Not real.
“But does that matter?” Rhistel shoved another vision into my head. One of Isolde and Thyra freezing the cabal, killing them, and laughing as they did so. “All that matters is what youthinkis real. And I can change your entire perception in no time at all.”
Even as the awful image stole the breath from my lungs, understanding dawned. Rhistel was wrong that he was the first to do this, though he had no way of knowing so.
I’d been under the impression that Mother had suggested things to the Cruel King, and that King Harald had merely done what she said. But this part of a whisperer’s power, a facet I had not known existed before, made far more sense. Made things so much more real.
And I feared that, like the Cruel King, I would fall susceptible to such magic, and harm the ones I loved most in this world.
Chapter 44
ISOLDE
Isat in Lord Riis’s brothel office in Myrr. Hoping. Calculating. Watching the portal of light on the far wall.
Night had fallen, and the brothel was busy. Feminine laughter sounded and perfumed air seeped under the crack of the door. Inside the office, however, was silent as the circle of light grew wider and brighter. Luccan pushed himself to his magical limits.
Watching the gatemaker was equally exciting and panic-inducing. Sweat poured down Luccan’s neck, his chest heaved, and his face was ruddy with effort. Just like the last four attempts he’d made to force the gateway open for an extended period, he looked ready to pass out. Unlike before, however, no one stopped him. He became irate when we did.
Not to say precautions weren’t being taken though. Clem, Arie, and Duran stood nearby to keep Luccan fed and hydrated after he emerged from each session.
His effort drove home the idea that nothing had come easy that day. Meeting the high lords had turned into a frustrating matter of question and answer. Of doubt. Of Thyra and me reassuring them the gateway could work.
My thumb rubbed my faded soulmate mark. No pain had come from it again, but I had a bad feeling about the coloring.
We’re moving. As fast as we can,I tried to bring myself back from the brink of devastation that I had flirted with more often than not these past days.Vale is strong. We’ll save him in time.
The Virtoris siblings, already gone from Myrr, were the first wave of our offense. From Grindavik, Sayyida would send a raven to Lady Virtoris to stop the king, or at least destroy a portion of his forces, before we got to Avaldenn.
The vast majority of our pronged plan, however, relied on Luccan’s ability to widen a gateway and keep it open long enough for a sizable portion of the army to pass through.
So far, Luccan could force the gateway to the castle in Bitra to remain open for twenty minutes. An extension of about fifteen minutes over most gateways’ limits if they were opened by blood. Thyra and I estimated ten people could run through at one time. Fewer when you added in the horses that many would ride. Too small, but considering the size of Lord Riis’s office, where all the soldiers would have to funnel through, the gateway was as large as Luccan could make it.
Depending on how organized we were in the morning, many soldiers would pass through while Luccan held on. And if Luccan opened the gateway many times—and took short breaks—maybe we had a real chance. That was, if the gateway didn’t close on its own.
A knock came at the brothel door.
“Who is it?” Thyra asked as Clemencia got to her feet to answer.
“Qildor,” a familiar voice called out.
I nodded to Clem, and she opened the door. The knight veered our way, and Clem returned to her love’s side, ready to assist whenever Luccan let up on his power.
“What’s going on?” I asked Qildor.
“Two updates. The most important being that the last armies from the small banner houses have arrived. We have a count.”
“How many?”
“Five thousand.”
I sucked in a breath.
“Lord Riis has a force of about three thousand in Bitra,” Qildor added. “And the Virtoris ships will be of great use too.” He tried to assure us, but I’d heard the reports from Avaldenn as well as him. It was estimated that twenty-five thousand fae had gathered outside the city walls. We were greatly outnumbered.
“We’ll have to find a sneaky way to approach Avaldenn. What was the second bit of news?”
Qildor cleared his throat. “Queen Inga has been successfully placed in a magical stasis. For later.”
