by A. M. Hodges
"Um, WHAT. Excuse me, but no. That is not how this goes. I am not going to just strip down and have at it because the two of you have come to an understanding like I’m some consolation prize. There needs be wooing. Lots and lots of wooing. I want romance and I decide when I am ready, not the two of you. If he is to be my mate for the rest of our very long, immortal lives then the both of you could at least act like this is more than a business transaction," I seethe. If I were a cartoon, I swear there would be smoke coming out of my ears.
"Krasivaya, I didn't mean-"
"I know what you meant," I snap, "But this isn't a situation where I’m just going to get it over with so we can move on. I do have feelings about this too you know. Plus, Hello, my vagina my choice."
Jeb’s face softens in apology, even as he tries to bite back a smile from that last comment, and he glances over my shoulder at Josiah before coming up and taking my hands.
"Of course, this is your choice and more to us than a business transaction. I love you very much and this is important, to all of us. I am sorry that I made you feel otherwise. Take your time, it'll happen when it happens," I wrap my arms around his waist and bury my face into his chest, all of the fight draining out of me, "Plus, I can't wait to see what ideas pop into his mind when you use words like 'romance' and 'wooing'. That asshole wouldn't know romance if it jumped up and bit him. This should be fun to watch."
"Oh, fuck off, I can do romance!” Josiah defends.
“Sure, you can,” Jeb picks at him.
“You want wooing? I'll give you wooing," Josiah storms out of the cabin and slams the front door. Jeb and I look at each other for a second before bursting into a fit of laughter over the quicktempered Pixie.
"Oh yes," Jeb's eyes shine with amusement, "This is going to be fun indeed."
∞∞∞
Once again, I find myself in a war council surrounded by Generals. We are planning our move on the Royal Residence as we wait for the last of the Shvetlani ranks to reach us. They should be here within the next two days, their trip taking longer than others because of the southern location in Dunewbe. Maddox and his commanders are present and, unfortunately, that includes Sage.
Luckily, she's backed off since our initial meeting. Then there is our usual crew; Jeb, Josiah, Josie, Lucah, Miles, and Dahlia. Brenjun turned out to be one of the lower ranking Generals under Jeb, so he is present as well, along with Rashana and a few of their commanders.
Reports of attacks have been pouring in, growing more and more frequent by the day. All ranks have been recalled to the forge, leaving only one to protect the Shevtlani and Pixie population that is converging. They received the order two days ago to move in closer to the capital. The fact that Rune hasn’t even attempted to interfere shows how little the King cares about his people. We figured having them all closer and together would make them easier to protect than having them spread all over the continent and vulnerable.
My fingers drum impatiently on the war map in front of me as all the males in the room argue over our next moves. Everyone has their own opinions and their own battle plans and not a single one of them can seem to agree with each other. Sage, Rashana, Josie and I are the only females present at the moment, which means this has turned into a testosterone filled pissing contest. It's getting really annoying, really quick.
A boot connects with my shin under the table and I whip my head to the left with a glare. Rashana just raises her eyebrows at me and ticks her head towards the seething males. I give her my best "what the fuck" look and she rolls her eyes at me. She brings her hands up and mimes putting a crown on her head. Oh, right. I'm the Queen. Which means I should probably take control of the situation.
"Alright, that's enough," I try as I stand from my seat, but the rotten males just keep yelling over me. That only serves to piss me off. I slam my hands down on the table and allow the empath out. Spiderweb cracks crinkle down the center from where my hands are splayed out in front of me.
"I SAID ENOUGH," a thousand voices boom through the room. All arguments end abruptly and many of the males’ faces pale when they look up at me. I roll my shoulders and pull back the empath before gracing them with a pleasant smile, which probably makes me seem slightly psychopathic. Oh well.
"This is what we are going to do. You are all going to agree on and present five different strategies. I will take each one into consideration and convene with Rashana, Jebediah, Josiah, Maddox, and Brenjun. We will pick apart the best parts of each strategy and use them to formulate one master strategy that will then be briefed to everyone. Is that understood?" Murmurs of acceptance and "yes, my Queen"s rumble throughout the room, even as some of them continue to glare at each other.
"Perfect," I state, switching to an annoyingly chipper tone, "Now that it's settled, I'm starving. I expect all your strategies by sundown tomorrow. Okay? Okay. Bye-bye now," I strut out of the room as they clear a path for me. Josie follows not far behind me and she practically skips up to my side.
"I just love when there's a female in power," she sighs wistfully, "Those war councils are always so unbearable. Not anymore though. Oh, my Gods! Did you see their faces! I swear even Brenjun almost pissed himself," she babbles excitedly.
"I wish I could be pee-inducingly scary."
I bark out a laugh as we navigate towards a tavern, "Would you settle for pee-inducingly funny?"
"Oh sure, I'll just joke them into submission. Sounds totally logical," her delicate features scrunch into a scowl. She is honestly like a chihuahua. A fire wielding chihuahua.
"I'm sure that they are plenty scared of you when you are lightening their asses on fire," I console her.
"True," she grins, "Much scarier than being splashed with water."
My hand flies to my chest in mock outrage, "Rude! I was trying to make you feel better!"
She breaks out into a fit of giggles and slings her arm around my waist as I throw mine over her shoulder. We walk up the steps to the tavern throwing friendly insults at each other in a fit of laughter. When we reach the door, she kicks it open unceremoniously and stands in front of me with her hand on her hips.
"Barkeep! A quart of ale and a jug of Faery wine for your Queen. We're here to get drunk bitches!"
Oh fuck. It's gonna be a long night.
Chapter 46
I slouch in my chair and massage my temples as the murmurs of Generals fill the space around me. They called me to the War Council long before I expected, leaving me without the full day to recover from Josie's late-night antics. We are waiting for a few more to show up and even the low chatter is making my head throb.
"Long night, Krasivaya?" Jeb doesn't even bother trying to hide his grin.
"Trying to keep up with Josie will do that to you," Josiah joins in on my torment.
I curl my fingers into a fist and continue massaging my temples with only my middle fingers, subtly giving them a very unqueen-like gesture. They chuckle under their breaths and return their attention to the conversing generals. And I thought only one of them was difficult to deal with. I am so screwed.
I don't miss the smirk Jeb tries to hide at the thought that I mistakenly sent down the bond. I am just way to hungover right now to concentrate on keeping my thoughts to myself. A steaming mug of something that smells completely awful drops down in front of me and I have to stifle a gag. I glare over my shoulder to find Rashana smirking, also seeming to delight in my pain. That's right.
Laugh at my pain. I am so glad to be today's entertainment.
"Drink it. You need your mind sharp for this and it'll dissipate the lasting effects of last night’s poor decisions." I wrinkle my nose at the mug and move to push it further down the table and away from my sensitive nostrils. Rashana pins me with a motherly stare that leaves no room for argument and has me feeling like a chastised toddler. I grumble under my breath at her before retrieving the mug and forcing down the liquid.
True to her word, my headache dissipates, and I no longer feel like I'm going to vo
mit my breakfast all over the table. I sit up straighter in my seat and smile gratefully at her as she replaces the mug with a cup of water and a water skin for refills. When the last of the warriors shuffle in, the room quiets and I stand from my seat at the head of the table.
"Alright, I call the War Council to order. Let's get started."
For the next two hours I listen to the strategies that the council developed together. We manage to make it through all five with minimal arguments. After the final strategy has been laid out, I dismiss the extra warriors, leaving only those I deemed as my personal council. With there only being six of us left, there is room for everyone to take their seats around the table. Josiah and Jeb separate the pawns on the map before laying them out to symbolize the different strategies.
"I like the first plans strategy of going after the court first, since it falls in with what we already wanted to do before. Take out the court and see if that releases the corruption's hold on Rune. But I don't agree that it should be done in a show of brute force. We don't know the escape contingencies they have in place for threats and we don't need them getting away," I study the map speculatively.
"I agree," Jeb grunts, "So we go with the stealth aspect of the last plan and the positioning of the first. Seven teams for seven court members, two warriors per team."
"What about the time frame?" Maddox interjects.
"I don't really like any of the time frames that were presented," Brenjun concedes, "We agreed upon them to get through the more major aspects of the strategies, but they are all too soon. We need more time to prepare."
"I agree, we need more time," Josiah leans into his forearms on the table, "The Shvetlani are still a day out. We need to get them up to speed on the situation and make sure the rest of the army is ready for back up. Then there are guard rotations that need to be monitored and surveillance that needs to be done so that everyone we need to be present are there. Three days just isn't enough time, and we need to execute this plan without error, or it will end catastrophically."
"Are there any avian shifters coming with the Shvetlani?" I ask.
"There should be," Maddox answers, seeming to pick up on my line of thinking, "While most of them are larger and more conspicuous, there should be a few ravens and falcons at least. The
Shvetlani have always been our best scouts."
I resist the urge to ask what the larger shifters are, now is not the time to let my humanness show. I make a mental note to ask Lucah later.
"Okay, so how about this," I propose, "We wait for the Shvetlani to arrive. Once they are settled, we convene the War Council and brief everyone at the same time. We send a few of their scouts out for surveillance. One week of compiling intel and preparing and then we will make our move."
They all nod thoughtfully, continuing to analyze the map.
"What part will you play, Rashana?"
"I will be preparing a protection for the city to ensure they don't get trapped in the fall out if this goes badly. One week should be plenty of time to prepare. With that said, I need to retire to my temple. I'll be there if I am needed," she bows gracefully before exiting the room.
"Well," Jeb sighs, "It looks like we have a plan."
"Let's do this," Josiah agrees.
∞∞∞
"A Griffon! Griffons are real!" I can't help the few decibels my excitement has caused my voice to rise.
"Yes, they are real. There are also Wyvern, as you know, along with Phoenix, Lamassu, Gargoyles, Erinyes, and Dragons. Although, there hasn't been a new dragon in a millennium," Lucah explains.
"Erinyes? Aren't those the same as furies?" "Hateful hags," Josiah mumbles.
"They are quite horrible," Jeb agrees.
"Yana is not that bad," Josie rolls her eyes.
"Yana is not that bad TO YOU," Josiah emphasizes, "To everyone else, she is the least liked person on the planet. And that says a lot considering how many realms this planet has."
I am just going to skip right over his casual mention of this planet having multiple realms. I am just now getting use to the planet having THIS realm. Considering anymore will surlily make my brain implode. Nope. Not doing it. I'll focus on the mythical creature knowledge that just got dumped in my lap.
I swear they forget I was raised as a human sometimes.
"Well, I am sure Reyna will love her," Josie sticks her tongue out at her brothers.
"Ugh, dammit she probably will," Jeb groans.
"We're never going to be at peace again," Josiah whines.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Shvetlani just arrived at the gates," Miles pops his head into the cabin.
"Great," Jeb huffs, "Looks like we will be finding out sooner rather than later."
We shuffle out of the cabin and head towards the gates to meet the last bit of our army. They wait just outside of the gates, standing strong in formation. I can point out all the shifters immediately, considering they are all currently in their shifted forms. Standing at the front of their ranks, is the largest snow tiger I have ever seen. And I thought Lucah was big.
Brenjun. Maddox, and the others file in behind me as Jeb and Josiah take their places as my side. Once we come to a stop outside of the gates, the snow tiger shifts back into his Fae form. I recognize the icy blue eyes and black hair instantly, although it is cropped considerably shorter that his son's. The burly male doesn't look a day over thirty, despite me knowing that it's nowhere near his true age. Funny, Lucah never mentioned his father was a General.
"Hello," I smile warmly at him, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
The stern expression melts from his face as he returns my smile with one of matching warmth, "The pleasure is all mine, My Queen," he bows.
"I see I have you to thank for keeping my son out of trouble," he straightens, and I hear a scoff from behind me.
"I've tried my best, but you know how he is. It's impossible to keep him completely out of trouble," I joke, "Please, bring your warriors inside. I'm sure you all are tired after your journey. Come in, rest, and have a hot meal. The War Council convenes at sundown."
All the shifters return to their Fae forms as I turn back to head through the gates. They spread out through the forge as the gates close behind us, Lucah breaking off with his father towards the tavern. I would imagine they have a lot to catch up on after nearly a year of being gone. Before we can make it back to the cabin, a pair of coal black eyes and leathery bat wings stop me in my tracks.
She's smaller, like Dahlia, and her hair is the color of fresh blood that looks like it’s running in waves over her shoulders. Her skin looks to be a shade paler than my own if that's even possible because I'm pretty damn pale. When she smiles, two rows of very sharp, very pointed teeth peak out behind blackened lips and I can barely make out the forked tongue hidden behind them. Despite the jarring features, she really is quite stunning.
"Yanna!" Josie squeals as she runs up to hug her.
Although her smile is genuine, it still can't be described as anything other than terrifying.
"Hey Jos, it's good to see you too," she laughs, and it sends chills up by spine. That is one scary bitch. I like her.
"Ugh, of course you do," Jeb groans, "Jo, we were right. Their reign of terror has officially begun."
"Boys," the grin Yanna gives them is nothing short of menacing, "How's is going? Piss off any bar maids recently?" Josie stifles a laugh as her brothers growl in unison. I raise a brow at them in question, but they are too busy glaring daggers at Yanna to notice.
"As you know, Yanna is an Erinys, or a fury as you may know it. It's not really her job to punish others, but she does take a considerable amount of pleasure in doing it. These two got on her bad side," Josie explains as she holds in her laughter, "They used to make quite the pair, just running around and breaking the hearts of pour, innocent females when they'd make stops in towns. Yanna was in their unit at one point and decided to have some fun. Her punishment for their lies to get females into bed
was to compel them to tell the truth for a full lunar cycle."
Yanna literally cackles, "They got slapped soooo many times. Punched a few too. One of the times, the witches they were hitting on hexed them. They were forced to walk around with a very inconvenient itch in a not so nice place for about a week. Took these morons forever to figure out what I did."
"Horrid hag," Josiah growls.
"Wretched wench," Jeb agrees.
"Oh yes," I chuckle, "I definitely like you."
Josie links her arm through mine and squishes herself in the middle as she links her other arm with Yanna's, "To the tavern!"
Yanna laughs and I suppress a groan.
"Do not get her drunk!" Jeb yells at our retreating backs, "I'm serious Josie! We have a War Council in a few hours, and she is the Queen! She cannot be drunk!"
"Wouldn't dream of it!" Josie throws over her shoulder with a wicked grin.
"Seriously Josie! We mean it!" Josiah yells next.
"No worries boys, I've got her," Yanna winks at me.
"We are so fucked," Jeb groans again.
"I'll go see Rashana. She'll have something to sober her up just in case," Josiah sighs.
Yep. That's probably a good idea.
Chapter 47
