Jax stepped forward, the senior scout from the House of Chaos. Blood streaked his armor, and his usual stoic expression had cracked into something raw.
“Your Graces!” His voice came out rough. “Ruin’s army is moving through mortal lands. California is gone. Kansas. Texas." He paused, his jaw working. “Entire states leveled. Nothing left but ash and…” His hands curled into fists. “And the echoes of screaming.”
The room went silent.
My sandwich turned to dust in my mouth.Millions of lives, just…gone.
“No,” Bea whispered beside me, the sound a mere breath of denial.
My father didn’t need to destroy mortal cities. This was a message. He was showing us what he would do to Mist of Cinder, to our world, unless he got what he wanted.
Sy and me.
And I feared that by now, he knew. Lilith knew about the last drop of old magic, which meant my father knew, too.
“How big is the abomination army?” Cade asked, his voice calm, though his face had gone paper-white.
“Two hundred thousand Shriekers in the first wave,” Jax answered, forcing the words out. “Mortal weapons are useless. Bullets bounce off their armor like rain.”
“The God of Ruin is among them,” a witch scout added, her teeth chattering. “He marches with his army openly now. It was like staring into…” She trailed off, lost for words for a second. “We only looked at him from a distance and barely escaped with our lives. Jax dragged us back when we couldn’t stop ourselves from walking toward him.”
My father’s presence was a black hole that pulled you in, made you want to surrender, to let him consume you just to end the terrible weight of existing near him.
“Human armies march with him too,” Jax added. “The Legion of the Brotherhood. Military forces from a dozen nations who’ve learned of our realm.”
Cade's knuckles went white around his wand. The mage prince had marked the druid for death long ago.
“Let them come,” Rowan said, cold as winter frost. “Humans tried to eliminate us once before. Now we return the favor.”
Fae and humans warred for ages before the fae retreated behind the Veil to Mist of Cinder. The last magical realm would have long since fallen without that protection.
“And demons,” Jax finished. “We spotted demons fighting alongside the Shriekers.”
The heirs exchanged looks. We were catastrophically outmatched.
“How long do we have?” Silas demanded, his voice barely controlled.
“Five days, Alpha King. Maybe six if they stop to…”
“To feed,” I finished for him, my voice hollow. “They feed on the magical essence of anyone they kill. California and Texas weren’t just demonstrations. They were appetizers.”
A wave of mortal terror filled the room.
Sy’s hand gripped mine from across the table, and we didn’t need our old bond to know what the other was thinking. I turned to stare out the window, needing to see something beautiful while violence threatened to end our world. The gardens bloomed in the morning light, full of pink blossoms and golden sunshine. The school buildings stood proud, every brick and glass pane infused with magic. The dark forest of Underhill swayed, calling to me.
In less than a week, all of this would burn unless we stopped it.
Unless I stopped it.
It would come down to me and my evil father.
“You have done well,” Killian said to the scouts. “Go eat and rest in the common room. Tell my men to give you whatever you need. We’ll find you in a couple of hours with more questions.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” They nodded their thanks.
Rock led them out, murmuring about hot food and strong drinks.
The door clicked shut.
