Calix nodded slowly, fingers playing with a pen on the table like he itched to move pieces on a map. I could certainly relate. “We will plan to evaluate when we return. It’s likely that Cyrus is planning an attack, and I’m working on getting more intel from my spies, but in the meantime, we should reach out to those who support you in Day. We’ll need to see which kingdom takes priority to deploy our forces to first: Dusk or Day.”
I nodded, thinking that their plan was pretty solid. More allies would give us a better chance of success, and if Cyrus and Father hadn’t moved yet, it gave us a bit of time before a full-scale attack became necessary.
“I’ll summon those loyal to you, my Queen.” I bowed my head to Asteria. “I will mobilize our forces and plan to rendezvous at the border with Night that’s closest to Tairngire. Ergun is the nearest lord anyway.”
“He's a good friend of mine, as well.” Calix spoke up again, “I’ll send him a message.”
I blinked in surprise, not having expected that. I raised a brow at him. “Didn’t you close the borders? How have you maintained a friendship with him?”
Calix smirked, his eyes twinkling. “Ergun’s so close to the border, he’s practically part of Night.”
I rolled my eyes at him, a begrudging smile twitching onto my face while Asteria snickered.
“And what do we do about Aelius and his forces? They will try to stop us at some point.” Mother cut in, looking surprisingly fidgety.
“We can hold him off until they return from Sunrise,” I reassured her, determined to do my part.
“Then we have a plan.” Asteria clapped her hands together, a smile on her face. “And just to make this abundantly clear, you need to free all of your slaves.”
Mother rocked back in her seat, more gobsmacked than I’d ever seen her. I blinked slowly, processing the news. It wasn’t unexpected really, not with all we’d discussed previously. Not to mention her own experience with the practice. But I hadn’t allowed myself to really consider it before now.
It was unbelievable, in truth.
We’d always had slaves. What would we do without them?
“We can’t justfreeour slaves,” Mother argued, leaning forward toward Asteria.
“You can, and you will.” Asteria raised a brow at her, her face surprisingly severe. “You named me your queen, did you not? This is my order. Go home. Free your slaves. Free all the slaves of Day. Send out notices, tell your commanders. I don’t care. Just make it happen.”
Mother’s mouth opened and closed, no sound coming from her, she was so flabbergasted.
“What do we do then? Not only will we be without significant labor, resources, and frankly, any idea how to continue running our castles and economy, but the humans would also be without any way to provide for themselves.” I pressed, not wanting to see Day implode from this choice.
Asteria’s first act as queen couldn’t destroy her kingdom.
I wouldn’t allow it. Not for the kingdom’s sake, even, but for hers.
I wanted her to succeed and for the kingdom to thrive under her leadership.
I told her as much, and watched as her eyes watered. She looked so torn, and she turned to Calix with a helpless look on her face. Agony filled her eyes, and I realized then I truly had no idea what she had experienced. How being a slave had molded and shaped her. How it might have almost destroyed her. The look she gave her mate told me there was a depth of hurt there that couldn’t be easily fixed.
A crown can’t cure trauma.
Calix reached out and placed one hand on her leg and the other cupped her cheek. I almost wanted to look away. The moment felt too intimate to witness.
“You know it took me many years to abolish slavery in Night,” he said softly, stroking her cheek. “I know you want to free them now, but Arien’s right.”
I was shocked, to say the least; I thought the brash and brutal warrior king who’d locked down his borders and began attacking kingdoms just to apparently free human slaves wouldn’t have the forethought to consider such matters.
Maybe I’d underestimated him.
Maybe we all had.
“We need to do this slowly and carefully. That’s how we accomplished it successfully in Night.” Calix dipped his head, meeting Asteria’s eyes as she ducked her own head, pain crossing her face that was so stark it was hard to look at.
“I can’t just leave them there,” she pleaded, and Calix bumped his forehead to hers.
“We won’t.” He swore. “We won’t leaveanyof them. I swear to you, we won’t stop until every last slave is free. But we have to set them up for success.”
