I had half a mind to do it again then to get him to fuck off.
“He will depart two days after the trial, giving time for additional reinforcements to arrive from the south. Which is why you must all return or write to your estates across the realm and call upon your denizens to continue to volunteer. We don’t want to force anyone to fight, but if we must…” Stadiel trailed off, the threat hanging with the humidity in the air. He wouldn’t hesitate to send those seated around this table off too. Some of their kith already served as officers, but they’d been spared as heads of houses. Until the Koron deemed otherwise.
“Have those stationed near the wall delivered any further news?” Herr Ilytharï, Zuriel’s uncle, asked. I wasn’t sure if it was out of concern for his nephew or he was genuinely curious.
The lone group hiding among the massive peaks of the Skala Mountains had been the ones to spot the influx of Demons to Uzhhorod, the capital of the Demon Realm. It was so easy for the council to talk about the risk they took flying over the wall for a better glimpse. Their reality was that every leap might lead them to meeting the Goddess.
Up there, the air was thin, which made flying precarious. With the sharp rocks and chilled glaciers, death was one forceful gust away. But they couldn’t merely leap over the wall and walk down the other side and into the valley that nestled Uzhhorod. The Demons had controlled massive lengths of the divider between realms for decades, and that particular spot was heavily fortified.
With our different coloring, inserting spies was impossible. At least it worked in reverse too. Hence the importance Iaoth and Stadiel placed on our Seers.
“Not yet,” a Kisst, whose territory that spot fell under, offered. “Though I expect a message imminently.” His eldest son and daughter headed the hidden forces beneath the wall, the only group standing between the Demon Realm and a direct path to Sivy.
Someone snorted down the table. “All these messages we have to constantly wait on. We need to act.”
Stadiel leveled a harsh glare in the male’s direction. “Acting without insight is a fool’s errand. Tell me, Rhael, did you suddenly become Elessarum?”
Those surrounding the table fidgeted in their seats.
“I’ll send my fastest ravens,” another Kisst offered, breaking the tension. “Where do we call them?”
“Eloi,” I replied. Selfishly, I wanted additional bodies surrounding the largest city in the north when Sylaira and I arrived. Technically, it was part of my svaethi, though it bordered on Kisst Caerelith’s lanthi. There was a military academy north of there, one of several spread throughout the Angel Realm. Given the Demon army’s position, it was a natural choice.
But wars weren’t won with only logic. Desperation and fear played their parts in strategy too.
And with what I had to lose, I wasn’t taking any chances.
“The Issaraeth will oversee their arrival and ultimate union with the rest of the army,” Stadiel explained. I was under no guise that he was doing this as a favor to me. Rather, he wanted me out of his sight as much as Herr Elyriane did. And this was a convenient cover to the fact that they had to concede some ground to the power-hungry noble.
Still, they were allowing me to bring Sylaira with me when we departed. I’d bargained away more political capital to take Heraphia too. My mate wouldn’t leave without her friend, of that I was certain.
Iaoth had already planned to have Sylaira under constant surveillance, keeping her chain tight when she was out from under her wings. Adding Heraphia to the mix was no different. And to ensure Iaoth receivedword for wordwhat they had Seen, she was sending two mated pairs with us. One half remaining in Sivy, the other part of our traveling party.
I was under no illusion that Iaoth wasn’t planning on pushing the two females to the limits of their powers while she still had access to them. And after our departure, their keepers were sure to have secret instructions of their own.
Because Calrien was to accompany us too. What trust I had in him had crumbled to ash since our return. There was no doubt in my mind now that he was under my sister’s thumb.
“My son will also accompany them,” Kisst Caerelith added. For which I was incredibly grateful. Maelsar was a much-needed ally amid all the games being played in the Angel Realm.
“The Elessarum traitors can wait until we’ve won this war,” Stadiel growled, bracing his knuckles on the table. “We’re so close to victory. If we can overwhelm them with our own reinforcements, I’ll be seated on the throne in Gyor Palace come winter.”
“What about supplies for these new soldiers?” a southern Kisst dared ask. Those around him subtly shifted away as Stadiel’s attention landed on him like a heavy boulder.
A muscle ticked in my jaw from all the things I wanted to say but couldn’t.
“Have them bring whatever they can carry,” he stated, each word measured. But I knew him well enough to know that he was fuming underneath his cool exterior. “Metal too. Our smiths can forge more weapons from scraps.”
“And food?” the male asked, oblivious to the temperature drop in the room.
“We had a bountiful harvest this summer,” Stadiel snapped. “And in autumn, there will be more crops in the north.”
Liar.
Kisst Caerelith and I shared a look. We knew it wouldn’t be enough to feed all our forces unless we compelled the farmers to surrender the food without pay.
When we reached the grassy plains, I doubted the peasants would have a choice.
“We don’t have any time to waste. Some will have to make long journeys north. Go forth and call upon your people again.By the divine will of our Radiant Mother, who has long favored our holy war, we will win this year,” Stadiel ordered.
