Even the seamstresses and cooks took swords out from beneath their tables and ran into battle.
"What a bunch of idiots," Dorian muttered behind her.
"They chose to ambush Haerland's oldest army," Nyssa said, arms crossing over her chest. "At their home place." She turned to her brother. "Do you think they actually thought this would work?"
Dorian squinted at the beach. “Is that Ash?"
"What—“ she snapped her head back around. “Where?”
Dorian pulled her to him and pointed, and she followed the line. Her fists curled in on themselves at the sight of the proud Dreamer. She recognized his helmet. A great Captain’s helmet with a mohawk of white hair and flattened silver etched wings on either side. It had a nose piece down the front, colored of stark white with swirling constellations embedded in the design. She remembered holding it once when she and Lex were in the Village. Heavy and larger than her own head. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.
She wanted to watch Ash’s blood stain the inside when she cut off his head.
"He's mine,” she growled as rage surged through her. The memory of Ash standing in that Throne Room and telling the Council about Aydra bled through her, and she reminded herself to breathe as she felt her form try to surface.
"Be my guest," he said. "Just remember our dear brother is mine. You can even take my sword. Here—“
But Nyssa didn't want the sword.
"Keep your sword," she told him. "You'll need it."
"And you don't?"
"I can hardly hold the damned thing," she countered. "My arm is broken, remember? I have my dagger. Fire. Serpent. Powerful Second taking her time on the porch before she commands the field."
Dorian followed her eyesight to the house, where Lex was, indeed, leaned against the banister and pushing her arm braces on, staring at the battle as though she were waiting on a moment to make her entrance.
"So dramatic," Dorian mocked.
"People are probably saying the same thing about us," Nyssa said. Her gaze squinted at the sight of what she thought was Reverie and Corbin running into the battle.
In full combat mode, Reverie jumped at one and knocked him off the horse. She bounded over the man, sword twirling in her hand. But she didn't shove it in him.
She twisted his neck, and the Dreamer crumpled into the sand.
“Glad to know your girl is on our side,” Nyssa said.
Dorian started laughing. “Fuck me,” he chuckled. “I didn’t even have to go find her an army. The bastards just walked in here.”
Nyssa squinted up at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I told her she could be Commander of our army when we marched back to the villages eventually. To take back Magnice, you know? Now, all we have to do is cut Ash down, and I can present her withthisarmy.” His grin widened as he looked down at her. “Do you know what I’m doing later, sis?” he asked, his form rising to the surface of his smug face.
“What’s that?”
Though she was almost scared of whatever clever answer he was about to give her.
He pulled his sword from his belt, and his eyes flashed black.
“I’m going to fuck her while she wears that Captain’s helmet. And Corbin’s going to watch.”
She almost rolled her eyes at his retreating figure as he started down the rocks, a skip almost in his step. “Save it for me after you cut off his head!” he called back.
His form surfaced fully, and Dorian ran the rest of the way to the beach.
Adrenaline poured through Dorian’s bones as he made his way down the rocks. A Dreamer met him at the end. Dorian struck swords with him over his head and kicked. The person landed on his back in the sand, and Dorian rammed the hilt of his sword into his face. The Dreamer balked, but Dorian didn’t slice him to pieces.
He couldn’t very well kill all of them if he was securing himself an army.
