But the left corner of his mouth lifted. “Amorite?”
Gwen had anticipated this question. “I’d have to take it from my own males to give it to you. Your fighters are valuable, but they are not trained fae warriors.”
One amorite stud, she could lose. But not even the elementals that Elora had found in the mountains were protected from losing their souls to the succubus. As it was,female warriors all over Eldermist and the outlying areas, human and fae alike, guarded the males who could turn deadly in an instant.
“Once we join forces with the High King and Queen, it is possible—”
Ferndale lifted his hand. “Do you know why there are no mighty human cities left? Why we’ve been reduced to struggling villages?”
Gwen clenched her jaw. She would not give him the satisfaction of shaking her head.
“It is because of your Ancestors. They destroyed everything during their Great War. You say it was never about fighting us, but about defeating the succubus even then. But the fae who came and burned our cities did not do it to protect themselves. They did it simply because theycould.”
She could not argue with him. Maybe it had been a mercy—trapping the humans taken by the succubus and burning them alive in hopes of extinguishing them. Or maybe it was a brutal way of controlling the human population should the succubus become a threat once again. Humans reproduced much more quickly than fae. Or maybe it was exactly as he said. But those truths were lost to history, and they would not help them live through today.
“Ferndale is not a great city yet, but it will be soon. Our port allows us to trade all across the continent. We do not need jewels or gold. We need to survive. But without your precious amorite, the humans will be nothing more than charnel for your fae to sacrifice to the succubus as a shield.”
“I will retain command of the human forces. I will not let that happen,” Gwen vowed.
But Ferndale did not even dignify that with a response. He turned and stared out the window.
It was unacceptable. She could not atone for her Ancestors. They were the reason all of them, human and fae alike, were battling this monster from another realm. Ancient massacres and prophecies could not be given so much power over the present, not when the very future was at stake…
The future.
It was the only thing more powerful than the past.
“A place in Baylaur.” Gwen dropped her hands to her sides. “When this is over, the world will be different. We… we will renegotiate the treaty between our realms. Humans will have a voice in the fae court.”
She would never have considered it if she were in Veyka’s place. Humans had slaughtered Arthur—Veyka’s twin brother, Gwen’s betrothed. But those humans were not these humans. Those humans had been commanded by Roksana, and manipulated by Igraine and Gorlois, from the recounting Arran and Veyka had given back in Eilean Gayl.
These humans just wanted to live to see another dawn.
Ferndale tilted his head to the side. “Your King and Queen will honor this promise?”
“I am a Knight of the Round Table and her Majesty’s Goldstone Guard. Before that, I was the Terrestrial Heir to the throne of Annwyn. They will honor it.”
He nodded once. “So be it.”
Gwen’s shoulders sagged with relief.
“Close the door behind you.”
She could have done with aplease, but her goal was secured. The calculations began to shift and rearrange themselves within her head. This would be her command. Arran was not a meddlesome commander; he would not interfere with however she decided to organize it. She would use the humans, but she would not sacrifice them unnecessarily.
The tiredness that had plagued her evaporated, leaving a sizzling energy in its wake.
The door opened just as her foot hit the landing, letting in a blast of frigid air.
Elora rushed through it, the emissary from Emberhaven on her heels.
“A succubus horde,” Elora gasped, her breath scissoring in and out of her chest. “In the valley.”
Gwen shook her head. She’d made this mistake before.
“It could be humans from the sixth village.” The one that had not responded at all to her envoy. Gwen could not recall the name, but Sylva knew. Gwen had been wrong before.
But the lines around Elora’s mouth only deepened. “In a few minutes, you’ll be able to scent their bile from here.”
