numbers to defeat him?” Storm asked. Ian and Jax had been the only ones to see the force gathered at Firestone, so the room was quiet waiting for an answer.
