Murmurs of both men and women echoed throughout the room in agreement.
A voice from the back of the room yelled, “For Brookmere.” The crowd became rowdy, cheering. Their love for their kingdom clearly evident by the rising noise. Fear had no place here, not yet at least. Instead, the Fae unleashed their excitement. I knew this feeling. I’d felt it myself.
There’s something about being beaten down for so long that festers inside. I spent years battling it after Andras’s torture. When we started the Hidden Henchman and I knew how much of an impact I’d made on my people, things changed. The excitement of proving Andras wrong, overcoming those feelings of worthlessness—all of it culminated with the knowledge that I was fighting back.
The Fae gathered here had the same energy about them. The smile spreading over my face wasn’t just for me. It was for them as well.
I held up my hand to silence their celebration and waited for quiet to fill the room. “My people, this fight is not just about Ellevail, or Brookmere, or a crown stolen from its rightful queen in violent betrayal.” All eyes were on me, but for the first time, I wasn’t afraid to display the confidence of a queen. Instead, I allowed the knowledge that these were my people to lead and my title as the true queen to resonate within me. “No, this is for our world, for our very way of life. For all people, both in this kingdom and in Mysthaven. This is for Atheria. For our home.”
I could sense Ian standing with pride beside me, his hand gently placed on the small of my back in encouragement. My words once again brought a chorus of cheers.
Standing straighter, I placed my hand over my heart. “I will not ask you to fight this alone. I will stand by your side. I will fight beside you. Never again will we let evil walk this earth and threaten to destroy us. We are stronger than any darkness, and together, with your help, we will conquer evil for good.”
“For Atheria!” a man shouted to the left of me, and the others responded the same.
My heart pounded as loud as the cheers surrounding me. This was truly what being the leader of Brookmere entailed. At least, the Brookmere I envisioned. Protecting and helping those who couldn’t defend themselves. Standing up for justice and equity for all people. Greed had no place in our world, especially the kingdom I would lead after this was over. Lesser Fae or nobility, all would have a chance to be treated with fairness and respect.
“We move out in five minutes,” Ian bellowed over the raucous crowd.
The Fae shouted out once more before talking among themselves. Some moved to fill a waterskin or grab something quick to eat from bowls of fruit strewn on tables.
While an excited energy thrummed close to the surface, I couldn’t help but want to simultaneously throw up.
“You okay, Lan?” Ian asked as he helped me down off the bar.
Grabbing his hand, I jumped to the tavern floor. “I’m fine—nervous, but fine.”
Ian held me in an embrace for a moment. “It’s normal to feel that way before a battle.” A twinkle sparkled in his eye though. He was born for this moment. He thrived in an environment pitting him against others. Fates, he was raised like that as a guard. He knew my insecurities though. He had been there toomany times when I thought I would fail. “Just rememberwhoyou are fighting for.Whatyou are fighting for, and you can’t go wrong.” He chuckled. “You know, everything you just said.”
“For freedom,” I whispered, and Ian responded with nothing but a smile.
An hour later, I crept down a side alley after overseeing the groups of fighters leaving Dukes Pub. Using the timed rotations from Leif, we moved in small groups toward the main city gates. We had one goal: take down as many dark ones as possible as our army flooded Ellevail to storm the palace.
It may have been a gamble to move in small groups, but the less time Andras had to coordinate a response, the better off we would be. I held Apollo in my hand. If I had the opportunity to release the darkness from anyone infected, I would. But if I couldn’t… Well, I’d resigned myself to the fact that this was war. I would do what I must to protect my kingdom.
Two others traveled with Ian and me as we made our way toward the city center and closer to the gates. An eerie sense of foreboding hovered around us as the sun climbed higher in the sky. Sweat formed on the small of my back, dampening my tunic.
Clashing metal shifted my attention, and my heart stopped. Another group must have already encountered dark ones in the street, but the noise would draw too much attention. We needed to move.
We paused at the intersection; I knew Millie’s Café should be on the next street over. Ian poked his head around to check our surroundings. “Two dark ones are coming—no, three. Get ready.”
Slowly, each of the Fae with us withdrew their swords and lined themselves up in a row. I followed suit and was last in line, farthest away from the corner. My cloak covered my hair, not wanting to give away my identity just yet.
“Three, two—” Ian whispered.
Before he could get to one, the group of dark ones rounded the corner and yelped in surprise. Ian sliced his sword through the stomach of the first dark one. The others leapt back but quickly regained their footing, bracing themselves for the fight.
Two on four, this should be easy.
The two other Fae with us possessed earth magic and sent vines shooting up from the ground, wrapping up the legs of the dark ones and securing them in place despite their feeble attempts to escape. Their bodies twitched in protest as the thorns pierced their skin, drawing blood the harder they fought.
Tommy’s fighters were ruthless. Exactly what we needed.
“You’ll never win.” The smaller dark one grimaced. “We’re too strong. There are too many of us.”
“We’ll see about that.” I approached the two, Apollo in hand, and proceeded to draw blood from one’s arm. The darkened liquid dripped down to his wrist from the cut as he yelled in pain. The inky mist leaving his body sent my hope soaring. His body slumped forward in relief. Ian refused to take any chances and struck him in the back of his head, knocking him out cold. He still lived though, free from the darkness. Hopefully when he awoke he would merely have a killer headache.
The other dark one still fought. Harder and harder he tried to escape, when a caw from the air distracted my companions, and their vines lost some of their grip. It gave the dark one just enough of an opportunity to grab his dagger and cut away the rest of the vines.
