The entire mortal world was likely doomed.
“How long do you think it will take?” I whispered to Yuto, who stood solidly beside me, his steel armor glinting even in the dead of night. I didn’t dare raise my voice. Panos could hear everything.
“He’ll have seen us already,” Yuto murmured. “So, his next move depends on how eager he is to attack. It could be a long wait. Or it could be only moments.”
Shivering, I huddled into the depths of the crimson cloak Yuto had leant me. The five of us stood shoulder-to-shoulder, waiting for the enemy to show his face, waiting for what might be the last moments of our life on this earth.
* * *
Hours blurred by. Panos kept himself locked up in his fortress. No sign of life came even after the dawn. Still, we stood alert, watching and waiting for the fight.
Finally, after midday had come and gone, Aleka relented. The purple bags beneath her eyes had darkened to black. “I don’t know how much longer I can take this without some food.”
We hadn’t yet dared do anything but stand on guard. The moment we took our eyes off that castle, Panos could make his move. My own stomach clawed at itself in hunger. The last time we’d eaten had been a full day before, halfway between Yuto’s castle and our destination.
Yuto frowned, but then he nodded. “We should eat. We need to keep up our strength. Panos will not be fasting like we have been.”
I shivered at what that likely meant and could not help but picture the tormented face of Valin. After surviving so many years by Panos’s side, he’d now be part of the feast. All because he’d helped me escape. All because he’d wanted freedom.
Rolling back my shoulders, I turned toward Aleka to see what food she’d packed in her satchel. She’d already dug out a heel of bread, cut off a chunk, and then handed it to Orion.
“Wait.” Yuto’s voice was razor sharp. “He’s here.”
Terror slipped down my spine like a jagged fingernail. Heart in my throat, I slowly spun on my heels to face the castle. A fire blazed on the battlement. Even from this distance, I could see a figure standing beside it. He held up a red flag. On it, a brutalized dragon had been painted with blood. A second body had been scrawled next to it, half the size of the other.
A baby dragon. A child.
I pressed a hand to my mouth, swallowing down the whimper. This was a kind of cruelty I could not comprehend.
Yuto’s entire body trembled with rage. He pulled out his spear and punched the ground. “He mocks me. He mocks us all!”
“He’s trying to get a rise out of you, my lord,” Eryx warned, though his own voice sounded strained and edged in danger. “He wants to lure you into attacking him.”
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Yuto roared, slamming his spear even harder against the ground. Dirt sprayed onto his steel and onto his screwed-up face.
Heart throbbing, I reached out a hand to calm him down, but then stopped myself. I could scarcely imagine the pain he felt from losing his son, much less the rage at that death being thrown into his face by one of his greatest enemies. He had every right to be angry. He had every right to want Panos dead. And we had not come here to parley.
I squared my shoulders, buried my fear, and stepped up to Yuto’s side. “If he wants a battle, then let’s give him a battle.”
“But we can’t attack his fortress, my lady,” Eryx said.
Startled, I turned his way. “I’m not a lady.”
“You are one of us now, and you are Yuto’s lover.” He gave a slight bow. “You might not be a lady in birth but you are in spirit.”
“Oh.” I flushed. “Well, thank you. But regardless of all that, we should make our move. We don’t actually have to storm his fortress. We just need to make him think we are. If we trick him, he might make a mistake.”
“Or we could just storm the damn fortress and tear his head from his limbs,” Yuto growled.
“But he has all those allies hiding inside and just waiting for our attack,” Orion said with a frown. “If we rush in, we’ll be surrounded instantly. We shouldn’t do that. Let’s stay out here.”
“No, I don’t think they will attack.” Yuto strode forward, pointing the glinting edge of his spear right at the castle. “He hasn’t come out yet. If he truly has that many allies, he’d be eager for this fight. Instead, he’s hiding inside. Why?”
“He doesn’t have allies at all?” Eryx asked.
I frowned. “But I saw them all.”
“You saw feasting and dancing and rage, yes?” Yuto asked.
