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Chapter twenty-three

Erendrial

“F irel, pay attention and call out anything you see,” I said, walking towards the meeting chambers with Zerrial and Fi flanking either side. “Zerrial, interject when needed as we plan our strategy.

“After last night, I don’t see this going well,” grumbled Zerrial.

“What are they going to do? Refuse our help? They need us,” said Fi.

“Doesn’t mean they’re going to make this easy,” Zerrial replied.

“When has the light court ever made anything easy?” I added. They both laughed softly as we approached the double doors.

Levos and Gen were waiting off to the side. Levos gave me a small nod before kissing Gen on the cheek and entering the war room. She smiled suggestively at me while she scanned me from head to toe.

Her presence demanded attention. She was dressed in black lace that revealed some of my favorite parts. Diamonds adorned her shoulders and trailed down her arms. Her makeup was subtle, yet complimentary, with a red lip that drew attention to the lush, elegant lines of that mouth I loved to watch take in certain parts of me. Fuck, it was hard to focus around her.

“You three are late,” she greeted us playfully. “What mischief have you caused?”

“Us? Never,” I said, leaning down to kiss her.

“Shall we?” she whispered.

“After you, princess,” I said. She took my hand as Zerrial and Firel opened the doors.

Daealla, Gaelin, and Levos sat on one side of the table with a light alfar I didn’t recognize. Four chairs were set across from them. I pulled out the chair for Gen, and leaned in to kiss her cheek before I took my place at her side. The light court members watched our every move. I sat, leaning back against the large wooden chair, lacing my fingers casually.

“Before we begin,” started Daealla, “I would like to address the attack on my husband last night after I retired. Your actions and threats are unacceptable, and another attack will not be tolerated, regardless of the threat we face. You should thank Odin I didn’t throw you and your court out directly after the incident.”

“Your king,” spat Zerrial, “threw our princess to the ground. He initiated the attack. How did you expect us to respond, Your Majesty ?”

“From what my witnesses have told me, your princess slipped on her own dress. King Atros did not touch her,” replied Daealla.

Zerrial stood from the table in a threatening stance, growling under his breath. He looked directly at Gaelin with hatred. “Is this how the light king conducts himself?” roared Zerrial. “Allowing his wife to fight his battles for him. Take responsibility where it is due, you jealous—”

I held my hand up to silence him before he could lash out further, forcing a smile across my mask. “Our apologies, Queen Daealla, King Atros. Last night was unacceptable on all accounts. Now, if you would grant me permission to speak, some information has come to light that we’d like to share.” I nodded at Fi to take the floor. He sat up with more confidence than I had seen him ever portray. His lessons were paying off.

“The rift will open in less than a year for a long period, allowing creatures to come through by the hordes,” reported Firel. “The roaming creatures that live within the forest will also be called to fight.”

“And how did you come across this information?” asked Gaelin in a monotone voice.

“The how is not your concern,” snapped Firel with a smirk. “We are certain the portal will be opening somewhere in your lands. We have already informed our court to send reinforcements as soon as possible. They will camp outside your city limits until we are—”

Daealla held up her hand to stop Firel. She took a second to gather her thoughts. “Princess Genevieve,” she started, “this is not the time to be keeping secrets from your allies. Especially something that could save lives and give us the upper hand in this battle.”

“I can assure you that our informant’s information is reliable, but we have not found a way to locate the rift openings consistently,” Gen replied.

“You are to inform us immediately next time you get a lead this important, and before you call more of your warriors to set foot on my land. Is that clear?” Daealla said forcefully.

“We did not mean any offense, Queen Daealla,” I replied.

“I find that very unlikely, Prince Lyklor,” Daealla said, standing to leave. “My king and I will discuss military strategies to combat the upcoming attack. Until then, refrain from anymore … outbursts in my court.” She set her eyes on Gen and me, then Gaelin. Gaelin did not return the glare.

I stood, extending my hand to Gen. We took our leave, returning to her rooms. My trunks had been moved in the night before. The ruse was over, and I couldn’t have been happier about it.

Gen fell onto the bed, letting out a breath. “We got nowhere in that meeting,” she said, running her hands over her face.

Firel stepped into the room, taking a seat at the small round table in the corner. I could tell he was deep in thought. That beautiful brain of his was spinning away, trying to find a solution to our ever-growing pest problem.

“That was a pointless waste of time,” said Gen. “We got nothing accomplished.”

“I know, princess,” I replied, running a hand through her hair. “As usual, the majority of the work is going to fall to us.”

Firel sat up slowly with a twinkle of brilliance lighting behind his eyes.

“Fi, what is it?” I asked.

“Our forces,” he started. “They aren’t going to be enough.”

“Yes, thank you so much for stating the obvious,” I said, pouring myself a thumb of whisky.

“The others. We need the others,” he said, jumping to his feet, beginning to pace back and forward.

Gen sat up. “What others?” she asked quickly.

“The fae,” he started. “We need the other races. All of them, matter of fact. This is not only our fight. They risk losing everything to Alaric and his horde of monsters. They will fight. They must.”

I smiled widely. Why hadn’t I thought of this? My decision to name him as my next ambassador had not been wasted.

“You really think they will all work together?” asked Gen. “The light and the dark court, and all the fae from every race?”

“It’s the only way,” Fi replied. “Every race, every territory, every court is being attacked. The only lands that have yet to be touched are the humans. This is no longer about what court you stand in support of. This is about survival, and unless we all band together now, these creatures are going to pick us all apart until there is no one left to stand and fight.”

I looked from Fi to Gen, waiting for the information to settle in her mind. I knew what our next steps would be, but I wanted her to have time to get to that conclusion on her own.

“We have to go to Levos,” she replied.

I smiled with pride. “Just what I was thinking, beautiful,” I said, leaning down to kiss her on the head. “We will go to Levos and have him present this idea to the royals as if it were his own. That way, there will be less pushback and our fun little banter fest won’t be necessary.”

“Fi,” I said, “send Leenia, Doria, and the twins to meet with the incubi, imps, and the draugr. Tell them to bring gifts for each of them. The rest of our group will go to the fairies and dwarfs.”

Firel turned to look at me. “Dwarfs? But the dark court hasn’t had contact with them for over five hundred years. We don’t even know where they are. How do you expect to find them?”

I winked at Gen as she approached my side. “Would you like to tell him?” I asked her.

“Well,” she started, “fate has smiled upon us. Otar found them last week by mistake. They killed him for spying on them, but he knows what mountain they have migrated to. It sounds like a long hike, but not impossible.”

“Thank Azeer,” Fi said, placing his hands on the edge of the chair, letting his head drop. “We are going to need all the help we can get, and the dwarf race are brutal and fierce. If they agree, this could be a true game changer. I can’t wait to see their mountain city and compare it to our own.”

“Actually,” I said, moving closer to him. “I have another task for you this time. A task only your brain can accomplish.”

Fi straightened, coming to attention. “I’m listening,” he said intensely.

“Narella, the goddess,” I explained. “She is being controlled by Alaric. We need to set her free. We don’t know how he is keeping her controlled, or what type of magic he might be using. We do know that she has some control over the beasts using the rune symbol we’ve discovered on so many. Maybe if we can release her, she will help us in return.”

“How do you know she will switch sides?” asked Firel.

“We don’t,” Gen interjected. “But we can only hope. She seems to be a fair and just god. I believe she will help, even if only to enact her revenge on Alaric.”

“I will be honored to serve the house of Doonak,” Fi responded with a small bow. “I will need everything you know about Narella to place her origin or find a reference in our archives. I will return home as soon as I have the information.”

“Fantastic,” I said, standing. “I will fill you in when Gen goes to speak with Levos. Princess, please find your sister as well. She will be returning with Firel to make sure she remains safe.”

“Good idea,” Gen said with a sweet smile. She rose on her toes, kissing me before she exited the room.

After filling him in, Firel wished me luck before I went to find Zerrial and Evinee. The fairies shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but the dwarfs … they were another story. I had never negotiated with their race before. This would be a learning curve for sure.

Evinee came around a corner, two light alfar on either arm. Her smile was brilliant, and her laugh bellowed through the halls of the kingdom. She spotted me and I nodded for her to follow. She gave me a pouty face before bidding the two light alfar good day.

“This better be good, Lyklor,” she snapped, slamming the door behind her.

“Do I ever disappoint?” I replied.

She side-eyed me, leaning on one hip and turning on her sassy, playful demeanor. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

“Ouch. Getting to the point, I need you to come with Gen and me to negotiate with a few races.”

She rolled her eyes, falling into a seat at the table. “And what are we negotiating this time? Sounds more like a job for Fi than me.”

“He has his hands full. We are going to ask the different races of our court to join in the fight against Alaric.”

“Ha,” she barked out a laugh. “Good luck with that. Sounds like a waste of my time.”

Evinee had been bitter ever since Gen and I had made up. I knew she was hurting because of the feelings she claimed to have towards me, but I couldn’t help her. She had made her intentions very clear before my wedding and then after a few different times, but I had to be honest with myself. Evinee was an amazing female, but she wasn’t Gen. It wouldn’t have been fair … to either of us.

“Ev, I need you on this. We’re going to the fairies. You know how much they love you,” I spoke softly.

She smirked. “Of course, they do. What’s not to love? Honestly, I think I was born to the wrong race. I hope I come back as a fairy in the next life.”

“Most likely the hive ruler,” I said with a little laugh, “But that’s beside the point.”

Evinee giggled, looking up to me with those beautiful violet eyes. The humor faded into hurt. “Is there any way you can do this one without me?” she whispered.

I knelt beside her chair, taking her hand in mine. “Ev, you are one of my dearest friends. If I didn’t need you on this, you know I wouldn’t ask.”

She chewed on her bottom lip, refusing to make eye contact with me. “Who else do we need to convince to join the cause?” she asked in a sarcastic tone.

“Oh, you know. Just the dwarfs. Doria and the others have the other races covered.”

She sat up quickly, leaning towards me. “Wait a minute. What do you mean, dwarfs? When in the hell did you find the time to track those pains in the asses down? And why was I not the first person you told?”

“Well, I didn’t exactly find them. Otar got killed by one last week and told us what mountain they’ve been residing in.”

She sat back, rolling her eyes. “Of course, the princess’s creature found them,” she huffed, running her hands through her thick black hair. “Fine, I’ll go. Only because of the dwarfs though. I’ve never seen them, so I’m intrigued. Takes a lot to get me going these days.”

I smiled at her, standing to my feet. “Thank you, Ev. Really.”

She pushed herself out of the chair, tilting her chin from side to side. “Yeah, yeah. When do we leave and who else is coming with us?”

“As soon as we can. It will be you, Zerrial, myself and Gen.”

“Yay. One big happy family. I’ll go find Zerrial. Someone’s going to have to pry him away from his human pet.”

“I wouldn’t let him hear you call Lily that, if I were you.”

She turned around, her face stone-cold. “Do I look like I give a damn? Just remind me to stay the hell away from The Frey. That place is contaminated with love , and feelings ,” she said, making a puking face as we headed towards the door.

“Ev, the day some male wins your heart, I will institute a new holiday just to commemorate the impossible feat.”

“Oh, stop being a smart-ass Eren,” she said, nailing me in the chest with the back of her fist.