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I took that all in again, following Véa’s gaze to the draken flying around a black mountaintop at the edge of the city.

As always, she was right.

Lux wasn’t their leader, not really. He wasn’t capable of that. He loved the influence that came with his title, but he’d only ever been a figurehead.

That, paired with the fact that he’d destroyed any back up we could’ve used…

“Honestly, Nix,” she whispered, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they got rid of Lux themselves. Lux loved Hana more than he loved almost anything, and they killed her. I know that’s not sitting well with him. I also know that he doesn’t see them the way that I do. He thinks those boys love him, and that he’s invincible because of it.”

“But they don’t,” I murmured.

“No, they do.” She shook her head slightly. “They don’t love him the way that I love Mum, or the way you love El, but they do. They care for him. But they also know they’re stronger than he is. If I put myself into their shoes, if I was trying to accomplish what they were, I’d siphon his soul from his body and have it reborn in my line. Perhaps my own child? That way, he isn’t gone. They still get to have his presence, and his love, buttheyget the power. They get the title, and the castle, and the throne, and the army. The army that can destroy the only others who are strong enough to rule in opposition.”

Us.

Damn, she was smart.

This was why she handled the politics and war. I understood battle strategy. She understood people and power in a way I never would.

“What do you think we should do then?” I asked.

“For now?” A shuddering breath escaped her nostrils. “Hide. We can form an army from the Fae, but that will take time. These are peaceful people; they’ve never had a need for the type of army we require to take on the Angels. That’s certainly a battle I never would’ve wanted to fight when I was queen of Morduaine.”

Hide.

Again, she was right. Rationally, I knew she was right. There was a part of me that wanted to pretend we could take them on, but following her course of thought, I agreed we couldn’t. If it were only the boys, sure, we could handle them.

But they ruled an entire army. We simply didn’t have the numbers.

We were fucked.

Hiding here in the Land of Light was our only option for the foreseeable future.

No matter how weak and small that made me feel, there was no other choice.

“Do you think they’ll be able to get here?” I asked.

“Eventually.” She quieted, still staring into the city. “For now, their focus will be eliminating Rafael and Lux as threats. Rafael, I don’t think they’ll kill. Not as long as he’s smart and claims to stand with them. I believe he’s wise enough to do so.” She swept a handful of her curly brown locks to the other side of her head, grabbing a fistful. “Once they get those two under control, they’ll spread propaganda to the population of Matriax against us. Then,onlythen, once they know they have an army who sees us as their enemies, will they search for us.”

It astounded me how she was able to keep her voice so level as she spoke, but I felt the thundering thump of her heart where our wrists met.

Giving her hand a squeeze, I brought her knuckles to my lips and kissed them softly. She met my gaze.

“By then, we’ll have an army too.”

She forced a smile. “We’ll do our best.”

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

VÉA

AYear and a Half Later

“I’m not doing that.” Mirobhail crossed his arms against his chest. “I don’t care what you say. I won’t do it.”

Nix’s shoulders slumped. “You won’t hurt me, Mirobhail.”

“I could stab you.”