I nodded in confirmation. “Unfortunately, yes. I’d rather we just attack Dusk first, but if the gods have information we need…”
“It’s smarter to wait,” Eveleen chimed in. She was quieter than Queen Idalia for sure, but there was a certain strength to her still. “You want the best chance for success, Asteria.”
I agreed with a deep sigh. Calix chuckled under his breath, and I glared at him. “I just want him gone.”
“I know. And we will end him, my réalta.” Calix reminded me. “But we need to get all our dragons in a row first. Arien needs to sort out Day, and Isleen needs time to gather soldiers in Sunrise.”
“And I need time to contact my spies in Dusk,” Eryx spoke up from beside me, putting a hand on my shoulder. “We need more information on the current state of things before we rush in and attack. We don’t want to put our soldiers in unnecessary danger if we can prevent it.”
I nodded, sighing once more. “I know. I do. It’s just…”
I trailed off, but words didn’t seem to be necessary. Everyone understood.
No one wanted the balance threatened. Not when it could mean the very end of us all. The threat of iron weapons alone was a danger we needed to navigateverycarefully. I had zero desire to come skin to metal with any iron in my lifetime.
And whatever Cyrus was planning, I knew it went beyond whatever it had originally started out as. This was more than a fight with Night now. More than getting me back. There was something we were missing. I was sure of it.
When I hesitantly brought it up, the others sat in thought for a moment.
“I think you’re right,” Altan said, humming in contemplation. “He’s escalated greatly since this began, and if he’s outsourcing humans from Day, then he’s going through them quickly.”
I winced at the thought, my heart aching for every human life lost.
“And if he plans to keep you,” he continued apologetically, making Calix growl low in his throat at the thought. “But he’s promised Aelius your death, then he certainly plans to stab him in the back. So who will rule Day?”
“I’m almost certain he killed his father as well.” Eryx added, “There’s no way the timing is a coincidence.”
“So we need to figure out what exactly Cyrus is planning now,” Calix began, running his fingers across the table. Itching for his map and figures, most likely. It almost brought a smile to my face, the way he relied on them while planning was kind of adorable.
“If we attack with only half the information, and no sight of his goal, it will only bring failure. We’ll be fighting the wrong war. Understanding your enemy, and their objective, is half the battle after all,” Calix explained, his voice rumbling as his dragon made its way to the fore.
I put my hand on his thigh, and his clawed hand grasped it. We kept each other calm as we discussed the man who had tried to tear us apart—who still aimed to do so.
“I will send my soldiers south.” Tieran nodded decisively. “They will gather at our borders, so when the word comes, we can attack from the North. Unless, of course, you need us in Evenfall, in which case, we can meet you there.”
“You’ll be joining your soldiers?” Calix raised his brow.
“Don’t you?” Tieran countered, a smirk rising on his lips.
“Of course.” Calix snorted. “But too many kings sit their asses on their thrones while they send their men to die for them.”
“Agreed. Which is why I will be there, leading the charge.” The king of Sunset smiled, a thirst for war reflected in his eyes.
We all had it.
Every Fae ruler I’d met thus far had a thirst for bloodshed. It was all about how they managed that urge that made the difference.
* * *
The next day,we found ourselves in Tieran’s study once more, rolling out our plans and adjusting them as needed. Trying to figure out how to assemble all the separate pieces of our growing army into one.
“We need Titan,” Calix groaned, wiping his forehead. The long black tunic and pants they’d given him were making him sweat in this heat. I’d chosen a barely there silver dress that covered everything but was so light and flowy, Ifeltnaked.
Poor Calix didn’t have that option.
I was more than willing to lick the sweat off him afterward to help, however.
“We’ll confer with him as soon as we get back,” Eryx agreed, sighing. “But sending messages back and forth will prove complicated. We need a sure way to get them north past Dusk.”
