“Your Dragon army,” Asher reminded.
Right. “I’m sorry, everyone. This is the first time I ever found myself preparing for war. I guess I still need to learn—”
“It’s fine. You are not alone, Brother.” Asher nodded, patting my back.
“Ours too,” Edward reminded, gesturing to the members of my guard.
“Yet, we believe in you, my king,” Charlotte offered, grinning widely when Imogen nodded in approval—she had finally called me by a proper title.
“My first time too,” Willow suddenly exclaimed. “I want to fight with you. With all of you.”
“Absolutely not!” Kingston argued, facing her, but his protest instantly died when she took his hand, intertwining their fingers.
“You seem to have forgotten that my brothers trained me as a warrior too. They taught me everything they knew before they passed. My parents dreamed of me being in the Sky Legion, fighting for my land and being part of the movement that finally won against evil. It may have taken me too long, but I have realized that I want that too. I’m done hiding, Kingston. It’s time for me to fight.”
A helpless breath expanded his chest, but he nodded, bringing her hand to his lips to kiss it.
“Not that I was asking for your permission,” she added, pulling chuckles from all of us. “Besides, Draco will protect me. You know that.”
“He will,” I assured the chief without a shadow of a doubt, and he sighed, accepting it as truth. “Okay. Divide and conquer,” I concluded, forcing myself not to focus on what our warriors would have to overcome on land. Except, they weren’t just warriors; they were my brothers and sisters. My people.
“It might be easier if we start now,” Harper suggested, and the room was divided into two groups without hesitation.
As the leader of the land riders, Harrison took Finn, Islay, Hannah, and Fletcher aside, beginning to plan their strategy since they would lead the warriors on land. Kingston joined them as the Chief of Battle, calling Nikau to their side once he arrived.
Imogen, Asher, and Harper joined the rest of us in planning the Dragons’ attack. Arguably the most dangerous part since we would not only need to battle Azazel, but the Warlock King and his magic as well.
Essentially, the Sky Legion would become three teams in the sky. Kingston, Harper, Arlo, Skylar, and Elijah would flank Evanna, all focusing on distracting Azazel—even though I knew Tharion would want to take on him alone. To be honest, I still didn’t know how I felt about that, but as long as Azazel was under Raithian’s command, he was a threat to us all. A threat that needed to be taken down one way or another.
Aaron, Charlotte, Willow, Nikau, and Louis would provide back up to the land riders and the six hundred warriors on the ground, because based on Nikau’s intel, Raithian’s army had grown far more than we would like in the past twenty years. Lastly, Imogen, Asher, Edward, Quinn, and Harvey, would flank me to go against Raithian.
Fifteen sky riders had left with Lachlan, already having chosen the Battlesky clan after his fall out with Evanna, but five more joined him after learning I was Raithian’s grandson. I couldn’t blame them because they had fought against Raithian their entire lives, but it dangerously diminished our numbers.
Only ten more sky riders remained in the Sky Legion, but they would stay behind to protect the Hidden Kingdom and our people. If we lost this battle, they would take everyone to the Mirror World, and start a new life there, protecting them.
Four Dragons. Four Dragons. Four Dragons. Four Dragons…
The Truth Teller’s warning returned. I needed four Dragons to defeat Raithian, except I had failed to reclaim Azazel, and she clearly hadn’t meant the ones we already had. What did she see that demanded more power? It was hard to imagine, but right now I couldn’t focus on the what ifs. I had to trust the people risking their lives to fight beside me, the Dragons following me blindingly because I was their king, and the man and warrior I had become through this journey of revelations and magic.
Evanna believed in us, so I did too. Together, we would win this.
* * *
The soulful notes of a tribal song danced through the Hidden Kingdom that night, accentuated by the faithful pounding of steel. It was the song of creation for thefet’ari seti,Skylar’s lineage of women swordsmiths, and the tool through which their magic was imbued onto the objects they forged.
Their voices had power, and it was a privilege to hear them sing.
Sadly, an eerie tension also engulfed our kingdom, accompanying their voices, and filtering through every nook. Evie and I had announced the battle to our people after dinner, and now the reality of what was to come weighed heavily on all of us. Yet, it was decided. Nothing stood between us and the Warlock King anymore.
Before the sun rose tomorrow, we would be on our way to take the Hollow.
My arms wrapped around Evanna’s waist from behind, and I held her close, glancing out to our hidden city over her shoulder.
“Did I make a mistake?” she asked, her gaze lost in the dimmed city. “Do you think I should have chosen to leave this world and give our people a new life now.”
Inhaling slowly, I shook my head and turned her around to face me. “No. You did the right thing. Leaving now wouldn’t feel like moving on or letting go, it would feel like running away, and I know neither of us wants that.”
A small smile curved her lips, and she briefly nodded, holding on to my neck before she stood on her tiptoes. Answering her silent call, I lowered my mouth to meet hers, kissing her softly.
