Altan sighed long sufferingly, but I noticed he followed quickly after him. I looked to Titan, who had a thoughtful look on his face.
“While you wrangle those two, I’ll start working on getting our forces here to train together. Merging the two armies into a working force and moving as one is going to take some time.” He rubbed his chin, looking out over the sea of soldiers.
“We can each take a group,” Lilith suggested. She tended to be the quietest one of Calix’s group, but whenever she did speak, she always had something worthwhile to contribute. “Baach, Eryx, Harpina, you, and myself. Along with Arien and any he can recommend from Day’s forces. If we all take a group of combined soldiers from both kingdoms, we can begin getting them used to working together.”
“Good idea.” Titan nodded approvingly. “We should also begin working the humans from Day in.”
“You don’t think getting the two kingdoms to work together is going to be hard enough?” I asked him warily.
He scoffed a laugh, “Of course it will. But war is never easy. We’ll only have more challenging times ahead. Getting them all used to each other now can prevent a catastrophe down the line because they couldn’t work together. Besides, we already have humans in our army. It’s Day’s humans who will be new to the party here, and your soldiers who will struggle the most. So they’ll need your leadership to show them the way.”
I had no argument with that, but I still worried about how the humans would fit into our dynamics. Night’s Fae and humans may be used to working alongside one another, but Day’s population only had that one battle under our belt. And their participation had been spontaneous.
This was something else entirely.
But for now, I made my way to where Altan and Zakat had gone to shift, finding a yellow and teal phoenix and an orange and teal one waiting for me, circling above the clearing they’d found. I shifted, golden scales rippling out and over my body as I flew up into the air.
I loved flying, being able to spread my wings and head out over the ocean, allowing me to clear my head and leave behind all the worries this war brought with it.
I’d spent my life preparing for a battle against my father, and instead found myself preparing for a war where the entire continent was being torn in half.
The balance was tipping precariously, now. Every move made shifted us further toward chaos. And yet there was no way to fix it but to push through.
Chaos bred to fix chaos—it was a paradox, but I knew of no other way to fix it. Calix had clearly spent years trying to figure it out and had come up against the same issue time and again.
Magic was already slowly fading from our lands. Reports we received spoke of Dusk’s flora and fauna beginning to wither, and I feared when the chaos would spread further.
How long until it hits Day? Or Night?
How long did we truly have to fix the balance, before chaos reigned completely?
What would we even do if chaos stole away everything we are?
* * *
A long dayof training had left most around the camp lethargic. Some were lying down on the grass, arms spread as they relaxed their weary muscles. Others sat around campfires, talking and drinking.
I had to admit it was surprisingly nice to see Fae and humans all sitting together and getting along.
It was less nice when Soren came and plopped himself down on the log next to me. He grunted a greeting before staring into the fire with a morose glare.
I rolled my eyes discreetly. I didn’t think I’d ever like this kid. And his first words only proved my point.
“Do you really think Calix is good for Asteria?” Soren asked, elbows on his knees as he turned his head to me.
“Yes,” I responded dryly, taking a swig of my drink, wishing I could escape this conversation. I didn’t like thinking of my twin and her relationship, as much as I could acknowledge hewasgood for her. It was just awkward to think about as a protective brother.
“But he’s a brute!” Soren argued, shaking his head. “Asteria deserves someone who would treat her like a princess.”
I looked at him incredulously. “Didn’t you grow up with her? You should know her better than that.”
“But she doesn’t need to be that way anymore! She’s royalty!” His brows furrowed, like he was genuinely confused.
“Soren.” I turned to look at him seriously. “This is why he’s good for her. Because he understands her. He lets her be whoever she wants to be. And he loves her for it. You want her to fit the image you have of her. That’s not love. That’s Fae allure that’s gotten to you good.” I snorted, shaking my head.
“Fae allure?” he asked, head tilted to the side, even as his mouth set mutinously at my words.
“It happens sometimes. Humans who spend too much time with a Fae find themselves starry-eyed and spellbound. It’s a result of the magic we put off. Even Asteria, whose magic was smothered, would have had that allure. It’s a natural part of being a creature with magic; it radiates off us. You spent a lot of time with Asteria, and the magic probably caught you and reeled you right in.”
