“Not uncertainty on my part,” Viper said. “But it’s hard to relay the stakes to someone who’s never seen your land or your people. All he has to rely on is my word, and it doesn’t mean as much these days.”
Callum spoke up next, acting like Viper hadn’t just spoken. “We have a powerful weapon in our scabbard, and that’s Lily’s strength as a goddess. She’s the only one of us who’s equal to Leviathan—and possibly the Covenant. I’ve witnessed her in battle, and she’s a force to be reckoned with. She also held her own against Leviathan in the underworld and was able to escape his grasp. She can focus on Leviathan and kill him first while we keep everyone else off her. Then we can try to isolate each demon individually so Lily can eliminate them one by one.”
“That’s your plan?” Viper asked angrily. “To have Lily kill everybody? We should be protecting her?—”
“She doesn’t need our protection.” Callum didn’t raise his voice, but he somehow cut through the air with the sharpest blade ever created in the forges. “She’s not a damsel in distress who needs your shield. She’s not a little girl who can be manipulated by a slithering serpent. She is the strongest person here and could knock you flat on your back if she wanted to.”
Everyone was silent, including me.
Callum stared at Viper across the table, and Viper stared back, an unspoken war raging between them.
“Callum is right,” Hawk said. “She fought a horde of vampires entirely by herself. She battled twelve Barbarian generals at once. I’ve seen her fight firsthand, and she’s the best at it.”
“I agree with Callum’s plan,” my father said with a hint of pride in his voice. “Lily led the Southern Isles in a time of war. I believe she’s capable of leading us again.” My father turned his stare to look at me. Our eyes were connected, but he didn’t seem to actually be looking at me, rather absorbing me…in a moment of reflection and pride. He eventually turned his gaze elsewhere.
The meeting continued for another hour, and once it seemed like everything had been said, the meeting concluded. Everyone started to file out, but I noticed Aunt Eldinar stayed behind, moving to the opposite side of the table to meet my father head on.
I walked out into the courtyard in the direction of my villa, unsure if Callum would try to talk to me or immediately ride back to his vineyard. I suspected Viper would appear to say goodbye before he left.
Suddenly, a dragon with deep purple scales dropped down from the sky and folded its wings toward its body.
Scion.
Viper appeared at my side, matching my pace. “I’ll return in a few days by dragon. But if Kingsnake decides to grant a miracle, I’ll be back in probably a week. Assuming he doesn’t throw me in a prison cell because I’ve officially lost my mind.”
I wasn’t sure if it was a joke or not, so I didn’t know whether I should chuckle. I decided not to. “You’ve done enough, Viper. If you decided you didn’t want to return, I would completely understand.”
He walked past me to his dragon’s flank. “I look forward to the day when this is all over and we can both move on with our lives together…or apart. But I’m with you until the end, Lily. I just don’t think you should be used as bait.”
“She’s not bait.”
I heard Callum’s voice from behind me, recognized it without needing to turn and check.
Viper turned to look at him, and another cold glare ensued.
The men stared each other down like another battle was about to take place.
Viper eventually grabbed the strap of the saddle and climbed up onto Scion’s back. “I’ll see you soon, Lily.” He gripped thehorn, and his dragon launched into the sky in a flash, rising high until it became one of the clouds.
I watched him fly away because the sight of a dragon was always mesmerizing. Then I turned to look at Callum, to feel that wave of emotion and desperation drift over me like a gentle tide. I’d been around him for the last hour, but that feeling still ran rampant inside me.
He stared at me for a while. “Did my suggestion upset you?”
“No, not at all.” In fact, it felt good to earn his respect. To have my father’s respect and admiration too. To be taken seriously after I’d been dismissed for so long.
“The next strongest fighter will be Viper, because he’s a vampire and fused with a dragon. Then Queen Eldinar, because of her elven blood and her connection to Macabre. Your father, brother, and I follow behind that, but there’s a gap between us and Viper and your aunt.”
“Just because my father isn’t a vampire or a necromancer doesn’t mean he’s not a force to be reckoned with.”
“I meant no offense. Just being pragmatic.”
“And I’d rather have you at my side than Viper…or my aunt.”
His stare hardened as he looked at me, a flash of emotion deep in his gaze. Maybe Viper was the stronger fighter, but I trusted Callum more than anyone else. He’d always been the eyes in the back of my head. I didn’t know why that would change now. “You always have my sword, Lily.”
“Xivin. I prefer it when you call meXivin.”
A slow breath accompanied his stare as it deepened, as his eyes drilled hard into me like nails. No man had ever looked at me like that before, with eye contact so intimate it almost felt hostile. His need was so potent, it felt aggressive.
