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CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

E VERYONE WAITED IN THE COUNCIL ROOM. Elaran and Gerarda shared a chair. El had not left Gerarda’s side since Volcar. Riven didn’t take a seat at the table but stood behind me, the hand he had left resting on my shoulder as I waited for Nikolai and Vrail to stop whispering in their seats.

“Quiet,” Myrrah chided when they didn’t cease.

Vrail’s cheeks flushed and she tucked her chin into her red collar. “Apologies.”

Nikolai only grabbed some loose nuts from his lap and tossed them into the air.

Gwyn and Fyrel grinned at each other in the chairs beside Syrra, who merely shook her head.

“The scouts have returned with bad news,” I said to Feron seated directly across from me.

He leaned forward on the stone table. “How many waateyshirak did they see?”

“Three dozen at least.”

Nikolai’s hand froze mid-toss, letting the nuts cascade to the ground.

“That’s too many.” Vrail shook her head so quickly her face blurred. “He only has three pendants left. Extrapolating for the loss of control in Volcar, he has—”

“Tripled the amount of shirak he can control safely,” I finished for her with a stern nod. “It seems that Damien doesn’t care about that. Even now the beasts are tempted to feast on the city. All the residents have been instructed to stay inside.”

“He expects Syrra and I to take down more than a few,” Gerarda quipped, a thin blade twirling through her knuckles. Only she could find the compliment in such grave news.

“Most likely.” I sighed, leaning back into my chair. Riven squeezed my shoulder, and I rested my head against his arm. “Even then it’s ten more than I thought he would dare bring into his city. Our armies have not yet arrived, and he has already put every single person’s life in jeopardy.”

Elaran spun a curl around her fingers. “Damien is past the point of caring. He’s either going to keep his seat on that throne, or take as many lives as possible with him when we push him off it.”

“Into a pool of jagged spikes,” Gwyn added under her breath. The purple bags under her eyes seemed to darken at the idea of it, and I was not certain she was kidding.

Fyrel shot her a worried smile. “It will be hard to kill him with three dozen snapping beaks in our way. They’ll lay the city to rubble before we ever breach the wall.”

“A stolen throne to rule over broken stones.” Gerarda huffed a laugh. “A miserable song for the bards to sing.”

“That’s not all.” I laid a map of Koratha down on the table for all to see. “Damien has the majority of his armada stationed here.” I pointed along the opening of the channel south of the Order. It was within firing range of the field where our warriors would be fending off attacks from the shirak .

“Easy enough to handle,” Myrrah said with a shrug.

Pirmiith clicked his tongue. “Each of Damien’s ships are connected underneath by a net of some kind. It extends far out.” His finger grazed over the parchment past the boundary of the Order. “The scouts can’t be certain what it’s for, but they caught the crews loading barrels of violet dust aboard each ship.”

“The violet fire,” Myrrah whispered. Untamable by wind or water wielding, and so wild that it took the last bit of Lash’s magic to clear it for just a few seconds. We would waste all our resources just trying to protect Myrrah’s crew.

“So invasion by sea is not an option.” Nikolai’s nose crinkled as he looked at the map.

“Not for us.” Riven’s voice was firm but worried. “Though we must prepare for those crews to come ashore to face us.”

“I will have ways to stop that for a period of time.” Feron’s gaze cut to me. “Though we will need to be quick. It will only serve Damien’s advantage if we overextend ourselves.”

“I agree.” I stood and marked the perimeter of the sea net with the bowl of ash that sat on the table. “Myrrah, you and half the Shades will take down as many ships as you can without breaching this threshold. Do not let Damien lure you into his trap.”

“Cautious but deadly.” Myrrah nodded. “I can do that.”

Syrra gave the Fae a knowing grin.

“If you need to retreat or we call you back in, double back around the fleet to safety. Rushing will only get us killed.”

Myrrah’s playful smirk fell to a straight line as she nodded again.

“The rest of us”—I marked the area outside of the city gates—“will be stationed here in four units. Syrra, you will lead one and take Fyrel with you. If you get your chance to slay one of the shirak , take it.”

Fyrel stood and flattened her palm over her face and then her chest. Syrra was less formal, only giving a nod.

I turned to Gerarda. “You will command a unit of your own. Pirmiith will protect you on the ground and Feron will protect you from behind the lines.”

Gerarda scowled. “Why should I be so well protected while the others are left to fend for themselves?”

“Because you’re our biggest asset.” I crossed my arms. “We lose you, we lose the war.”

Gerarda’s mouth opened, but she had no words.

Elaran wrapped her arm around Gerarda’s neck protectively. “Dynara and I can work together to confuse the soldiers from inside the castle.” She turned to Dynara, who was toying with a small, curved blade.

“I portal us in, take a leader, and El takes their place.” Dynara’s smile grew. “In all the chaos it’ll work a few times before they catch on.”

Elaran nodded. “And by then, they’ll lose trust in anyone giving orders.”

“I like it,” I said.

Nikolai turned to Gerarda. “If you can hold off on your light show—”

“Light show?” Gerarda’s eyes started to glow and dark sheets of shadow poured from her limbs.

Nikolai rolled his eyes. “Apologies. Your terribly fearsome sunlight blast.” He raised a brow. “Better?”

“Marginally.”

Nikolai ignored her and continued his point. “If Gerarda can hold off revealing herself, then perhaps the shirak will disperse, attack our troops evenly. It would give Syrra and Keera the best chance to land a kill of their own before Gerarda blasts them from the sky.”

“If I can prevent an attack, I will. But I can’t face all the beasts on my own.” Her fist glowed bright. “Even my gifts have limits.”

“How many could you reasonably kill before you risked burning through your magic?” I asked.

Gerarda considered the question. “Ten. A dozen would be pushing it.”

“Even with two kills each, that is still more than twenty to contend with,” Riven murmured, though the entire room could hear his calculations.

Crison stepped from behind Dynara’s seat. “I can take care of the rest.”

“Your gifts are great, child, but even you cannot command that many,” Syrra said in a gentle tone.

Crison gave her a sideways grin. “I don’t need to control them all at once. Just long enough for you or Keera to get there.” She shot a look at Riven. “Two kills a piece is an underestimate even without me.”

Fyrel snorted on accident, and she hid her face in the collar of her shirt without looking at Riven.

“We can always try to kill as many waateyshirak as we can and then retreat,” Feron said, turning to Dynara. “With strategic portals, our army could disperse very quickly.”

Dynara nodded her approval.

“What about the rest of us?” Vrail stepped forward. “We haven’t been given assignments.”

“You and Riven will stay behind in the healer’s tents with Rheih.” I eyed the tether around Nikolai’s wrist. “You too. If anything happens, I want Rheih close by to help.” Nikolai’s face hardened as his fingers brushed the tether but he nodded. I turned to the others. “Anyone else can choose to fight where they wish.”

Vrail stood as Riven stepped around my chair.

“Absolutely not,” they echoed together.

I rubbed my brow, already tired from the arguments I knew were coming. I addressed Vrail first. “You are a skilled warrior, one I would happily have fighting alongside me.” Vrail’s back straightened at the compliment, her eyes disappearing between her full-cheeked smile. “But”—Vrail’s smile fell flat—“your gifts are too precious to risk on the field of battle.”

Vrail crossed her arms. “That is not an excuse—”

The flames in the hearth flared and Vrail stopped mid-ramble. One of my hands spewed crimson flames while the other was frozen into a chunk of ice. I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

“We have no way of knowing how many we will lose tomorrow.” I looked around the room. “We have already lost so much. Elverath knew that we would need a way to connect the new generation with those of old. A bridge from the past to the future we wish to build.” My throat tightened as I looked at the wondrous beauty that was my friend. She had no idea how much of a gift she was. “That bridge is you, Vrail. I will not give Damien the chance to smash it.”

“And me?” Riven held up his arm with the sleeve and bolt Nikolai had fitted for him. “Have I not proven myself able to fight?”

I gritted my teeth. “We have already given Damien two targets with Gerarda and me on the battlefield. Giving him a third will only make the fight more dangerous for everyone.”

“Damien does not care about me. He already—”

“He cut off your arm!” My face was only inches from Riven’s. “He cut off your arm with absolute glee just because he could. Just because he knew it would hurt me. He is your brother , Riven, of course he will take notice the moment you step forward to face him.” I cleared my throat. “You will do us all a favor by staying in that tent.”

“ Diizra , let me be a soldier,” he whispered. It broke my heart to see the pride melt from his face, but my decision was made.

“If we are able to handle the shirak , then you may fight as much as you like, but until then your only job will be to tend to the wounded and protect Rheih with all your strength.” My brows furrowed. The reasons I gave were enough, but there was more to it. Everything had stopped in that moment when Damien cut Riven’s arm. I wasn’t watching the battle, I wasn’t protecting the others. And Damien had seen it. Riven was a distraction. Damien would use that to his advantage unless we took it off the table.

Riven understood the dismissal for what it was. He straightened and nodded. “As you wish, diizra .”

My back eased at the addition of his special name for me. Even though he disagreed, even though he yearned to join the fight, Riven would not hold it against me.

Nikolai plopped another nut into his mouth. “What do we do now?”

“Prepare the Elverin for war.” I placed my palms flat against the table. “I want every willing person holding a weapon in each hand and a third strung along their back.”