Respect flared in Zander’s eyes and a small smile lifted the corner of Dawn’s mouth.
“Although I admire the initiative,” Zander said, “can we talk before you sound the alarm. We have an idea.”
Chapter 21
Dawn, Zander, and I stayed in the library throughout the afternoon, planning. I left three times to check on Stryker, but his condition was the same. Even though it killed me to be away from him, I knew my time was better spent strategizing with his brother and Dawn on how to save his kingdom.
Thankfully, Dawn and Zander had come prepared. They’d left half of their army in their lands on high alert. The last thing they wanted was for the rebels to try to take over while they were off helping Stryker and the Eastern Kingdom. But they’d quietly sent the other half into the Eastern Kingdom the same day they themselves departed. Their troops were now camping south of the Jewel Spring Mountains, awaiting their command only a little less than a day’s ride from us, but hidden so that the rebels didn’t know they were close.
We decided it was best to make the rebels believe that we were unaware of their plans, and therefore unprepared. We hoped that would make them sloppy when they finally made their move. We also decided to send coded messages to Stryker’s brothers Zane and Adrien,asking for help. Zander wasn’t sure if they’d be able to send any troops, both brothers had their own inter-kingdom issues to deal with, but if Stryker ever needed his brothers, it was now.
Eventually, we did call in Stryker’s captains and explain what we knew. We kept the knowledge to a small group of people though, concerned that our plans would make it back to the rebels and ruin everything. I had ensured there were no traitors in Stryker’s army with my truth-telling power, but Zander explained how devious and tricky the rebels could be and cautioned me to only reveal knowledge to the most trusted of Stryker’s men. It was a warning I was going to heed, so before we let anyone know what was going on, I used my magic to ferret out if they were still trustworthy or had been recently bribed to turn on Stryker in his weakened state.
At the end of the very long day Zander asked if he could see Stryker before he and Dawn turned in. I led both of them to Stryker’s room and saw real anguish in Zander’s eyes when he spotted his brother, lying defenseless and unconscious in bed. He immediately went to Stryker, clasped his hand and began talking to him.
I didn’t know if Stryker could hear and understand what we said to him in his current condition, but I hoped he could. Zander told his brother he was sorry for not helping him in the past and asked for forgiveness. He told Stryker he loved him, and that he was so glad that Stryker had found his mate. My eyes welled up a little at that point and I left the room to give Zander privacy.
* * *
I was shaken awake by Dawn. I sat up, bleary eyed with my heart pounding in my chest.
“There has been an attack at the front gates. Zander is locking down the castle,” she said.
Those words had me jumping from my bed and throwing on my boots and a thick dressing gown. “Was anyone hurt?”
Dawn nodded sadly. “It appears that one of the rebels got inside the castle. Zander took care of him, but not before he killed two guards. We think he was going to bring back word about the defenses of the fortress and number of guards, things like that.”
“Which means the rebels are close by?” I asked her.
“We think so,” Dawn confirmed. “Sunup is in an hour. Let’s have an early breakfast and adjust the plan. War is at our doorstep.”
Ten minutes later I was pacing the dining room as Zander and Dawn ate.
“You need to keep up your strength, Aribella,” Zander said. “If a battle breaks out. I don’t know the next time we’ll be able to eat.”
I waved him off. “I don’t care about food. I want these bastards out of Stryker’s kingdom,” I growled.
Dawn grinned. “Princess of Fall Court, I always thought you were the shy and meek one. I’m glad to be proved wrong.”
I sent her a half smile, but my mind was racing. “What if we sent out scouts to try to find their camp and report back how many troops they have?” I asked.
“Already done.” Zander smiled.
“We should send a new raven to Zane and Adrien, ask for them to send troops.”
Zander’s face fell a little. “I did, but they still haven’t responded to the first raven and Stryker has not been the kindest to them over the years.”
“He’s their brother!” I shouted.
Zander just nodded. “And it’s complicated. If this battle wasn’t as imminent I’d risk contacting them telepathically. But it could put me down for an entire day, and we can’t afford that right now.”
I groaned, feeling flustered that there wasn’t more I could do. “How big is Stryker’s army? Is everyone ready? Should we call for volunteers?”
Zander placed his fork down and stood, walking over to stand before me. “You are doing a great job, Aribella. But we’ve done all we can. I’ve sent word for my men to move closer in the event of an attack. Stryker’s army is stationed and ready to fight. All we can do is wait.”
I deflated, sinking in on myself. Wait until we were attacked? It was a horrible option, but seemed like the only one. “What if we went out to meet them, fought before they even got here.”
Zander nodded. “Once my spy gets back with numbers and their location, we will consider that option.”
