Page 125 of Bite The Terror That Feeds

I had more to say, but I shut my mouth instead. Deep down, I feared she would never say yes. She was just postponing the inevitable. If we defeated the Ethereal and they were no longer a threat to her or anyone else, she would leave me. She needed me for protection now, but then she wouldn’t need me for anything.

I left the bed and headed to the door.

“Where are you going?” she asked in a pained voice.

I turned back to her, doing my best to bury my disappointment. “To prepare for war.”

* * *

The entire day was spent in preparations, and quickly, evening arrived.

Viper returned to Grayson, wearing his ordinary clothes instead of his armor because the trek into the mountains had been arduous. “We’ve buried the explosives all along the mountainside. With enough pressure from their weight, they should detonate.”

“And what if they don’t?”

“I’ve positioned our men higher up the mountains. They’ll light one of our explosives and then throw them down below. That’ll be sure to work.”

I nodded in agreement. “Good work.”

One of the commanders approached me. “King Serpentine has arrived.”

“That was fast,” Viper said.

“They must have already been on the way when Cobra encountered them.” We set off for the eastern gate where the horses were gathered on the grassy field. Decked in their black armor and cloaks on their dark mounts, they were a step above the rest of us. And with those gazes full of arrogance, they knew it.

My father dismounted his horse and approached me, his helmet tucked under his arm, his cloak billowing in the evening breeze. We were of the same stature and stopped to stare at each other. “Your brother told me about the letter from his lover.”

“We’ve prepared the mountainside with explosives. Once they tread on our land, we’ll kill them all.”

He gave a nod.

“And then we’ll focus our forces on the northern gate. If half of their forces are on the mountainside, then our numbers should be equivalent.”

He turned silently and looked into the distance, as if picturing all this.

“I’m surprised you’ve come in the flesh.”

My father turned back to me. “This could be the final battle. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Once we capture King Elrohir, we’ll accept their surrender.”

“And then turn them into eternal slaves.”

I flinched at the blood lust in his gaze. “Our goal is to defeat the Ethereal and usher in a new era of peace.”

“Peace?” His eyes narrowed, his tone clipped with a bite. “Have they given us peace these thousand years? They shall have no peace. My son is across the world in a forsaken land because these assholes decided to poison the well. I will strike down King Elrohir and bend them all to my will.” He marched off, so disappointed in me that he couldn’t carry on the conversation.

Nothing constructive would be done in the heated moment, so I let him be. My father despised me enough already. Didn’t need to add fuel to the fire. I turned away and came across Cobra.

“They were already halfway here when we crossed paths,” he explained. “Which is fortunate. Otherwise, they may not have arrived in time. They brought wagons of prisoners to feed everyone.”

The only good thing about Larisa being human was her blood. It would strengthen me for the battle to come. “Father may be a problem.”

“What threats did he make now?”

“I told him we would call for peace, but he wants to enslave the Ethereal after their defeat.”

Cobra gave a slow nod, consternation in his gaze. “Sounds about right…”