“You will end the war.”
I repeat the words, as I have every day since I was old enough to voice words at all. “I will end the war.”
“And then?” my Commander asks softly. “When you have no further use?”
My Commander. Not my father. Never my father.
I touch the pocket of my tunic and offer a silent apology for the lie I told my sister. “I will end myself.”
And I will be free.
“Good.”
Kaelen
I’m going to slam his head into the fucking wall.
Don’t do that. You’ll regret it later.
The calm voice that interrupts my internal tirade sounds suspiciously like Eres, although to my knowledge he lacks the ability to push his views directly into my head—no matter how much he acts like it. I studiously avoid looking in his direction, but I know that I’ll be able to read the same words in his face.
With some effort, I meet the gaze of the oily, shadow-wreathed male that sits across the circular, engraved table instead. Nythen sounds cool, his face expressionless as he sits straight-backed in his chair. The shadows he prefers to keep out at all times shroud him, creating a border of darkness. He might think it makes him look threatening, but I think it makes him look like a cock. “I meant no disrespect.”
“If you believe the latest reports to paint such a dire picture for Umbraxis,Nythen,” I hiss the words between clenched teeth. “Then perhaps your blessed house might like to send more soldiers to support those of us who actually join the battlefield.”
That incites some reaction. A tic feathers in his jaw before he smooths away the look of irritation. “My house contributes plenty, Duskbane, as you well know. Wars are not won in the battle of a single moment. Without the information we provide, we would have lost the war years ago. As it stands, we teeter on the precipice now.”
He leans forward. “My question to you,Crown Prince, is what willyougive to make sure that doesn’t happen?”
Silence. My mother shifts, just barely, from her still position on my left. The blackstone throne that acts as a reminder of my legacy hides most of her features from me where it curves, but I see her knuckles bleach as she grips the rests.
Nobody speaks. All of them wait, even Eres, though I can feel his brief glances like a faint caress across my skin.
And I have nothing to fucking give them.
Everyone in this room knows exactly how close we are to the end.
The silence stretches out.
“Anything,” I say finally. Hoarsely. “Whatever it takes, I will give it. We’re not beaten yet.”
I can taste the lie on my tongue.
“Our priorities need to change.” The clipped words come from Valcor. The male has not spoken once this whole meeting, and none of us expected he would. He doesn’t lift his head as we turn to him. “If the Darkwielders are to survive, we must recall the soldiers we have left in the Veilspire. Send them North, to the Barren Lands. Let us try to rebuild elsewhere. Let the Lightbringers believe they’ve won.”
Silence again. My eyes flicker to Darian, but he’s staring out of the window, his head slightly cocked in a way that tells me he’s listening and thinking.
“Valcor,” Eres says next, his tone gentle. “You know that we cannot do that. The lands arebarren. Nothing grows there, the river grows thin there. We scouted them.”
“Better than nothing.” Valcor lifts his head, his words hardening, showing the deep, almost black circles beneath his eyes, heavy pouches of grief and loss. “Better than what will happen to her—to them—out there. A thin river is still a river. We can make do.”
There is nothing any of us can say to him.
I watch him. “The Lightbringers would dam the Gloam as soon as they gained a foothold here. Eres is right. The Barren Lands are not an option—not until we have nootheroption. This war is not over, Valcor. And if we give in now, every sacrifice made was for nothing.”
He says nothing, his chin still tilted away. Leaving him, I look down at my papers. “We will not recall the current teams. Losses are at a minimum for this campaign. The Lightbringers have been cautious, and I want to take advantage of that.”
Nythen shifts in his seat. At my nod, he taps the table with sharpened nails. “Our latest information suggests that the Lightbringers have been sending additional patrols into the Veilspire. Possibly attempting to gain a foothold. I wish to investigate.”
