I propped up on my elbow and stared at his strikingly handsome features. I ran a finger down his cheek scar, and then over his lips. “The darker version of my handsome dream man. I wonder if you know how to make chocolate cake?” I asked him.
But his silence was heartbreaking.
“Answer me,” I begged, trying to keep the tears from welling in my eyes.
“Wake up, Stryker.” I shook him a little, feeling desperate. But the rise and fall of his chest did not change, nor did his eyes open.
There was a knock at the doorway. I glanced up to see one of Stryker’s captains.
“The rebel soldiers’ lanterns can be seen on the horizon. We think they mean to attack at first light. It’s time,” he said.
I nodded, wiping my eyes and then planting a chaste kiss on Stryker’s cheek. “I will do you proud, my love,” I told him and then stood from the bed.
My tea had cooled and so I chugged it and then followed the captain to war.
If Stryker could not lead his people, then I would. If nothing else then as a penance for not being able to save my own. My blood would run in rivers down these streets before I let one rebel soldier cross this threshold.
Chapter 22
The city of Easteria was surrounded on all sides by an imposing city wall. The wall offered protection to the capital city and castle, but was in no way unscalable. As I climbed the rampart steps I quickly realized Zander was correct; as soon as the army arrived they’d have the numbers to overwhelm our forces and breach the first line of defense.
The first enemy troops were spotted coming from the west, from the direction of the Midlands, so the captains and I diverted the majority of the army to the western-facing rampart. But since the city could be attacked from any side, we still assigned guards along the northern, eastern, and southern walls as well.
I would be the first to say that I didn’t have any battle experience, but I was well read. I’d spent countless hours back in Faerie reading of different wars and battles throughout our history and I knew that attacking us head-on could possibly be a diversion. I didn’t know the opposing rebel army, but I wasn’t about to leave parts of the city exposed. These rebels might be trying to distract us with a battle in one area only to slip in the back when we weren’t looking.
When I reached the top of the city wall, more than one set of eyebrows rose. I was decked out in full armor, just like all of the other troops. Dawn had left me her armor, but I was shorter and more petite than her, so not everything fit perfectly. I used which pieces I could, and then some of the guards helped me find the rest. I think that they dug out some children’s training armor, which perhaps wasn’t the best, but I would make do.
One of the captains named Thierry rushed up to me, concern heavy in his gaze. “Milady, you shouldn’t be here. Please go back to the castle where it’s safe. This is no place for a lady.”
He tried to shoo me back down the stairs, but I held my ground, tilting my chin up to look down my nose at him, even though he was at least a foot taller than me.
“If Lord Stryker was well, would he be cowering in the castle at such a time as this?” I asked, putting steel into my voice.
Captain Thierry stopped trying to get me to move. He looked at me with a hint of weary respect. “No, milady. He’d be right here with the rest of his men.”
“Exactly,” I said. “So this is where I will remain.” I moved past the captain and through the troops until I reached the ledge and could look out over what would soon become the battleground.
The sky was only starting to lighten. The rebel troops had been spotted late last night, the light from their lanterns dotting the horizon line, but they’d stopped and now remained in the distance, just out of our archers’ range.
Our best guess was that they were waiting for the early morning hours to attack when the light would show them their target. The anticipation of knowing the battle was coming with nothing left to do but wait,turned my stomach to knots.
I was careful not to let my anxiety show on my face as I strained my eyes to see the line of rebels in the distance. I was determined to be strong for our troops, just like I knew Stryker would be if he were here. In the face of almost certain failure, these brave men deserved that much, at least. To see me facing the same fate as they did. To look death straight in the eye and dare it to come for us.
I don’t know when exactly I’d started to consider Stryker’s people my own. But it happened, and here I was, willing to die for them.
An eerie sort of silence fell over our troops as we waited. I sensed someone come up beside me and looked over to see Stryker’s head captain, an unseelie named Greylocke. Greylocke had tawny skin and yellow eyes. A pair of leathery wings sprouted from his back and his feet were hooved. He said he’d been part of the Eastern Army for more than three decades, serving under previous lords before Stryker. The layers of scars on one side of his face and neck, as well as his exposed hands, said that this would not be the first battle he’d seen. I was thankful for his experience at a moment such as this.
“It won’t be long now,” he said, his gaze fastened on the rebels.
“Have any other troops been spotted from the other walls?” I asked.
He pressed his lips into a hard line, but shook his head. The look on his face didn’t lighten though, and I knew he was as concerned as I was about fighting this battle on multiple fronts. We didn’t have the troops to hold all four walls.But for now, we could only hope our fears wouldn’t come to fruition.
It was just as the first ray of sun crested the hill that a battle cry rose in the distance, piercing the silence. As if moving as one, a line of rebel soldiers started marching forward. The footfalls of so many striking the ground sent a small vibration through the rampart wall. I could practically feel the fear of the soldiers around me as they saw what we were up against.
“This is suicide,” someone yelled and I craned my neck to the side to see who had spoken. A middle-aged seelie fae had broken ranks and was backing away from his position. “There are too many! We’ll all be killed!” he screamed frantically, stirring up the already frightened troops.
“Silence,” Captain Greylocke shouted at the fae. “Get back in line. Your family is depending on it.”
