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Chapter Thirty-two

Arien

Flying around the palace, I let out a burst of fire that had the forces surrounding it scrambling back.

On our return to Day, we’d sent word to all of our allies, and they were now on their way to Avalon. Unfortunately, it was impossible to hide what was going on. Word got out quickly, and forces loyal to my father had now surrounded the palace with the intent of taking it back in his name.

Mother was inside, working hard at putting together speeches and plans for what was to come. It was my responsibility to put this movement down quickly, and with force.

The people of Day needed to have confidence in Asteria as their queen to turn against Aelius. Winning battles in her name could only help in that regard.

I’d summoned those loyal to me within the palace, and they now made their way to me so we could go out to meet those loyal to my father. I didn’t think our palace had ever seen battle at its gates before, nor had Day ever split in half the way it was now doing.

I knew this only fed more into the chaos that was encroaching on our lands, but unfortunately, the only way out was through. We had to embrace a bit of chaos to ultimately get back to balance.

It was always darkest before the dawn.

But thankfully, we had a star to light the way.

I smiled, which I knew looked more like a snarl in my dragon form, but the thought of Asteria sitting on the throne of Day, crowned and ruling, was one I had waited my entire life for.

It may look different now than we’d expected, with Asteria mated to Calix, but I believed her when she said she’d find a way. Mother might think her naive, but Mother, despite all her actions to help Asteria, was more rooted in tradition than she’d admit. This was never about changing the order of things; it was always about protecting her child.

And those were two very different things.

I knew after meeting Asteria that she’d never accept the status quo. I couldn’t blame her one bit for it either. Had I grown up as a slave instead of a prince, I can only imagine how pissed I would be.

I had to admit that since actually meeting her, seeing the pain lining her face and echoing in her words, I had been thinking quite a lot about the humans. I wanted to destroy Cyrus for what he did to my twin sister.

But weren’t there brothers out there just as angry over their sisters being enslaved?

Was there one out there who wanted to kill me ?

I had never mistreated our slaves. I’d grown up knowing my sister was hidden as a human, so I’d felt a certain amount of guilt about it. Which had only been compounded now. Every slave I passed in the hall, I wondered about their life, wondered if my family had ever mistreated them, and wondered if they had dreams as big as Asteria’s.

And we had a chance to free them all now.

Yes, we’d have to change the way we live, but we had paid servants, as well. Fae of lower status needing work were given tasks my parents didn’t trust the humans with. We could pay the humans just as easily. It’s not like we lacked gold.

And from what Calix had said, introducing humans into their economy had only boosted it, not hurt it.

But first, I had to ensure my father didn’t win. Starting with these assholes.

I swooped down once more, fire spitting out onto the first row of soldiers who didn’t move in time. My army charged in, and since I couldn’t risk burning my men, I flew over to shift back quickly. I pulled my sword from my sheath and charged into the thick of the battle.

A soldier I recognized from training spotted me immediately, snarling, “Traitor!”

I smirked back at him. “I’m loyal to my queen and kingdom. It’s the king who betrays the gods.”

I deflected his swing with my sword and swung to block his next move before feinting left and using the opportunity to get inside his guard, my elbow hitting his chin as I kicked his legs out. He fell to the ground like a sack of grain, and I took his head before he could even look up to say goodbye to the sky above.

I glanced around to see blood spraying and men falling. I could only hope it was mainly our enemies falling and not my own men, but there was no time to check. I met the next man with a jab of my sword that he parried, and we traded several blows before he tried to pull the same trick I just did, feinting a movement right. But I didn’t fall for it and instead met him as he swung, surprising him enough to knock the blade from his hand.

The fighting was thick and fast around me. I’d fought in minor battles before, and plenty of mock ones, but nothing prepared me for this kind of scale. It was why many had resented my placement as General. I was too young, too green—but I was determined to prove them all wrong. I’d trained harder than anyone else and proved that I knew what I was doing in the training yard just as much as I did strategizing in the war room.

Still, this was new, and a tingle of fear ran through me—but fear would get me killed, I knew that. I brushed it away and instead channeled my rage. I let my dragon side come to the fore as much as I could without letting any part of my body shift.

I met the next man with a shout of rage that clearly threw him off, and he struggled to fight back. I rammed my sword through his sternum before he knew what had happened. As I pulled my bloody sword back out, his body slumped to the ground.

I ran to the next and the next. Eventually, I felt sweat dripping down my back under the heavy golden plate as the fighting began to seem endless. Soldier after soldier met their end at my blade, but still more remained.

Tiredness crept up on me, and it made me sloppy enough to miss the man sneaking up on me. I was knocked to the ground from behind, and when I looked up, a blonde-haired man who resembled Kem stood over me, smirking.

“Oh, I’m going to enjoy this.” He laughed cruelly, leaning down to grab me.

I grasped my blade, determined to attempt a defense even in this awful position, but the man suddenly cried out. I jolted back as the point of a blade came out through his chest and nearly got my eye in the process.

I looked up as his gurgling body fell to the side, only to find Soren standing above me. He reached his hand out, and I took it, letting him help me up. He nodded at me, and I nodded back, thankful he had stepped in even if I was embarrassed at being saved by a human.

“I’m sure you had him, my Prince,” Soren stated as he looked around grimly. “But I didn’t want to be the one to have to tell Asteria if I was wrong.” He smirked slightly before throwing himself back into the fray.

It was beyond aggravating to hear him call my sister by name and not her proper title. It was uncouth to refer to her in such a personal manner.

But I had to admit I was surprised by his courage as he ran straight into a fight against Fae so much stronger than himself. He was cunning, using sneak attacks to persevere with such a clear disadvantage.

I focused on my rage at his familiarity with his queen instead as I went back into the fight. I took down as many as I could until I looked up, covered in blood and sweat, and realized there was no one waiting to fight. Instead, I saw the men opposing us were either dead or were now kneeling in surrender.

“By Hyperion.” Elden, one of my loyal warriors, slapped a hand on my shoulder. “This is just a taste, isn’t it?” He ran a hand through his blondish-red hair, making it more red than normal with the blood now raked through it.

I shook my head, looking at the dead bodies surrounding us. It was so pointless. They could have lived had they not sided with the king, all because they were afraid of a little girl ruling them. But that little girl would show them all by the end.

I had zero doubt about that.

“Seems that way.” I put my hand on his plated shoulder, shaking it slightly. “They’ll only get bigger from here.”

It was a joke, but it was too grim to really land.

“Prince Arien!” The call echoed down the street, and I looked around for where it was coming from.

“Prince Arien!” Whoever it was called again. I finally spied a Fae running down the road, panting. I ran over to meet them, and realized this was one of Lord Aydun’s men, one of my father’s loyal lords.

My soldiers clearly realized the same, as swords were suddenly pointed at him from every direction.

The dark-haired Fae looked nervous, swallowing hard, shaking his head, and closing his eyes as he seemed to talk himself into something. He opened orange eyes to meet mine. “Lord Aydun is marching here, my Prince. He’s hoping to be able to take the palace while you’re recovering from the first fight. He knew your father’s men were attacking. It was all a distraction.”

“Why would you tell me this?” I raised a skeptical brow at him. “For all I know, you’re telling me so I attack him first, leading me into a trap.”

My men nodded and grunted in agreement, clearly not trusting the man any more than I did. But he shook his head frantically.

“Lord Freyr is leading men up from Cantref, he and Lord Aydun will box you in,” he said, his words emphasized by his overall worried demeanor. I tilted my head, considering, as he continued.

“When Lord Aydun explained to us what was happening, and why…” He trailed off for a moment, shaking his head once more. “Look, many of us don’t like your father already. He’s cruel, and he makes it impossible for one to improve their station in life, even for us Fae. I loved a girl from a class higher than mine, and because we weren’t allowed to marry, she was married off to another, and I was left to join the army. We were always told it was the gods’ will. That I couldn’t marry up because the gods wanted us in our places. We were born there for a reason, right?” He scoffed, snarling.

“And now? King Aelius goes against the gods? To kill the chosen heir of the kingdom? It’s not only blasphemy; it’s a slap in the face to all of us!” he seethed.

I turned over his explanation in my mind, but his words were laced with pain and resentment that was all too real. His story full of too much truth to be a ploy. I didn’t see how Lord Aydun could truly benefit from this. But just to be safe, I would have to fight smart.

I turned and grabbed three of my men, ordering them, “Get messages to Lord Beltane, Lord Ergun, and Lord Dritan. Tell them to send their men directly here. Now!”

They nodded and took off, and I turned to another. “I need a message sent to Night, for when my sister returns. Tell her that before she leaves again, we could really use an appearance by her. If we’re going to bring this kingdom together, they’ll need to see her.”

The man took his orders and ran off, while I prayed to Hyperion that she would get back in time to make a difference. There had to be more men in Aydun, Freyr, and Kem’s lands who would prefer a different way of life, or hated my father—or even their own lords. Most would be too scared to turn on them. They needed a real reason.

They needed to see that the ruler they’d be getting would be better than the ruler they had.

They needed to know she would fight for them. That she could bring balance back to Day.

In the meantime, I needed to not only prepare my men here, but I needed to address the humans. With that thought, I left the cleanup efforts to continue, congratulating my men on a battle well fought along the way, and headed back inside the palace. The shining golden sun that stood on top of the highest middle tower gleamed in the sunlight.

A beacon of light in these dark times.

The palace had always been a bit ostentatious, assuredly, but I’d always loved it anyway. The entrance was elaborate, with the stairs covered by the overarching cover of the entrance itself. The pointed peak on top came down and then flared out on each side, creating three distinct shapes on top, and then the walls formed a cover over the stairs. Swirling white accents swooped around in shining lines that made it even grander. The sun on top of the palace led straight down to the tower's peak. The tower itself was constructed to form a rounded shape at the midpoint that rose above the entrance, then tucked in smaller and flared out again before reaching the ground.

Several of the other towers had curves to them as well, with pointed peaks on tops, which gave the palace a sense of beauty and creative whimsy that was missing inside.

Oh, the inside was just as beautiful. But my father ensured this place remained as hard and unyielding as possible. Lord Aydun’s man was right. My father believed everyone had their place, and they had no business stepping outside of it. While the nobility lived well, the ring system meant classes were kept separate. No one was allowed to marry in a ring higher than their own. Even those outside the city.

Father had ensured every other lord instituted the same rules. He’d learned it from his father, and he would never go against his lessons. He’d spoken of his father like he was a god himself. And this entire palace was filled with cold calculation over any warmth or love as a result.

The halls inside had white floors flecked with gold, while white columns were decorated with gold inlays. The ceiling was painted to mimic the sky, and light from the giant windows hit it beautifully. The walls were golden, but the windows took up much of the space, so it didn’t feel too overwhelming. It didn’t stop me from getting sick of all the gold at times, however.

I made my way to the white double doors leading to my mother’s rooms, and the guards there announced my presence. Entering, I came to a stop before her desk, finding her scribbling away frantically.

“Mother?” I asked hesitantly, and her head shot up.

“Oh, Arien.” She sighed with relief, sitting back in her chair. “I was worried. I’ve been penning letters calling for aid just in case.”

“Don’t worry, we put them down.” I took a seat on the chair across from her. “But unfortunately, more are coming. I’ve sent word to the lords with us to send their men.”

Her eyes closed briefly, and it looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. I knew she’d been struggling. Her and Asteria butting heads had left her feeling off center, not sure where she went from here or what the future might bring.

“I had word sent to Asteria, too,” I told her, and her eyes opened to lock on mine. I explained what had occurred outside, and Mother sighed, running a hand through her hair.

It was rare for her to show signs of stress, so often having to keep up the image of the Queen, that seeing her appearing so normal was slightly unsettling.

“Things will get better, you know,” I told her softly. “She just needs time.”

I was surprised to see tears building in her eyes, and I stood up to move around the desk, bringing my mother into a hug. She threw her arms around my middle, clinging to me.

“How do you know?” She sniffed. “I’m the reason for all the pain she experienced.”

I shook my head firmly. “The blame lies with father. He’s the reason all of this happened. You’re both headstrong and coming at this from different viewpoints. She was also raised by parents who, by all accounts, loved her. She’s struggling with the changes to her life and trying to adapt to having a whole new family.”

“She didn’t seem to have any issue with you,” Mother mumbled quietly, hiding her eyes. I knew what it cost her to be this vulnerable.

“A brother is a different thing altogether,” I told her honestly. “And it’s not like she had another brother she might feel like she’s replacing. We’re immortal, Mother. Once we win this, you’ll have all the time in the world to work on your relationship.”

Mother pulled back, looking me over with a small smile, her eyes still wet with tears. She raised her hand to cup my cheek. “I swear, I have no idea how you turned out so well.”

She chuckled at my surprised expression. “Your father and I were always arguing. Both involved in our own plots and plans. You were raised to be your sister’s sword and shield. I fret sometimes that none of it was fair to you.”

I put my hand over hers on my cheek, dipping my head down and letting her see the truth in my eyes. “I have never resented it for a moment, Mother.”

A single tear tracked down each cheek before she closed her eyes to prevent more from escaping. I wiped them away, and stepped back. I knew her vulnerability never lasted long. After a moment where she forcibly pulled herself together, she asked, “What now?”

“Now, we need to address the humans. Father taking so many away will have left them scared and resentful,” I explained. “If we explain what’s happened and what Asteria plans, we can get them on her side.”

“And what will that accomplish?” Mother raised a brow. “Humans against Fae won’t be much help.”

I smiled slowly, thinking of Soren saving me on the battlefield. “I think you’d be surprised.”