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‘We’re here to see Queen Reyna,’ Thea declared.

‘The queen is not entertaining visitors. She is in mourning,’ one of the guards told her coldly.

‘We’re aware,’ Anya said with equal iciness. ‘We’re not here to be entertained.’

The guard’s eyes narrowed. ‘What are you here for, then?’

‘To plan for the war ahead,’ Anya told him without hesitation.

The guard blinked at her. ‘War?’

‘Did I stammer?’

‘Take your attitude somewhere else, girl. Before we sound the alarm and have you thrown in the ice dungeons.’

But Anya stood firm, resting a hand on the handle of her scythe. ‘We’re not leaving until we see the queen.’

The guard’s eyes widened as he noted the gesture, and the weapon itself. ‘I know you! You’re the —’

Thea glanced at Wren, who gave her a subtle nod. Thea pulled Anya back before she started a brawl, and addressed the guard herself.

‘Tell Queen Reyna that the heirs of Delmira beg an audience.’

CHAPTER TWENTY

WILDER

Talemir’s call to arms had been heard all over Naarva, and the shadow-touched forces grew by the day, the camp now spilling out into surrounding fields. Wilder had had no idea there were so many in hiding, certainly not this many willing to fight.

He stood by a fire pit now with the Shadow Prince himself, along with Torj, Dratos, Drue and Adrienne, trying to pull together some semblance of a plan. It was official: Tver was marching on Aveum with King Artos’ forces at its back, and the rebellion was to meet the attack on the open battlefield. If they could unite their men.

‘We have to expect discord between the different units,’ Wilder said to the others. ‘Both among the shadow-touched themselves, and between them and the allies when we join forces.’

‘He’s right,’ Tal agreed. ‘Just like the rest of the midrealms, Aveum has been told the narrative that we’re of the same ilk as the wraiths. Even if the Embervales secure the alliance with Queen Reyna, we can’t expect things to go smoothly. We have to prepare to combat the prejudices from and within both sides.’

‘How do you propose we do that, Tal?’ Dratos drawled. ‘Our people have lived in secret for years for fear of what common folk do to our kind. We’ve all heard about Artos’ experiments —’

‘We need to get our people to accept Wilder and Torj as leaders in our army.’

Dratos shook his head in disbelief. ‘Good luck with that.’

Wilder was inclined to agree with him. Though he’d been training his own unit to the point of exhaustion, they still whispered about his execution of their kind, and those whispers echoed through the camp. ‘Torj will have better luck,’ he said.

‘Luck or no, we need you both. There’s no winning this war without the right commanders at the helm.’ There was no compromise in Talemir’s voice, and it reminded Wilder of his earlier days as the apprentice of the legendary Warsword, when he’d demanded complete obedience and nothing less.

‘First order of business,’ Drue cut in. ‘Every weapon-wielding soldier in our ranks is to report to the forge to have their blades imbued with the orchid essence. Then they’ll be able to carve out wraith hearts just as well as if they hold Naarvian steel. Fendran said to send them in groups of twenty. The forge and its surrounds can’t hold many more than that.’

Drue’s command was law in this place, perhaps even more so than Talemir’s, and her orders quickly filtered down the ranks before Wilder’s eyes. He wished Thea was here to see it.

When their strategising was done for the evening, the group of commanders broke up, leaving Torj at Wilder’s side by the fire. There was no point in returning to the main building when they had to be up at dawn for training, so they had pitched tents alongside the rest of the army. Wilder didn’t miss the soft mattress of his bed so much as he missed Thea in it with him.

‘You’re thinking of her, aren’t you?’ Torj ventured, staring into the campfire flames.

‘Always,’ Wilder replied without hesitation. He’d once been stupid enough to deny all he felt for Thea, but those days were long behind him now.

His blunt reply didn’t seem to faze the Bear Slayer. ‘Do you think they’re alright?’

Wilder heaved a sigh and raked his fingers through his hair. ‘Do I like the idea of Thea out there without me? No. Do I think she’s alright? She’s a storm-wielding Warsword… The safest place is at her side. Which is exactly where Wren is.’