But this can’t be true. He can’t be awake. He won’t last more than a few minutes before his wounds kill him. The Elven Command stabbed him with swords strengthened with sorcery. Baelen had taken four deadly wounds through his chest. He had used his storm power to suspend the damage before he died, to pause himself in time, but now that he’s awake, the wounds will continue their course and he will die…
I hold up both my hands, palms out, even though I’m in danger of pushing them through the barrier that could strip the skin off them.Stop. Please. You can’t be awake. You can’t… die. I won’t let you! I will rip the world apart before I let that happen!
As soon as these desperate thoughts form inside my mind, a light flares in front of me. I wrench my focus from Baelen to stare sharply at the Queen’s heart, not sure what I just saw. Did it just spark? Did it just react to my thoughts?
Inside the Court, Howl’s soldiers have used Baelen’s arrival to rally and regroup. They abandon the task of imprisoning the clan leaders and race to form a cluster at the far side of the wind tunnel Baelen has created.
Jasper responds by shouting to the miners to rally to him, gathering on the opposite side closest to Llion. Jasper appears both relieved and concerned to see Baelen. Jasper is one of Baelen’s best friends. They attended military training together and Jasper knows that Baelen is unrivaled on the battlefield. Having Baelen in this fight will tip the scales in our favor. But Jasper knows as well as I do how close Baelen is to death.
The miners form a protective barrier in front of Llion and Liliana. I’m worried about them, but glad to see Jasper and Welsian take up defensive stances in the front row, weapons held aloft and ready. They’re joined by Badenoch, Erit, Iago, and Arlo, and within moments, the clan leaders also race to join them, moving as quickly as they can with the old Priestess at their head.
The battleground inside the Court is now divided into two: Howl’s army on my right and the miners on my left, each on one side of the path Baelen has created. The division has made clear just how many soldiers there are—and just how few miners are left. Even the addition of the clan leaders has done little to boost their numbers. On top of that, most of the clan leaders are old males, the ones Howl knew couldn’t challenge him.
How many miners have died? Sadness overwhelms me as I scan the bodies lying on the floor, afraid of what I’ll find.
Roar zooms up in front of me, his face pale and drawn, wings spread, trying to block my view. “Lady Storm,” he says. “Don’t look.”
But it’s too late. I’ve already seen them. Half the miners lie dead where the central battle was fought. I knew all of them, had heard all of their stories, know the names of their wives and children, their mothers and fathers.
“They fought with valor,” Roar says, his eyes burning bright. “You’ve already avenged their deaths by killing Howl.”
Rage burns inside me. The Queen’s heart flares again but I’m too angry to care. “That doesn’t bring them back, Roar.”
“Then we will mourn when this battle is over.”
The fallen miners were Roar’s friends for longer than they were mine. He hides his pain well, but it shows in the clench of his jaw and the slow beat of his wings, the slump of his shoulders. Pain flares through every nerve ending at the loss of these honorable males. I want to scream it out. More than anything, I want to fight. I want to kill every soldier in this place.
A sharper flare of light makes me gasp. This time I’m sure the Queen’s heart responded to my anger.
As if he senses my fury across the distance, Baelen tightens the whirlwind around me so I can’t act on my instincts, his focus zeroed in on me. I can’t read his expression from this distance, can’t see his eyes, but there’s definitely something different about his face, something that I can’t make out…
I want to hear his thoughts like I could when we used the storm’s connection to communicate with each other. I need to know that he’s okay—need to tell him to let me down because I want to fight—but he’s closed off from me.
I am his focus as he strides along the pathway between combatants, headed straight for me with stunning purpose. Now that his path is clear, the wind tunnel dies down around him, but the tornado around me remains strong. I may not be able to read Baelen’s thoughts but I can sense his intentions.
He’s coming for me.
He’s more than halfway to me when he pulls up sharp. I’m not sure why until a soldier steps forward, blocking his path. Baelen shoots me a last determined look before turning his attention to the new male.
This male has a sharp nose and dark gray wings slightly spread, wing daggers pointed forward in an aggressive gesture. For a long time, I suspected that many of Howl’s guards were forced into serving him—I still think that’s true—but many more of them followed him willingly. They saw an advantage for themselves in their positions of power over others.
It looks like they have a new leader.
I recognize this gargoyle. He was one of the males who blocked Jasper from helping Cassian. This male knew what he was doing. He thought Howl would win, so he gave no thought to Cassian’s suffering.
Nearby, Roar leans toward me, speaking through the whirlwind. He snarls as he inclines his head at the gargoyle standing in Baelen’s path. “That is Gerst from the Grievous Clan. He was the one Howl sent to take our wives and children away from us.”
Roar’s wife is imprisoned in Harem Hall, like many wives of the miners. Roar once told me that Howl took away the wives and children of all the males he believed could challenge him, using their loved ones as leverage to ensure the gargoyles did not rise up against him. I’d met Roar’s wife, Gilda, a beautiful ebony-haired female and vowed I would reunite them.
Roar continues. “Gerst was next in line to be General if something happened to Cassian. As long as Gerst thinks he has a chance to get his hands on the heartstones, he won’t surrender. He’s the highest ranking solider now. He wants to be the new king.”
That would explain why he was so happy to let Cassian die. But he has no idea what he’s facing now that Baelen is here. Even Howl was smart enough to fear what would happen if Baelen woke up.
“I won’t let that happen, Roar.”
He nods. He trusts me, but his next glance has a question in it. He was a leader among the miners for many years and needs to get back to the others. Jasper can lead them temporarily but they won’t follow an elf for long—even if there’s a possibility that Jasper is part-gargoyle.
“Go,” I say. “They need you.”
