Instinct forced me to stand taller, shoulders back. “Morning,” I responded.
Rummy didn’t have the slightest bit of posture change at the presence of the king and queen. It wasn’t her style. Huntyr had been her best friend since childhood, and Rummy was brought to this kingdom as her advisor because of that.
Yes, Wolf was my brother, but I was raised differently. As a soldier. As a follower.
I also couldn’t deny the sheer power that rolled off the couple. The two of them waltzed forward, and Huntyr situated herself on the golden throne in the middle of the room. Wolf—his massive angel wings included—perched on the armrest.
“We have news,” Wolf started. “The conflict we’ve been hearing of from the eastern kingdoms? It’s no longer simply a rumor.” He pulled out a folded letter, holding it in front of him. “We received a request from Pericius—the largest of the eastern kingdoms. They’re calling upon allies to vanquish the rebellion in their streets, and they’re calling for our help.”
Shit.
Rummy stepped forward and snatched the letter from his hands, scanning it furiously. “You aren’t actually considering this, are you?”
Huntyr ran her hands through her thick black curls—something she did often in meetings like this. “It would be impossible to keep ignoring the conflict in our neighboring kingdoms. We’ve tried to protect the peace here for long enough. If the fighting bleeds to our lands…”
“Vaehatis hasn’t been involved with the eastern kingdoms in decades. Why should we get involved now?” Rummy asked. “We fought our battles. We did our part. The turmoil brewing beyond our borders isn’t any of our concern.”
“Not our concern?” I pushed. “The eastern kingdoms are where it will begin. All it would take is a handful of power-hungry bastards to decide they want to take Scarlata, too. Especially after what happened two years ago. These lands are blessed by Era herself. If you were a king hells-bent on conquering, wouldn’t you want to stake a claim on these lands, too?”
Rummy met my eye, hers full of fire. In the two years that we worked together here in Scarlata, we’d been at odds. That wouldn’t change today. She was a spitfire, stubborn as all hells and not afraid to speak her mind. It wasn’t always a bad thing, but she was… well, prickly.
And her primary concern was protecting Huntyr. That blinded her at times.
“We’re ready to fight,” I added. “I’ve been training our men for two years now. They can handle a simple request to provide aid.”
Wolf sighed. “The last thing I want is for our people to be hurt or killed because other kingdoms can’t work out their issues. They didn’t show up to help us when the hungry ones took over. Why should we help them?”
I took a pleading step toward my brother. “Because it’s the right thing to do!”
“Jessiah’s right,” Huntyr chimed in. “They’re asking for our help.”
“This could mean anything.” Rummy waved the message back and forth, then held it with both hands and cleared her throat. “The death of my father,” she read, “has started great unrest in Pericius. Though we have tried our best to stifle this rebellion, our lands remain overrun. We are formally requesting aid from our nearest kingdoms and humbly ask that you send soldiers and provisions. Signed, the new King of Pericius, King Cornelius.”
My gut lurched. I knew things had gotten bad over there. But this?
“This request is vague,” Rummy said. “If we send our soldiers, we have no idea what they’ll face. Besides, how is a kingdom full of fae going to react when we walk in there with an army of vampyres? You can’t predict how they’ll react to hundreds of bloodsuckers infiltrating their lands.” She turned to Wolf and Huntyr. “No offense.”
Tension clung to the air. These meetings had grown more and more intense in the recent weeks. Two years ago, when Wolf and Huntyr were crowned and the four of us began meeting like this, our problems were simple. We discussed food sources and which buildings to rebuild first. Our conversations were about hope and spreading positivity and protecting one another.
Now?
Dread seeped in, and with each day the unrest in the eastern kingdoms continued, it crept closer, threatening our peace.
War was coming whether we wanted to be involved or not.
“Let me go. Investigate what’s going on and bring back information,” I said. “As commander of Scarlata’s army, it’s my responsibility to collect all the information I can and prepare my soldiers before sending them to battle.”
Wolf’s nostrils flared. He was protective of me, and I understood his reasoning. He was just as protective over Huntyr, too. Rummy. Every soul in this damn kingdom. If it were up to him, he would put solid walls around it and protect us all with his life.
But it was unrealistic to believe we could be protected from every conflict.
“Let me do this,” I pushed. “Let me help our people. Let me do my job. I’ll take a few of my best soldiers with me, then return with information about what’s really going on beyond our borders.”
Mumbling unintelligibly, Rummy shook her head. I bit my tongue to keep from snapping.
“We should all take some time to think this over,” Huntyr pushed. “It’s a big decision, and we need to have clear minds before we decide to potentially risk the peace here in Scarlata. We didn’t fight this hard simply to waltz into another war without considering the consequences.”
Silence fell over the four of us.
