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LILY

The moment Wrath returned me to my villa, I felt Zehemoth’s voice in my head.

Where were you?

I halted in the center of my living room. I had only been gone for a night and didn’t think anyone would notice my absence. But the panic in his voice told me he’d noticed for good reason. Has something happened, Zehemoth?

Where were you? There was a thud outside, like he’d landed in the grass. Your mind wasn’t present, and then all of a sudden, it was back with a speed I can’t explain.

Wrath studied my face, somehow knowing I was in the middle of a conversation just by the shift of my eyes and the movement of my body. Zehemoth ? —

The horn blew—the horn I’d never heard sound.

The horn of war.

I gave a gasp before I looked at Wrath.

His eyes widened like he understood what that meant.

I headed straight to the door and ran across the lawn to the cobblestone path. Zehemoth watched me go, his snout following me. Where were you?

“We don’t have time for this!” I sprinted through the trees in the courtyard and spotted the dragon covered in storm-cloud scales. Enormous and powerful, with an elf in armor on the ground beside him.

I skidded to a halt. “What news do you bring from the north?” I was out of breath from how hard I had run to the castle from my villa, but no need for air would stop me from demanding news.

The elf was dressed in the black and deep-green armor of his people.

I remembered their well-crafted clothing and their elegant presence.

When I was a little girl, I used to be one of them, graceful, quick, and powerful.

My great-aunt, Queen Eldinar, still reminded me of a sunrise, with her beautiful blond hair and iridescent eyes.

“Princess Rothschild, an army of men and orcs marches for our forest, ten thousand strong. They’re undeterred by Macabre and the others.

Their armor is thick and resistant to fire.

And there are so many that they won’t be stopped before they breach the forest. I’m certain the war rages on in front of the Great Tree as we speak. ”

Horrified by the news, all I could do was stare at him, lost for words.

Wrath appeared beside me, suddenly dressed in his uniform and armor like he was about to report for battle himself.

At that moment, my father emerged from the castle, fully dressed for war with his sword across his back.

Just like in the memory Wrath had shown me, my father’s face was contorted in a deep shade of rage.

His general walked beside him, and he made a list of orders so fast, spit flew out of his mouth.

“ Rooooaaaaaarrrrr !”

I recognized Khazmuda’s voice from up above. A moment later, I felt the vibrations of the cliff when he landed with a thud, ready to take my father across the sea to raise his sword for people who had raised their swords for us in the past.

My mother left the castle doors and hurried to catch up with my father. It was the first time I’d seen him ignore her.

“Dad, what’s happening?”

He even ignored me, looking at Khazmuda as if they were engaged in deep conversation.

“Dad.”

He finally snapped out of the connection and looked at me.

“Riviana Star is under attack, and I must defend it. All the dragons who have volunteered will take as many soldiers as they can carry across the Great Sea. It’ll only amount to an additional hundred soldiers, but perhaps the dragons can help us in this fight.

Hawk and I will go while you stay here with your mother. ”

“Stay here?” I asked in disbelief.

He stepped around me to head to Khazmuda. “Lily, I don’t have time to argue. Every moment we waste is another tree that burns.” His cape billowed behind him, and the hilt of his blade gleamed in the sunlight.

I chased after him. “Dad.”

“Don’t go.”

I stilled and tried not to make it obvious that I was staring at someone who wasn’t there.

“Even if you prevail, the Barbarians will know the Southern Isles has a horde of dragons like gold coins in a vault. They will come for you next. Tell your father to abandon Riviana Star to its fate.”

My eyes widened as I looked upon his face. I couldn’t say all the things I wanted, not without looking like I’d lost my mind.

“Don’t go,” Wrath repeated. Just as he’d asked me not to depart from his island and cross the path of those monsters, he pleaded with me once again. This time, I should listen.

But I couldn’t. “Dad.” He was checking his supplies hooked to Khazmuda’s saddle, and I grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn around. “I’m going?—”

“I said, I don’t have time for this, Lily. It’s too dangerous, and you’re still staying here.”

“Too dangerous?” I asked incredulously. “You choose me as your successor, choose me to rule the Southern Isles in your stead, but you don’t expect me to raise my sword for my allies? For the people I love? I’m a damn good fighter, and you know it.”

“Which is why you need to stay here?—”

“You know that’s not the reason. You can’t have it both ways, Dad.

You can’t insist that I’m destined to be queen if you won’t let me risk my life the way you’re allowed to risk yours.

I love that forest and its people. I love my aunt and uncle.

I’m an adult, and if it’s my desire to fight for them, then you can’t stop me. ”

Wrath stood a short distance away, listening to the exchange with an intense gaze.

I saw so much anger in my father’s eyes, but the heat slowly died down the longer he stared.

“I want to fight.” My hand tightened into a fist and moved to the center of my chest. The Barbarians had killed my entire crew, and now they wanted to do the same to the elves. This was personal—on every level.

“Lily.” He lowered his voice and stepped toward me. All sense of urgency vanished. “You’ve never been in a battle like this. I can’t protect you. I can’t look after you. I must focus on my enemy. I must protect the tree.”

“I understand, Dad.”

His eyes flicked back and forth between mine.

“I would never be the kind of queen that sends men to win my wars and bring me trophies. I would fight alongside my men, just as you’ve done.

I wouldn’t be worthy as your successor if I stayed behind.

I would be a disgrace to the Southern Isles if I were trained by the best swordsman who ever lived and chose not to use that skill when it mattered most. I understand this is hard for you… but this is what I want.”

My father’s breathing had picked up noticeably, his eyes sharp and focused as he battled the pain that raged inside him. He eventually dipped his chin and looked at the ground for a moment before he raised his gaze once more.

My mother appeared behind my shoulder.

He stared at her, a silent conversation passing between the two of them.

“I don’t need your permission to serve my people.” I could take Zehemoth and fly away. I knew exactly where to go. “But I hope I earn your acceptance.”

My father continued to stare at my mother.

She finally gave a nod.

He turned his back on me. “Hawk will remain here with your mother. Don your battle armor, not the set we train in, and prepare to depart.”

My mother immediately hugged me, squeezed me tightly like this might be the last time. “Please be careful.”

I stilled as I felt her grip me like a viper, and then I reciprocated her affection. I could feel her fear, feel her terror. Letting me go was probably the hardest thing she’d ever done. “I will, Mom.”

“I love you.” She pulled away and cupped my cheeks.

“I love you too.”

“You’re your father’s daughter,” she said. “And I’m so proud of you.”

I retrieved my armor from the villa and began to fasten it together.

There were clips in the back I couldn’t reach, but Wrath appeared and snapped them into place.

“You denied your father, so I imagine you’ll deny me as well.

” He appeared before me, looking like a soldier in the beautiful blue fabric and the black steel that protected a body that was already impervious to injury.

“I won’t leave Riviana Star to its fate.

The elves risked everything when they fought for the Southern Isles before my birth.

I would never insult that sacrifice by abandoning them now, by convincing my father to let them fend for themselves.

And what’s more, the Realm of Caelum is housed in the Great Tree.

Perhaps that’s what the Barbarians seek, or it’s a mere coincidence they’ll discover later. Either way, they must be stopped.”

Wrath suddenly looked apathetic, defeated by my commitment to this cause.

He took a moment, releasing a heavy sigh as he stared at one of the corners of the room.

His gaze eventually came back to me as his eyes sharpened through the clouds that had fogged his vision.

“Remember your footwork. The rest of your body will follow.” He seemed to have accepted my answer.

I moved into him and cupped his cheeks. “I have to go.”

His dark eyes settled on mine and stayed there. It wasn’t the intense stare he showed the other times we were alone together. This one was tinged with far more emotion. “I know you do.”

I rode Zehemoth across the Great Sea. An army of dragons took to the skies with my father in the lead on the back of Khazmuda. With the dragons flying as fast as they could go, it would take half a day to arrive outside the forest.

Hopefully that would be quick enough.

Wrath didn’t join me on the flight. Even if he had, I wouldn’t have been able to speak to him, not out loud with Zehemoth listening.

Where were you?

He wasn’t going to let this go, was he? “I was asleep.”

Don’t lie to me. I know how your mind feels when you’re asleep. You’re still present, just distant. You were absent. But where could you have gone to make your mind disappear, I do not know.