“Reeve is one of my closest allies and oldest friends. I have known him my whole life.”
“He is prepared to move against Kietel, if need be?”
Ambrose laughed. “Since when are you so into politics?”
“Since the humans forced their war into my world.”
Ambrose gazed at her, his eyes glistening with pride in the firelight.
“Sometimes I forget how grown you are... how bright. But do not forget, it is we who forced our way into theirs.”
He took her hand across the chess board and squeezed it three times. This was an act of affection Ambrose had done with her since she was a child. Each squeeze represented a word in a silent “I love you.”
“If you do not plan to be on Kietel’s side of the conflict to come then yes, The High Lord and his army are prepared to fight alongside me and the Magical Militia.”
“And you trust the Immortals to win?”
“The Immortals have an advantage and have for a thousand years. The power of the Gods being in the hands of The Senshi Warriors is beyond our own. Reeve is and has been for hundreds of years, the most powerful being alive. But I do worry- it won’t be enough.”
“But you have great relations with Reeve,” said Maeve. “You just said so.”
“Yes,” agreed Ambrose. “But the High Lord is not the only one at play here.”
“The Elven lands have been sealed shut for three hundred years-”
“They are not of whom I speak.”
Maeve studied him for a moment, then her jaw fell slightly open as she asked:
“You don’t think the Humans pose an actual threat do you?”
Ambrose’s eyes narrowed, as though he was calculating how to respond to his daughter.
“Have you seen what those bombs can do?” He asked.
Maeve shook her head. “No, but-”
Ambrose interrupted her. “They are only the beginning. They are killing each other by the thousands. It’s only a matter of time before Magicals are in danger too.”
Maeve sat back in her seat, brows pulled together and spoke calmly.
“But, what you are insinuating, that can’t happen. Our numbers are already too few, especially ones like us.”
“With Pure Blood?” Asked Ambrose, pointedly.
“Yes,” said Maeve with a small exhale.
“How many Half Bloods are there now Maeve? How many babies are being born each year with no Magical lineage at all?”
When Maeve didn’t answer, he continued.
“Do you not know?”
She shook her head in defeat. Ambrose continued.
“Pure Blooded Magic is dying out, and has been for quite some time. When our people fled to Earth there were over fifty Sacred Families that made it out alive. Now there are seventeen. Magic is finding a way to preserve its existence despite our failure.”
The word failure hit Maeve in the chest like a train.
