by Ben Wolf
“I’ve been trained in the art of negotiation, in how to communicate with other leaders and royalty,” Lilly said. “My father and mother saw to it that I lacked nothing when it came to education. After all, I was to rule when they were gone, someday.”
She paused, and Calum could sense the sadness permeating her being, as if she were recalling her parents and their deaths at the hands of Kahn and Vandorian’s army. Calum wanted to reach out and touch her shoulder to comfort her, but their recent interactions had left him wary of how she might interpret the action, so he refrained.
Lilly cleared her throat and continued, “Regardless of that training and education, I’m not sure I can contend with someone who’s been alive for literally over a thousand years.”
“You won’t be alone,” Calum said. Then, realizing his involvement probably wouldn’t help all that much, he added, “I mean… I understand what you mean, I think. It’s a big task. Impossible, even.”
Lilly raised two skeptical eyebrows at him. “You’re not helping me feel better.”
“Think of it this way.” Calum held up his hands. “It was pretty much impossible for us to free Lumen, but somehow we managed to pull it off, right?”
Lilly nodded. “That’s true.”
“So…” Calum got lost in her blue eyes for a moment, and then he lost the sequence of his thoughts. “…what was I saying?”
Lilly’s grin widened. “You’re blushing.”
Calum blinked. “I was talking about blushing?”
“No, but you are blushing.” Lilly gave a chuckle. “You were talking about how impossible it was to free Lumen.”
“Right.” Calum’s cheeks felt like they were on fire from the embarrassment. Being near her was simultaneously calming and nerve-wracking at the same time. “We managed to do that, and… uh…”
“So if we survived that, we can figure this out, too?” Lilly offered.
Calum held up his forefinger. “Right. Exactly. And like I said before, we’re still alive, despite me personally attacking and trying to kill the King. Twice.”
Lilly nodded. “I know it didn’t work, but I bet it helped you feel better. I know I felt that my parents finally got the justice they deserved when Magnus killed Vandorian and Kahn.”
“It did,” Calum admitted. “Sort of.”
“Only ‘sort of?’”
“It wasn’t that I couldn’t kill him,” Calum confessed. “It was that he apologized to me, even after I tried to kill him. Twice.”
Lilly didn’t reply. She just nodded again and stared into the empty hearth.
“Anyway, we’re gonna be here for three days,” Calum said. “I doubt we’ll come to any reasonable agreement, but at least he’s gonna let us go when we’re done.”
“You do realize that he only said he’s going to let us go, right?” Lilly asserted. “He doesn’t actually have to do it.”
“Why would he keep us alive, treat us like guests, and spend time talking with us if he’s just going to execute us afterward?” Calum asked.
Then again, the more he considered it, this was the King they were talking about. Valerie had insisted he was merciful, but Calum had yet to really see that for himself. Sure, he’d absolved them, but for how long? Until it suited him to change his mind?
As King, he could do as he pleased, and it appeared no one could stop him—except for Lumen. So if Calum and Lilly couldn’t figure out a way forward with the King, at least they had Lumen to fall back on for help.
“Would you have trusted Kahn or Vandorian to let us go if they had captured us? No matter what they told us?” Lilly asked.
“For all their faults, Kahn and especially Vandorian made no attempts to conceal what they were thinking,” Calum said. “I always knew they intended us harm. Ever since the day I met Vandorian in your father’s throne room, I knew he would be our enemy until one of us died.”
“And do you regard the King in the same manner?” Lilly asked.
Calum considered it. As much as it confused him to admit it, the King’s apology had gone a long way to changing Calum’s mind about him, even in a short period of time. “I still don’t trust him. But he decided to let us live, despite all we’ve done against him. That gives me hope that we can find some sort of solution.”
“Even if we do, will Lumen accept it?” Lilly asked. “He means to rule, one way or another.”
“I don’t know,” Calum said. “All we can do is try.”
Speaking of trying, Calum found himself gazing into her eyes again. The flapping wings in his gut returned, and he felt sweat beginning to coat his palms. Though he tried to banish his feelings for her, they kept popping up anyway. What was he supposed to do about them?
She stared back into his eyes, and the two of them sat there as if frozen in time. If he could’ve stayed there with her forever, he would’ve.
Calum swallowed the lump in his throat and asked, “Lilly, we’re here for three days. Three days without anything from the outside world trying to creep in. No obligations, no distractions.”
He could already see the tension forming on Lilly’s face, and even though they weren’t touching, he sensed her body starting to go rigid.
Calum had gone too far to stop now, so he continued. “Do you think we could have a serious conversation about trying to—”
“Excuse me?” a feminine voice called from the doorway.
He and Lilly turned to find Valerie standing just outside Calum’s chambers, wearing the same pleasant smile as usual, beckoning them toward her with her hand.
“It is time for your lunch with the King,” she said. “Please follow me.”
Axel poked his head in next, and upon seeing Calum and Lilly together, he scoffed and walked ahead of Valerie.
Before Calum could respond, Lilly stood up from her spot on the sofa and headed toward the door.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m famished.”
“I imagine so,” Valerie said with a smile. “I do not expect you have eaten much since Matthios brought you here.”
As Lilly reached her, Valerie took hold of her arm and started to mention something about how delightful Lilly looked in her crown and in that blue dress, but the conversation faded from earshot as they exited Calum’s chambers.
Though the fluttering in his belly had subsided, the regret had only just begun to filter in. Yet even as he told himself he’d have another opportunity to talk to Lilly, he knew in his heart that this—these next three days—would be his last chance.
After that, either they would find some miraculous solution to save the people of Kanarah, and then they would all go their separate ways, with Lilly returning to the Sky Realm, or the war would continue and they’d fight until death or victory, and they would be separated yet again.
Calum rose to his feet and resolved not to leave this place without talking to Lilly one more time. If it didn’t happen now, it never would.
He followed her and Valerie into the hallway and hurried to catch up, but instead, he promptly ran into Axel, who shoved him back.
“Easy there,” Axel said, though he didn’t seem as mad about the encounter as Calum would’ve anticipated. “There’s no rush.”
“There is, actually,” Calum said. “I don’t know my way around. If we lose sight of them, we’ll never find that garden.”
Axel shook his head. “They’ll come looking for us. Nothin’ to worry about. Besides, I wanted to talk to you first.”
“We can walk and talk at the same time.” Calum pushed past Axel, who let him go. When Calum realized his footsteps were the only ones clacking on the floor, he turned back.
Axel was still standing in place, looking at him with his arms folded.
Ahead of Calum, Valerie and Lilly disappeared around a corner.
Calum sighed and walked back halfway to Axel. “What?”
Axel sauntered forward. “We both know something about this whole situation stinks.”
“I don’t trust anyone here, either,” Calum s
aid. “Least of all, the King.”
Axel shook his head. “I’m talking about you and me.”
Calum scrunched his eyebrows down. “Our fight? Axel, now is really not the time to—”
“Forget the fight. It’s the words I’m more concerned about.”
“Two hours ago, you were more than happy to put all that aside so we could find a way out of here.”
“That’s because our lives were in danger,” Axel conceded, now only a step away from Calum. “I didn’t know if we’d get out or not, and my chances of surviving were better with you on my side. Now we’ve got three more days, at least, to live.”
“Yes,” Calum said, exasperated. “Three more days. Which means we can have this conversation any time when we’re not due to meet with the King. Now let’s go.”
As Calum tried to turn to walk away, Axel caught him by his arm and hauled him back.
“I wasn’t done talking to you,” Axel said.
When Calum noticed Axel’s hand curl into a fist, he, too, clenched his fists.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Calum looked down at his own arm, then he met Axel’s eyes again. His voice lined with steel, he said, “Last time you put your hands on me, it didn’t end well for you.”
“Because you cheated,” Axel insisted. “Take away that little light in your hand, and you’d never beat me in a straight-up fight.”
Calum yanked his arm free and rubbed his face with his hands. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation. What do you want, Axel?”
“I want to know that I can trust you.” Axel relaxed his clenched hand and folded his arms instead. “Because right now, I don’t know if I can.”
“We’re best friends,” Calum said, still on his guard. “Of course you can trust me.”
Axel gave a quiet laugh. In a low voice, he said, “Alright. What I’m saying is, at the end of this, I’m going back to Lumen no matter what you and the King come up with. He’s gotta go, and Lumen is the only one who can make that happen. I need to know you’re with me on that.”
Calum glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby, but he saw no one else in their hall. He finally unclenched his fists as well.
He kept his voice low as well and replied, “I understand what you’re saying. I have no illusions that we’re out of our depth, here, and I don’t trust the King to stay true to his word. If, at the end of this time, we don’t have a solution, I’ll of course go back with you. But in the meantime, I have to at least try to work something out with him.”
“Play whatever song tickles your toes, and dance whatever jig moves your feet,” Axel said. “I just need to be sure that when the three days passes, you’re coming with me no matter what. Understand?”
Calum sighed again. “Isn’t that what I just said?”
“Actually, no. You didn’t.”
“Fine,” Calum conceded. “Yes, I at the end of the three days, I’ll come with you.”
“You promise?”
Calum rolled his eyes. “We’re not kids anymore, Axel. If I say something, I mean it.”
Axel nodded. “Good enough for me.”
As if on cue, Valerie rounded the end of the hall and started toward them, smiling as usual. “We thought we had lost you.”
“Sorry.” Axel pushed past Calum this time and sidled up next to Valerie. “Had to have a quick chat with my old friend, here. We’re ready now.”
Axel jutted out his elbow for Valerie to take, and to Calum’s surprise, she did.
“Lead the way, gorgeous.”
Valerie leaned away from him slightly, her eyebrows raised. “It is awfully forward of you to speak to me that way.”
“It’s in my nature. You’re just gonna have to get used to it,” Axel said. “And if you don’t like it, well, it’s only for the next three days.”
With that, they rounded the corner, leaving Calum behind.
With another sigh, he scampered after them.
Magnus had indeed developed a plan to rescue Calum, Axel, and Lilly from Valkendell in Solace. Furthermore, it was a good plan, and Riley could see how it would work, as long as everyone did their part and no major hiccups ruined everything.
However, that didn’t mean Riley liked the plan.
Lumen still hadn’t announced exactly when he meant to attack Solace, but according to Magnus, it as only a matter of time—literally. As soon as the army was rested, fed, and reorganized, Lumen would almost certainly march on Solace. And by the time the attack began, it would already be too late to save their friends.
Under the guise of yet another hunting trip to gather food for their respective armies, Riley and Magnus had ventured deep into the wilderness. In truth, they were meeting with Riley’s top Werewolves and Magnus’s most trusted Saurian warriors to go over the plan.
“Lumen’s window of attack is narrow,” Magnus concluded his explanation. “Therefore, we have but one chance to enact this plan: tomorrow night. Solace is two days’ travel from the encampment’s current location, and it will take time to transport everyone there.
“In order for this plan to succeed, we must be within striking distance of Valkendell, and we must be able to escape to a defensible rendezvous point upon completion of our objectives. In other words, by the time we are camped outside Solace’s walls, we will be perfectly positioned to attempt this rescue.”
Riley had expected as much, and it made sense to utilize his Werewolves’ and his own stealth abilities as a Shadow Wolf at night for the best chance of success. If they could sneak in, grab their friends, and sneak back out, that would be the end of it.
They didn’t really have another choice, anyway, short of Magnus personally waging an all-out assault on Valkendell himself. But that wouldn’t work for about a million reasons, not the least of which was the incredible resilience of the white stone that made up Valkendell and nearly the entire city of Solace.
Riley didn’t know all the details, but in a recent briefing of his generals, Lumen had made it clear that not even he could pierce Valkendell’s shimmering exterior. Something about it being reinforced by ancient magic, or whatever. That, and Lumen wanted to live and rule from inside Valkendell when the war was over, so destroying it made no sense.
It was all beyond Riley’s understanding, and therefore he found it disinteresting, so he’d mostly ignored the explanation and instead focused on the information he could use.
And as it pertained to rescuing his friends, invulnerable stone walls didn’t mean a whole lot. If they still had doors and windows, Riley and his Werewolves could find a way inside. That was good enough.
“If we are to succeed, we must be quick, precise, and ruthless. We must silence anyone whom we encounter. There can be no witnesses. No liabilities. Crystal?”
Riley, his Werewolves, and the Sobeks all nodded or replied, “Clear.”
“You’re not going without me,” a familiar voice said from within the trees around them.
Riley’s head turned toward the sound, as did everyone else’s. Some of the Sobeks hissed, and the Werewolves growled. He recognized the voice immediately; he would live the rest of his life and never forget that voice.
“So figure out a way to work me into your plan,” the voice said again, this time from a totally different spot in the trees, now behind everyone.
As before, they all turned to try to spot the source, but Riley was the only one who possibly could’ve caught sight of its source. He was the only one fast enough to track the Wisp’s movement.
Sure enough, Riley followed the blur of charcoal-gray armor as a figure descended into the center of their meeting and spoke again.
“Otherwise, I might have to inform Lumen of your little scheme.”
The Werewolves caught up first, all of them still growling, followed by the much slower Saurians, who reacted by starting to draw their weapons. Upon seeing who it was, they clapped their swords back in place, but many of them still hissed at him.
Condor’s fee
t touched the forest floor between Riley and Magnus. It was arguably the most dangerous spot in all Kanarah at that moment, sandwiched between the Dragon King of Reptilius and the alpha Shadow Wolf of the western Wolf tribes, but Condor had landed there as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“So what’s my role?” he asked. His handsome face still bore some bruises from his encounter with Matthios, but otherwise he looked strong and ready to fight once again.
Magnus grinned. “I had anticipated you would wish to join us. How much of the plan have you already heard?”
Condor gave Riley a wink and then grinned up at Magnus. “All of it, of course.”
“Good. Then here is where you come in…”
Riley smirked. This is gonna work. I can feel it.
The way Calum had described the King’s garden simply didn’t do it justice. To Lilly, the space was far grander than he’d shared, far more colorful and intricate, and incredibly beautiful. It looked like something from an idyllic painting more so than a place that could actually exist in the real world, yet now she sat near the center of it, surrounded by green.
She couldn’t fault him too much for not mentioning the details of the garden itself, given that his story mostly focused on his escape and subsequent assassination attempt of the King. Nor was he usually one to highlight such details whenever he told stories, anyway.
What she could fault him for was delaying his arrival for lunch with the King, who now sat across a long stone table from her, staring at her with eyes as bright green as the plants, trees, and bushes all around them. His expression, a brew of pleasant curiosity with one corner of his mouth upturned in a pseudo-smirk, hadn’t changed yet.
She forced an awkward smile, took hold of the gnarled wooden mug on the table before her, and drew it to her lips. The water inside was refreshing and cool, and it tasted faintly of sweet flowers.
All the while, the King stared at her, still pleasantly interested and almost-smirking.
This was strange. She had to break free from the weirdness of the moment, so she opened her mouth to ask him a mindless question about the garden.
