I passed out the daggers. It seemed like a poor gesture, but I had little else.
Before I turned to go, Ellen, a girl I’d grown up with, grabbed my arm. “Wait, Tessa.”
I met her gaze. She pushed her midnight hair behind her ear, revealing mud-streaked cheeks. She’d once been so bold. But now she looked scared and alone, and I did not blame her at all.
“I…” She dropped her voice to a whisper, and her hand tightened on my arm. “What’s going to happen to us?” Her eyes were pleading with me, begging for me to say that everything would be fine.
She didn’t want the truth. She didn’t want to know the odds were stacked against us. If the gods broke through the tiger-eye barrier, no amount of weapons or ferocity would stand a chance against them. We would fight for all we were worth, but unless something miraculous happened, we were doomed.
But she did not want to hear that.
I placed my hand over hers and held tight. “You will be safe in the tower. That’s why I brought you here. We’re going to close the shutters and block out the light, and the enemy won’t know anyone is in here.”
“And the enemies are the gods?” she said, her voice cracking. “The creatures who want to enslave humanity so they can feast on our flesh and blood?”
I nodded, but Andromeda’s words echoed in my mind.
This is the problem with lore, Tessa Baran. The years erode the truth, leaving nothing behind but a smudged portrait of the real history. We will not feast.
Andromeda had insisted, time and time again, that she and the other gods didn’t consume human flesh. She’d made it clear the idea disgusted her. And yet, what did she want from the humans if that wasn’t it? If I’d proven myself to her, she’d planned to tell me. But I never had.
“Are they afterus? Is that why they’re coming?” Ellen asked.
“I think it doesn’t matter what they want or why. They are our enemy, and we will do our damndest to stop them.”
I started to let go, but Ellen clutched me tighter.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I know things weren’t great between us before Oberon chose you, and I wasn’t kind to you. I’ve heard what he did to you and your family. We’ve all heard.”
A murmur went through the crowd, and I realized we had an audience. A cluster of villagers had surrounded us. All were nodding their heads or gazing at me in pity. No, not pity, I realized. Understanding and something else. Hope.
They had yet to give up hope.
“You don’t need to apologize or feel guilty about what happened to me.” I raised my voice, turning so I could address the crowd. “All of you, you’re my family. I grew up with half of you, and I looked up to the rest. Together, we survived the cruelty of the fae. That’s what us Teine mortals do. We survive. And now we’re going to survive this.”
“I heard you’re the answer to a prophecy,” Milly whispered from her perch beside the window.
“I heard that, too,” Pria added. “You’re the Daughter of Stars.”
Another girl asked, “Does that mean you can save us?”
I glanced around the crowd, noticing many of the villagers here were the other women my age. We’d all been offered up to Oberon as his next mortal bridge. They’d followed me into this room while Kalen sorted out housing for the others. They must have hoped I had answers. I wished I did.
“I’m going to do my fucking best, all right? I’ll do whatever it takes,” I said, meeting every single gaze in the room. They nodded back, and some loosed sighs of relief. But I hated that I had nothing more comforting to offer them. “Now, we’re going to close the shutters, we’re going to douse all the lights, and you’re going to remain silent. Don’t open that door, and don’t call out. Not until you hear my voice. Got it?”
Milly jumped to her feet and pulled the shutters closed. Pria moved to the gemstones and flicked them off. I paused at the door and held my fingers to my lips. Then I locked the girls inside. We hadn’t been close since the Festival of Light, but I’d always considered them a part of my family. I always would.
I hoped this wasn’t the last time I ever saw them.
* * *
Toryn met Kalen and me in the corridor. He looked weary, like he hadn’t slept in days. A golden crown now weighed down his head. Like Kalen, ruling was a burden for him.
“The storm fae are safely ensconced on a lower floor. There weren’t a lot of clean rooms, so some are huddling together on blankets in the hallway. I told them they should get some sleep, but I don’t think anyone will be dreaming tonight.” Toryn sighed with his entire body. “They just went through this in Dubnos not that long ago. I wish they could have a break from all this bloodshed.”
“Everyone here could use some relief. Has Boudica returned from scouting ahead?” I asked Kalen.
He nodded. “A few moments ago. The gods have packed up their war camp, and they’re on the march. They’re heading this way, just like we thought.”
