“You called for me, my king?”
“Hello Adalia.” The king beamed. “Thank you for coming here so quickly. I wish it was for a positive reason, but unfortunately, I have bad news.”
The king ushered for Adalia to sit beside him, his dark red robes brushing the floor as he moved the wooden chair closer to his. His kind, brown eyes rested on her face and no matter what the situation was, Adalia knew that if he wasn’t worried, then she wouldn’t be.
“What is it, Your Majesty?” She asked intently.
“There are reports that Oscuro is about to declare war on The Grey. I need you to take a small team into Oscuro and see if it’s true. The Shadowkin won’t stand a chance if the dark one unleashes his army upon them,” the king replied gravely.
Adalia’s heart rate rose, but she shoved down any fear that tried to rear its ugly head. Where was Matthias? She needed him more than ever right now. “If he is, we won’t have long to evacuate The Grey, and where would they go? How do we even get them all to move?”
“We don’t. We will have to draw the Thorns to the fields below the Asher Reign mountain range and the forest that runs along the Veil’s edge.” The king answered. “If the reports are true, we will have to assemble there.”
“Yes, my king. I will head back to the compound now and gather some Lightners to accompany me. I will report back to you as soon as I have any information.” Adalia stood and bowed.
“Thank you, Adalia. Now be careful. I refuse to lose anyone to the darkness.” The king reached for her hand and gently squeezed it. Adalia smiled and turned on her heel, knowing full well who she would select to take with her on this highly delicate mission.
A blanket of grey clouds covered the skies as the trio silently moved through the chilled atmosphere, ensuring they stayed as high as possible to avoid detection by the enemy. Hand signals were their only form of communication. Nikolas motioned them to the left—Shiloh and Adalia followed as they neared the castle grounds. Scanning the area, Adalia could indeed see that the king was gathering his army. Rows upon rows of Thorn soldiers filled the castle grounds and spilled out onto the land surrounding it.
The amount of soldiers below overwhelmed Adalia.
Nikolas put a finger to his lips before pointing to the ground. Adalia followed the trail and saw the figure that sometimes haunted her dreams.
The king.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she pursed her lips. Now wasn’t the time for seeking any form of vengeance, but every fibre in her body wanted to drop from the skies and break his neck for two separate reasons. One for how he treated her when she was his captive, but mainly for the way he’d treated Matthias his entire life.
Shiloh glanced at her sympathetically and Adalia smiled, a silent assurance that she was okay.
She searched for the prince, but he was nowhere to be seen. Why hadn’t he come back to her? All she wanted to do was find him to make sure he was okay, but now wasn’t the time. She wouldn’t put her brother and Shiloh at risk like that.
Turning to Nikolas, Adalia motioned her head back towards the Veil. They had gathered all the information they needed. The reports were accurate, and the King of Light needed to be informed.
It was time for war.
Generals from far across Lucius had been called to assemble, and all were informed of the coming doom that would definitely affect District Seven and possibly spill into the other district regions.
As she stood and watched the King’s Army gather and filter through the Gates from Lucius into The Grey. She beamed with pride at the soldiers she considered her family.
“Units have been placed all around the districts and along the shorelines of this,” Nikolas stated as he appeared beside her. Adalia had been so lost in her mind, she hadn’t heard him approach.
“Thank you, Nik,” Adalia quietly answered.
“You okay, little sis?” Nikolas placed his hands on Adalias’ shoulder and turned her to face him. His green eyes searching hers.
“I think so . . .”
“What’s bothering you the most? The Grey? We’ve got time. We’ll have these people protected with soldiers stationed outside homes by the end of the day.” Her brother squeezed her shoulders.
“It’s not the Shadowkin, well it’s part of it, but deep down I feel this is all my fault.” Adalia whispered as she looked at her brother for comfort.
“Ada—”
“If the Thorns hadn’t captured me or if I hadn’t met the prince. The king would have never known about me. What if he’s starting this war because I showed his son that there was another way to live?” Adalia held back tears.
Nikolas pulled her into a warm embrace. “You can’t think that way. What the king does is not on you. Don’t take his actions as your responsibility. He’s a grown man, all of this is on him. Besides, what if meeting Matthias is exactly what both of you needed?”
“What if he’s not who he says he is, though? What if it was all a ploy to extract information from us?” Adalia whispered into Nikolas’s chest.
