“Enough!” Aspen shouts, his voice ringing through the atrium.
That silences the others, but fire heats my core. “This is not what I called this meeting to discuss,” I say through my teeth. “I don’t know what we will do with the isle after we face the human army, but first we need to survive this war. This isn’t the time to fight over land and power. We need to come up with a plan.”
Nyxia runs a hand over her silver tresses, smoothing them away from her face as she releases a grumbling breath. When she speaks, her words are strained with poorly hidden animosity. “A plan would be far easier to come up with if you hadn’t bargained the isle in exchange for more work fromus.”
“It may be more work,” I say, “but it’s in our best interests.”
Nyxia raises a skeptical brow. “How so?”
“Well, returning the isle to the fae, for one.”
Aelfon nods his agreement and Dahlia runs her tongue over her lips, as if she can already taste the extra land she hopes to claim.
I continue. “For another, this gives us a chance to free Faerwyvae’s magic all over the isle. We won’t be trapped on this side or drained of power on the other. With the humans’ surrender, we can enter Eisleigh free of reproach. We can goanywhere. We can face the troops who invade at Port Denyson as soon as they touch land. We can meet them on our terms.”
Nyxia lets out a resigned sigh. “All right. You have a point.”
“There’s still the issue of the wall,” Estel says. “If we are to extend it around the southern half of the isle, we must first break down the border wall to release our magic. Then we must gather enough builders to finish the job before the invasion. With only three days, I don’t know if it can be done.”
“She’s right.” Aelfon leans back in his chair, arms crossed over his wide torso. “These aren’t just ordinary stones. Each one is crafted with earthen magic, forged from crystals, rock beds, and soil. Not only must we destroy the thousands that make up the border wall, but we’ll have to craft hundreds of thousands more. I don’t know if it can be done in three days.”
“Not to mention,” Tris says, “even those of us with powerful earthen fae in our courts will need to reserve a fighting force.”
Minuette nods. “We’ll need to defend our courts, send soldiers to fight the men from the warship…”
“Prepare to defend the area beyond the border wall in case the army gets through our fighters,” I add, my stomach sinking.
Aspen faces me, lips pulling into a frown. “That’s a lot to prepare for in three days.”
I look from him to the others. “There must be a way. Even if we can’t finish the wall, we can at least pour all our efforts into stealing back the bomb. Then we can finish the wall once we have the Parvanovae.”
“The human king will only send more warships to harry our efforts,” Nyxia says.
“Then we’ll keep fighting,” I say. “We’ll keep fighting and building until the wall is complete and Estel can perform the enchantment.”
The responses uttered from around the table are mostly halfhearted mumbles of agreement.
“There is another way.” The voice that speaks doesn’t come from the gathering. I look toward the source and find Fehr watching us from the other end of the atrium. With slow steps, he approaches. His face is unreadable, but I see apprehension in the tense set of his shoulders.
“What is it, Fehr?” I ask.
“The wall. It can be built in three days.”
“How?”
“You can use a djinn.”
41
“Adjinn?” Flauvis falls into a fit of howling laughter. “You mean, like you? You’ve got to be kidding.”
I ignore the Winter King, keeping my eyes on Fehr. “You think you can move the wall?”
Fehr lifts his chin. “The djinn are the most powerful of the fae, and I am no exception. Fire may be my primary element, giving me the power to create, but the earthen element obeys my command nearly as well. My strong affinity for air lets me move swiftly through time and space. I could break down the border wall and build one around the perimeter of the isle before the earthen fae can so much as fortify a single court.”
Excitement rises inside me, but an obstacle remains that keeps his plan from being sound. “But you can’t leave the palace.”
“No,” he says, “I cannot.”
