[Vankara Saga 03.0] War of Atonement

by SJ West

  “I’ve had a few days to get used to the idea. After you get over the initial shock, things will begin to look a lot clearer, and you’ll realize what’s most important. Right now, we both need to put away our personal feelings and find a way to get Nuala and her dragons out of our city.”

  “You’re right,” Gabriel agreed, focusing on the logic of my words. “That is our first priority.”

  “Well, my first priority is to see Dena,” I told him. “Where is she?”

  “I left her with a group of students. They were showing her some magic tricks the last time I saw her.”

  “Can you take me to her, please?” I practically begged.

  “Of course … Sarah.”

  The hesitation in Gabriel’s voice was a dead giveaway to the continued turmoil of his thoughts. I couldn’t say I blamed him. Officially, I had four names he could have chosen from, but he settled on the one that I most identified with. I appreciated his thoughtfulness and was thankful that he was willing to respect my wishes.

  As we exited the airship’s traveling compartment, I saw Fallon standing at the foot of the stairs waiting for me, just as he said he would. Surprisingly, he was the only one present in the courtyard and those who had been gathered at the college’s entrance were no longer in the vicinity.

  “Where did everyone go?” I asked as I came to stand by Fallon’s side.

  “Dracen took Isabelle and the others inside to tell them about our deal with Queen Sora and the dragons.”

  “And where is Adam Bellas?” I asked, wondering where Kira’s brother might have scampered off to.

  “Probably sulking in a corner somewhere,” Fallon said, sounding slightly amused. “Dracen gave him a good dressing down after you left. I’m not sure you’ll be able to find him anytime soon.”

  “Just as well, I suppose,” I said. “I’m not sure I have any kind words to say to him right now.”

  I noticed Fallon’s gaze lift slightly to look at Gabriel before turning his attention back to me with an unasked question on his face.

  “Gabriel said Dena was being entertained by some of the students,” I said to him, wanting to wait and speak with him in private about my conversation with Gabriel. “I want to see my daughter, John.”

  “Then let’s go find her.” Fallon held a hand out to me, and I placed one of mine into his without even thinking about it.

  As the three of us walked towards the college, I wondered what Gabriel thought about me holding hands with Fallon. Then again, what did it matter what he thought? The sooner everyone understood my feelings for Fallon the better—Gabriel included.

  Once we reached the entrance to the college, Gabriel told us: “They should be in the dining hall.”

  He took the lead to walk in front of us as if to show us the way, but I got the distinct feeling that the real reason was so he didn’t have to look at Fallon and me any more than he had to.

  Before we even stepped foot inside the dining hall, I heard the jovial sound of Dena’s laughter. Just as the ointment Sora gave me healed the wounds on my arms, the sound of Dena’s glee mended a tear inside my heart that I didn’t even realize was there until that moment. As I walked through the entryway of the room, I immediately caught sight of my daughter’s curly blonde head bobbing up and down as she jumped for joy. A young boy, who didn’t look any older than eleven years old, stood in front of her conjuring animals out of thin air with small waves of his hands. I saw Dena reach out and try to touch the mastiff standing in front of her, but as soon as her hand reached the dog, the illusion dispersed into white smoke.

  “Again, Thomas! Again!” Dena begged.

  I saw Thomas look up and see me enter the room. The other twenty or so students in attendance saw me as well and smiled. I was glad to see that none of them bowed to me, as most people were prone to do. I did request that they not feel as though they needed to be so formal with me before I left for Kamora.

  “I can do better than an animal this time, Princess Dena,” Thomas said with certainty. “Close your eyes and I’ll make your heart’s deepest desire appear right here in this room.”

  I heard Dena gasp in excited anticipation. Thomas beckoned me with quick waves of his hands to walk closer to the pair of them.

  “Keep your eyes closed, Princess.” Thomas said.

  I stood quietly behind Dena, as Thomas gently placed his hands on her shoulders to turn her to face me.

  “Now, open your eyes,” Thomas instructed.

  Dena did as she was told. When she saw me, her eyes lit up with happiness and she threw her arms around my waist.

  “Mummy!”

  I bent down and picked Dena up, holding her close and smelling the sweetness of her hair and skin. An instant calm infused my body, and I knew I was truly home.

  Aurora rubbed her smooth head against one of Dena’s cheeks, causing my daughter to giggle with delight.

  “Dena,” I said, pulling away from her just enough to look into her vibrant blue eyes, “I gave our little dragonling a name while I was away.”

  “What is it, Mummy?” Dena asked.

  “Aurora.”

  Dena looked at Aurora and tried to say her name, but mangled the pronunciation the first few tries until finally getting it right.

  “Pretty, Aurora,” Dena said, petting Aurora on the head.

  “Have you been a good girl while mummy was away?” I asked Dena.

  Dena nodded her head and said, “I was very good, Mummy. I got ice cream every day.”

  I laughed, thinking it funny for Dena to measure her good behavior by the consumption of ice cream.

  Dena leaned in and kissed me on the lips before lying her head against my chest and wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “I missed you,” she told me, as I treasured the feel of her in my arms. “Don’t leave me.”

  I hugged Dena tightly, knowing it wasn’t a promise I could make to her.

  I had a war to fight to reclaim her birthright. I wasn’t sure where the battles would end up taking me, or how far I would have to go to win them. The only thing I knew for certain was that nothing would stop me from forcing Nuala and her dragons out of my city. I was willing to do whatever it took to keep my promise to Queen Emma and see her daughter ascend to the throne and rule Vankara one day. As I held Dena, I realized it wasn’t only Queen Emma’s wish now, it was also mine, and I would make it come true, by any means necessary.

  CHAPTER TEN

  I stayed with Dena in the dining hall for as long as I could. Eventually, Inara sought me out to remind me I had other pressing matters to attend to that day.

  “They need you in the war room,” Inara told me, sitting down beside Dena on the bench at the table where we were seated. Both Fallon and Gabriel had been in the war room discussing our strategy with the others. I was simply putting off the inevitable for as long as possible. “Fallon is waiting for you by the door to escort you there.”

  I sighed, knowing my respite with my daughter was over for now. I leaned over and kissed Dena on one rosy cheek.

  “I’ll be back soon,” I solemnly promised her.

  “Okay, Mummy,” Dena said, hugging me tightly around the waist. “Can Aurora stay?”

  “Well, of course I will stay with her,” Aurora told me, hopping off my shoulder and onto the table in front of Dena. “Don’t worry, Sarah. I’ll take care of our girl while you’re away.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Would you mind staying with them while I deal with things?” I asked Inara.

  “Oh gosh, I don’t know. …” Inara said, feigning her dismay at my request. “Then I’ll have to share the mint candy the cooks just gave me.”

  “Candy?” Dena said with undisguised interest.

  I laughed at my daughter’s natural response to the prospect of sweets as I stood from the table. “I’ll leave them both in your good hands.”

  “Em,” Inara said, catching my attention before I left, “you still need to explain things to me.”
r />   I nodded as her words twisted the already tight knot of guilt in my stomach. “I know.”

  I gave Inara a weak smile before turning my back to her and walking towards the door to the room.

  My heart sank at the thought of telling her all my secrets. But she deserved to know the truth just as much as anyone else in my life. This realization made me think about the future. Eventually, I would have to tell Dena and her not-yet-born brother the truth of who and what I am. Dena was still too young to understand what a shifter was, much less the role her mother had asked me to play in her life. I decided to place these thoughts in the back of my mind for now. There wasn’t any point in getting upset about things that would happen so far in the future.

  I breathed out a sigh of relief when I reached Fallon. His presence always brought me peace when my life felt on the precipice of turmoil. It was comforting to have someone to confide in who knew exactly who and what I was. I didn’t have to put on a show for him and pretend to be someone I wasn’t.

  Without caring what others might think of my actions, I wrapped my arms around Fallon’s waist and laid my head against this shoulder. It was an act of normalcy that I desperately needed to feel. All I wanted was to be a woman who could hold the man she loved during a very difficult time.

  Fallon held me close without saying a word. I think he understood I wanted a moment where I could just be Sarah, showing someone how I truly felt about them without having to be concerned about the repercussions.

  We stood in perfect silence for as long as we dared. Finally, I pulled away from him and sighed my regret for having to leave his embrace.

  “So, how goes the war?” I asked Fallon, trying to make light of a situation that was anything but.

  “Everyone has agreed with our plan to attack the Fae capital. Thaddeus was especially supportive of the idea.”

  “Really?” I asked, surprised that Inara’s father would lend his support to any endeavor I proposed. “I thought for sure after our confrontation in parliament over the Population Reconstruction Bill he would be against anything I suggested.”

  Fallon shrugged his shoulders. “I guess he’s decided to put that in the past, at least for now. We’re all on the same side and want to remove Nuala from our city as quickly as possible.”

  “Take me to the war room,” I requested, even though it was the last place I actually wanted to go. “The sooner this war is over, the sooner we can all get back to living our lives.”

  “Before we go in, I wanted to make sure you remembered the names of the commanders of your army.”

  “Yes,” I nodded. “I remember you telling them to me on the airship on the way here.”

  “Good. I just didn’t want you to go in there unprepared. Introducing them to you when you should already know who they are would appear strange, to say the least. Come on then. They’re anxious to speak with you.”

  The war room was actually the teacher conference room at the college. It was on the second floor in the center of the main building. A long wooden table stood in the middle of the room. Its surface was covered with various printed maps of Vankara. A group of three people stood on one side of the table discussing something amongst themselves away from the small group of politicians who were huddled together off to the left side of the room near a large, colorful, stained glass window.

  The commanders of the different divisions of my army were all dressed in a similar leather outfit to Fallon’s, only the colors varied. The man with short red hair wore a dark green leather uniform, and I knew from Fallon’s previous tutelage that his name was Edmund Acker. He was the commander of our cavalry and infantry. The brown haired man wearing a copper-brown uniform was Gavin Overton. He was in charge of artillery and tanks. The solitary woman of the group was dressed in a black outfit that was so dark it didn’t reflect any of the light in the room. Her name was Nicole Jardine. She commanded the special operation forces, which included spies and snipers.

  Fallon and I walked over to the table, first, to speak with the leaders of my forces.

  “Commanders,” Fallon said, drawing their attention to us, “Queen Emma would like to be brought up to speed on your discussion.”

  The three on the other side of the table all bowed at the waist to me.

  As they all stood upright again, Edmund said, “We were just trying to determine whether or not Gavin’s men will have anything to do in this war.”

  “I don’t see why my tanks can’t be used,” Gavin said defensively. “We could shoot some of those blasted dragons out of the sky!”

  “Give it up, Gavin,” Nicole scolded, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at the commander of our heavy artillery units. “We’ve already told you that your men won’t be able to distinguish between the queen’s dragons and Nuala’s. You would probably end up killing as many of our allies as enemies.”

  “Well, there must be something my men can do!” Gavin protested.

  “They’ll just have to join the regular infantry,” Edmund told him. “We don’t want to destroy our own city with your artillery either.”

  “Commander Edmund,” I said, “I’m sorry for the loss of your men in the initial attack by Nuala.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty,” Edmund said, bowing slightly at the waist to me again. “If it hadn’t been for her dragons, I feel sure we could have kept control of the city for you. They were simply too powerful for us to fight against.”

  “I understand. Now that we have our own dragon corps, I feel sure we’ll be able to take it back.”

  “Your plan seems to suggest you want to take control of more than just Iron City,” Nicole said to me, sounding impressed. “Do you plan to keep dominion over the Fae capital once we have it?”

  “I have no intentions of conquering the Fae side of the island,” I assured her. “We’re simply using that as a way to split Nuala’s forces and make it easier for us to regain control here.”

  “But why not keep it?” Edmund asked as his brow furrowed. “If we rule the Fae, Nuala won’t be able to strengthen her forces for a second attack.”

  “I understand your concerns,” I said. “But I don’t believe the Fae actually want this war. I think Nuala is forcing them to fight, whether they want to or not. I have no intention of taking Nuala’s place as their dictator.”

  “But you don’t intend to leave Nuala in power, do you?” Nicole asked. It was obvious from her tone that she thought allowing such a thing was a very bad idea.

  “No,” I confirmed. “We cannot allow Nuala to keep her throne. We will have to find someone more suitable for her position as leader of the Fae.”

  “And who do you plan to put in her place?” Gavin asked.

  “I think we should concentrate on one thing at a time,” Fallon told them to redirect the conversation. He knew I wouldn’t have an answer to Gavin’s question. I wasn’t sure any of us did, actually. “Now, what are your plans for invading the Fae capital?”

  “My main problem,” Edmund began, “is finding a way to get our troops over there in time, but the more I think about it, the more I believe we shouldn’t move the ones stationed around Iron City at all. I suggest we divert the ships with Chromis and Kamora to the Fae side of the island. They can handle the ground assault there while our dragons support them from the air. If we can find a safe harbor somewhere close to Iron City for our naval ships to dock, we can add them to what’s left of our forces here. Nicole, have your people been able to infiltrate the Fae capital? Do you know how many troops Nuala left there?”

  “We were able to gather some information,” Nicole said hesitantly, “which, I might add, came at a hefty price. The feral dragons on the Fae side of the island killed all but one of the eight operatives I sent over there. She was able to escape but just barely. She reported that Nuala has left approximately five hundred troops and twenty-five trained dragons within the capital. I believe your strategy is sound, and we can take their city with the combined forces of the Chromis and Kamor
an armies. It’s a move Nuala won’t see coming. Also, my agent noticed something peculiar when she infiltrated the dungeons within Nuala’s stronghold.”

  “What did she see?” I asked, my interest piqued.

  “She said there was a dragon being kept in a cell there. It was kept under constant guard by at least ten soldiers at any given time.”

  I took in a sharp breath, realizing what Nicole’s agent may have unwittingly discovered.

  “That has to be the dragon Nuala is bound to,” I told them all. “They would want to keep it protected.”

  “I thought she was bound to the red dragon that’s always at the castle,” Edmund said, looking confused.

  I shook my head. “No, Tyr isn’t bound to anyone. He believes it’s demeaning to have such a relationship with a human.”

  “Then if we could get to that dragon, we could take Nuala out by proxy,” Nicole reasoned excitedly.

  “I will not sanction an assassination of the Fae’s leader,” I told Nicole. “We don’t need to make Nuala a martyr to her people. If we kill her, we run the risk of alienating the rest of the Fae and any hopes of a peaceful future with them. What we need is someone to take her place as leader of the Fae. Hopefully, a person who is more reasonable and open-minded than she is.”

  “I may know of someone,” a new voice to the conversation said.

  I looked over at the group of politicians standing together and saw Thaddeus Irondale staring straight at me.

  “You know of someone among the Fae who would be willing to help us?” I asked him.

  “I believe she will, if we can find her,” Thaddeus answered, sounding skeptical that we would be successful in locating the person he had in mind. “She was ruler of the Fae before Nuala organized a rather brutal coup against her. After Nuala seized control, Lanai went deep into the forest and was never seen or heard from again, as far as I know.”

  “Lanai?” I asked, feeling my heart begin to race. I looked over at Fallon and saw that his eyes were wide in surprise, just like mine. “We met her when Fallon and I went to speak with Nuala about the plagues,” I told everyone. “She helped heal Fallon after Aurora’s mother attacked us.”