“They’re not in danger yet,” Adrian said, determinedly staring at his work as his hands moved faster and faster. “My roots connect to the center of the Blackwood, and I just felt the attack begin. Gilgamesh’s sorcerers will have to cut through twenty miles of old-growth forest before they reach the demons in the heart grove.”
“And there are still witches in the Blackwood,” Boston added from his perch on Bran’s broomstick. “The Old Wives would never leave the forest completely unprotected. The Three probably brought just enough people here with them to safely cast the Witch’s Spite.”
“That’s still too many,” Adrian said as his hands started to shake. “We’re the biggest coven in the world, but we’re not an army. There can’t be more than a hundred witches left in the main grove.”
“There’s other things as well,” Boston argued. “I was wondering why the Old Wives didn’t bring the living dragons as well as the dead ones, but now I understand. They left them behind to counter the counter.”
“If the dragons were capable of defeating Gilgamesh, they wouldn’t be hiding in our forest,” Adrian countered grimly as he smeared the last of the salve under Iggs’s neck. “Honestly, at this point, distance is our best defense. The main Blackwood spans hundreds of miles. Even stacked with quintessence, it’ll take Gilgamesh’s soldiers a while to cut through that much forest. I already talked to my mother, but she says they’re not going back. Nemini is right. The Old Wives have already made their bet.” He looked up at Bex. “We have to defeat Gilgamesh before his army reaches the forest’s heart.”
“Okay,” Bex said as she processed all of that. “How long does that give us?”
“Depends on whether they have a prince with them or not,” Adrian said as he cleaned the last of the salve off his hands with a handkerchief from his coat of infinite pockets.
“Gilgamesh has gotta be running short on sons by now,” Iggs insisted. “I saw the Prince of Hate eat it with my own eyes, and Leander’s with us, so that’s two down.”
“I don’t think Greed is back, either,” Adrian said, thinking. “At least, I didn’t see him during the week I was here. Bex beat the Princess of War earlier, but she’s paired with Alexander. He’s Gilgamesh’s Crown Prince, so he’s probably still active, but Lys killed the Prince of Lust, so that’s another one—”
“Wait, Lys killed a prince?” Bex interrupted. “When did that happen?!”
“Just a few minutes ago,” Adrian said. “I felt someone messing with my tree, so I asked them to check it out.”
Bex went still. “You sent Lys to fight a prince alone?”
“Not on purpose!” he cried, waving his hands. “I didn’t know it was a prince yet! And by the time I found out, Lys had already won.”
Her whole body was shaking by the time he finished. “So they didn’t… Lys is still…”
“Lys is still alive,” Adrian assured her with a smile. “They’ve got multiple Blade of Gilgamesh wounds now, but I’ve wrapped them in my roots to keep them stable. After we win here, I’ll go back and heal them fully, but they won’t die so long as my tree stands.”
Bex’s shoulders slumped in relief. “I was wondering why they hadn’t said anything over the comm in a while,” she muttered, rubbing her hands over her face. “I should have checked in on them sooner, should’ve been more careful. Lys could’ve died, and I wouldn’t even—”
“They didn’t want to distract you,” Adrian said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “They didn’t tell me what they were doing either. By the time I realized the fight was happening, it was already over. But everything turned out okay! Lys is going to be fine, and theywon. I’m still not sure what the Prince of Lust was trying to do, but I’m pretty sure Lys’s quick thinking saved my tree, and all of us.”
“Of course they did,” Bex said, scrubbing her eyes. “Lys has always been a hero.”
“And it’s about time they added a prince to their trophy list,” Iggs added with a smile of his own. “You realize they’re going to be insufferable after this, right?”
“I can’t wait,” Bex said, grinning at her demon as she pushed back to her feet. “I got the Prince of Fear, by the way.”
Adrian blinked at her. “What?”
“For our prince count,” she clarified. “I killed Fear, and there never was a Prince of Pride, so if War’s prince is still in the palace, that only leaves Envy unaccounted for.”
“I don’t think he’d go to the Blackwood,” Adrian said, tapping his wooden pinky thoughtfully against the polished floor. “Envy’s the prince who almost killed me when I stuck my head through the door at the bottom of the Seattle Anchor. I’m pretty sure he’s in charge of the black desert where all the chains come together, and from the state of his armor, I don’t think he ever leaves it.”
“That’s great,” Iggs said as he pushed himself into a sitting position. “If there’s no prince in the attack force and Heaven’s not coming out of the sky to blast them, I bet the Blackwood can hold off Gilgamesh’s army no problem.”
“Not when they’ve only got a skeleton crew,” Adrian said, glaring sharply at Iggs until the demon got the message and lay back down again. “Not having a prince will slow Heaven’s forces down, but unless we all go back right now, the Blackwood is as good as lost, which is the whole reason Gilgamesh is attacking it. He wants us to turn around and give up the assault.”
“Which means that’s the last thing we should do,” Bex said, looking up at the scorched ceiling. “It feels weird to say, but I’m glad Gilgamesh is being so ruthless. It proves we’re on the right track. The Blackwood’s where he gets his princes. He’d never burn that bridge unless he was desperate.”
“Or he felt its loss was inevitable anyway,” Nemini pointed out in her usual monotone.
“The Blackwood did attack him first,” Adrian agreed. “But he was already moving his forces into position well before I grew my tree, so…” His voice trailed off as he shook his head. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. No matter what Gilgamesh is, was, or will be doing, we still have to stop him, so let’s just focus on that.”
“Works for me,” Bex said, rising back to her feet. “First step is to find him. The Morrigan said to follow the chains, so let’s start there. They’re down those stairs, right?”
Adrian nodded and rose to his feet as well. Iggs, however, looked panicked. “You can’t go down there alone!” he cried, flopping on his back like a bandaged fish. “That’s where all the sorcerers ran!”
