Chapter 1
Prince Alvere of Vauphanand I stood atop a newly constructed watch tower. His arm around my shoulder was comforting. I leaned into him a little, sliding my arm around his waist. We could see the distant ramparts of the Elistan camp. Closer to home were the earthwork and palisade the Vauphani were putting up. After the raid on the Vauphan camp twelve days ago, the Vauphani didn’t have the numbers for any sort of offensive action. They had to dig in and defend. And the hope was that, after this coming night, the Elistans wouldn’t be able to form another assault either.
“You should be telling me I’m crazy,” I said softly. “Railing against me going out there. Telling me it’s futile and that I just want revenge for the death of Maverick.”
Alvere shrugged. “Would it do any good?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“Am I crazy?” I asked, a hint of uncertainty creeping into my voice.
The plan we’d devised was in two parts. First, a small group of us from Maverick House would sneak into the Elistan Camp as only we could — shape-shifted into our small avatars — and take out the Elistan leadership. In particular, I had vowed to kill Lord War and Lady Claw. The hope was that, without leadership, the Elistans wouldn’t be able to mount any sort of assault. The forces here would be stuck in a stalemate. Second, a group of Fey in the Vauphani camp — those whose magic pertained to metal — were already performing a lengthy ritual. When they unleashed their power at dawn tomorrow, it would hex most, if not all, of the metal in the Elistan camp. Armor would burn when worn, weapons would sear the hands that held them. Between our attack and the curse, we hoped that would keep the Elistan forces at bay.
After that, House Maverick — no we were House Spider now — would return to the capital to try to sort things out internally within Elista. I had no clue how we were going to do that… but one step at a time.
“You’d have to be crazy to do what you’re planning, but I’ve accepted it. Crazy or not, I love you.” He turned toward me slightly and kissed me on the cheek. I turned to him and met his lips in a quick, chaste kiss. I knew he was a prince — technically a king now — and who he married would be out of his hands. It certainly wouldn’t be me. But we’d have some time together before that happened, maybe even after, depending on how possessive his future wife was. I was certainly willing to share.
And that thought made me think of Silence and Sparrow, my other lovers. I longed for them as much as I ached to be with Alvere. I hadn’t been with any of them these last few nights as we’d planned our counter-attack upon Panther House and its forces. But I’d seen Alvere and Silence and Sparrow together from time to time. Given Silence had had some reservations about the prince I asked him: “Has Silence spoken to you… about… us?”
He nodded. “Yes.” Alvere smiled. “While you were… laid up, we had a chance to work things out. Silence had attacked me at first, but Sparrow had stopped him and we’d all talked. By the end of that conversation, Silence had kissed me.” He touched his cheek. He didn’t seem like he believed his own words.
I raised a brow. That was a turn-around indeed.
“They are wonderful and kind people and I see how much they love you,” Alvere continued. “We’ve had a few other chances to get to know each other and though we may come from different places and different backgrounds, we all agree on one thing: our love for you.” He sighed; voice tinged with shame when he said, “Despite the atrocities my people committed upon him, Silence seems to have forgiven me. I… I don’t know how or why. He is truly a kind and generous soul.”
“That he is. I’m glad you two are getting along. I’m very much looking forward to being with… both of you.”
Alvere raised a brow and the curious intensity in his jewel-blue eyes let me know what he thought of that idea.
But that wouldn’t happen tonight. Tonight would be for a different kind of action and excitement. Yet once this mission was done and we could take a well-needed break from things… I planned on getting all three of them together and… celebrating.
I might even see if Ant wished to join our strange group of communal love. The large man had been devastated by the death of Amber, the woman he’d loved, but to whom he’d never admitted his love. She’d known, we all knew it, but I could see now how much it weighed on Ant that he’d never fully expressed himself to her. I vowed not to make that same mistake. Those I loved would know it.
And those I loved now included an entire Noble House. I was in charge and would need to care for all of them. It may have been a small house, so few members now, but that made it all the easier to know each one of them deeply. I didn’t know half of them as well as I should, something else I vowed to change. They had come together to help me escape from the devastating dread and depression I’d fallen into after the death of Maverick, Amber, Jack, Tusk and Fennec. I still blamed myself for their deaths, just a little. But I also blamed the Elistan Nobles who’d actually killed them. And in the end, I knew they’d gone into that fight willingly, knowing they might need to lay down their lives for myself, for their House, and for peace between these two nations.
It was such an odd concept that for peace, some people had to die. I had hoped that wouldn’t be the case, I had tried to talk to the Elistans — my own people — to get them to stop this madness, but to no avail. Those who led this army were part of a shadowy group of Nobles who had started this war and were involved in the death of other Elistan Nobles, those who’d known about and opposed this war.
And tonight, I’d stop them — or at least their war effort — before they could do more damage. The warmonger: Lord War, Field Marshal of the Elistan armies, would die so he couldn’t retaliate. And Lady Claw would die for killing Maverick, that I had vowed. I hoped those who died tonight would be the last of this war… but I feared they wouldn’t be.
The sun was setting.
“I need to get to my people and organize them,” I said breaking away from Alvere.
“There is something I’d like to show you first, a bit of a surprise, if you’ll allow it.”
“What is it?”
“A surprise,” he said with a mischievous grin. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
Curious, I followed him down the ladder of the watch tower. He walked fast, knowing I was needed elsewhere. I kept pace easily, as tall as him but with a bit more leg on me. His black hair shimmered with raven-blue highlights in the evening’s dim light; his brilliant jewel-blue eyes dancing with life. I’d learned that these — along with his pale skin — were traits of the Fey. They were small and pale with dark hair and jewel-tone eyes. Alvere was half-Fey, but that was not widely known.
“Where are we going?” I asked, curiosity growing as we passed farther and farther to the back of our camp.
“You’ll see.” He grinned and winked at me. “Here,” he said a moment later as we came around some tents to the makeshift smithy that had been set up by one of the Fey. I hadn’t seen it done, but people said stones had been summoned from the earth itself to form the large forge-hearth and chimney. A tent had been put up around it. When we entered no one was there, and the forge was cold. The Fey smith who worked here would be helping the others who had affinity with metal perform the ritual to curse Elistan weapons and armor.
Alvere went to a long table on one side of the tent and picked up something before turning to me.
