by Olivia Hart
“I’ll talk to you in the morning Amra. I need to talk to Embrys for a while.”
Amra bit her lip and glanced at Embrys before looking at me. “Try not to forget that you’re not alone, Rose. We’re here with you. We’re not going to let you down.”
I tried to smile at her, but it just didn’t work. There was too much weight already. How could I keep everyone safe when I was afraid to fight?
“Sleep well, Amra.” I turned away from her and went to the Throne. I needed to see things that no one else could see. I needed to learn and think.
As Embrys followed me, he puffed smoke. An image of his own world. A world of stone and ash. Animals ran, and dragons caught them. Fae-like creatures hid from the dragons. The Ancient One had left that world for this one. She’d wanted to find a place that dragons hadn’t ruined, and she’d forced the dragons to obey her.
“We’re nothing to you, are we?” I asked.
The next smoke had no image. Just words. “You’re everything. My world is broken because there are none like you. We do not leave because we are afraid to ruin another world. Only the one you call Ancient One was strong enough to create a world such as this. Only she was able to create a world of such life.”
“And you have become the guardian of that world.”
“I can’t fight if I’m pregnant,” I said softly.
“Why not?” accompanied by an image of me training only days earlier.
“What happens if the baby is hurt? What happens if it dies?” I asked, the fear becoming real when I said the words.
“All creatures die, Rose. Even dragons. The world is what is at stake, is it not?” An image of the Ancient One letting her soul leave. Another image of Aurora lying dead on the floor. An image of my father trying to tell my mother that he loved her as an obsidian blade slid into his chest.
“But a baby? My baby?” I asked. Was I willing to let my baby die for the sake of the Dark Realm? Was I willing to make that sacrifice? I didn’t know. I closed my eyes. I was the Queen, and I knew what the answer should be. That didn’t mean that I could do it.
When I opened my eyes again, Embrys was looking at me. “You have not asked me why I was willing to risk coming here. I will answer the question regardless. The dragons of my world did what they thought was best for the world. Each and every war was fought for what was best for the world, and each and every war tore the world apart even more.”
“You should have killed your mother, but you gave her a chance at life. This is the difference between the Fae and dragons and is why the Ancient One left this world in your hands rather than the dragons. You love in ways that dragons never will.”
“How can that be helpful?” I asked.
“I do not know. If dragons understood this, we would learn to do so. Only the Ancient One understood. Remember that not everything must be done in the way that dragons would do them. Your heart and soul know what to do better than dragons, for we are ruled by knowledge and power rather than love and instinct. Trust yourself.”
I nodded to Embrys. “Thank you. I appreciate your vote of confidence. I apologize again for treating you like an idiot puppy.”
An image of Embrys rubbing his face against my hand appeared to me along with the words, “Puppies get scratches, and I like scratches. Puppies get to chase things, and I like to chase things. There were no Fae to scratch my spines or throw things for me in my world. We will call it even, Queen Rose, as long as you do not stop scratching or playing with me now that you know that I am not an idiot.”
With a grin, I scratched at Embrys’s jaw spines, and he began to make that strange purring noise. My mind went back to the baby inside me. It scared me to think that my body was no longer mine to risk, but I trusted a dragon’s wisdom, even if this dragon was far smaller than the others I’d met. I would still be more careful, but if it came down to a fight, I would not run.
I just wished that I didn’t have to fight my own mother.
Chapter 19
Sebastian
I’d collected all the shadow walkers from the Trader’s Guild and brought them outside the Dark Court walls. Somewhere with a warren beneath my feet. They were so much softer than the Assassin’s Guild had been. Their lives had been easy. Take goods from one area of the world to another and be paid handsomely for it. Shadow walking allowed them to move things in days or even hours instead of months depending on how often they had to resurface in the Immortal Realm.
Several of them had even begun crossing over to the Mortal Realm to trade for goods. These were obvious for they wore the superior Mortal style clothing. Made of fabrics that were impossible to create here, they were extremely valuable.
Yet, none of these wealthy merchants had more than a moderate amount of experience in battle. That was about to change because there was no force so deadly as shadow walkers with a warren under their feet.
“I am going to rebuild the Assassin’s Guild,” I stated to the group, “and I would like as many of you to join it as possible.”
There were laughs at that statement, but I had known that would be the response. “And it will be the most profitable decision you ever make.”
“How is dying profitable, Prince? There’s a reason the original Assassin’s Guild is all dead.”
“You’ve all heard that there will likely be war soon. What will profit matter if the Dark Court is crushed? All the gold in the world won’t save your families if Seraphina wins.”
“There are less than a hundred of us, Prince,” another fairy called out. “What can so few do against thousands? Shouldn’t you have us gathering supplies?”
I smiled and touched a shadow. Sliding into the warren beneath us in less than a second, I touched a wall and found the fairy’s shadow. When I reappeared, I was directly behind him, and my obsidian blade pressed against his neck.
“Dead,” I whispered before sliding back into the warren. I moved to the first man who had spoken, pressing the blade into his back and whispering, “Dead” to him as well.
“In less than thirty seconds, I’d have killed you both. Two valuable soldiers, but also, two soldiers who were being protected by walls of troops. Fairies that can rain fire on our troops. Giants that can hurl boulders into our back lines. The operators of siege equipment.”
“In an hour, you hundred could kill thousands, and there is absolutely nothing that the Court of Light could do to stop you. They have no shadow walkers. They have no way to predict where you’ll appear.”
The traders glanced at each other as they realized their value. “What do we get for it?” the first man asked.
“You mean that you don’t want to volunteer?” I asked with a smirk.
There were soft chuckles before I continued, “You’ll be paid as elite soldiers. We’ll work out the specifics, but I consider you to be the most valuable troops in our arsenal, and you’ll be paid your worth.”
“What if we say no?” another asked. “Will you convince the Queen to require it of me?”
I shook my head. “No, against most of our advice, Queen Rose has declared it illegal to force a man or woman to perform a job, even if that job is being a soldier.”
“I can’t force anyone, and truthfully, you could probably make more money running goods. I can’t win you over with profit. I know that. But what I said before is true as well. The Dark Realm depends on us winning this war if it comes to that. Once you are trained, you’ll be the most elite fighting force we have. You can make a real difference.”
“So, I request that you take the time and make the hard decision. There’s not another man who can take your place. There’s not someone else who will step in and do what you can do. I am going to fight. Queen Rose will fight. Will you?”
In other places, with other people, I might have heard some kind of cheering or at least murmuring, but not with these Fae. No, they had a lot to lose. Their allegiance had always been to profit, but I wasn’t giving them the chance to fight in defense of profit. I was aski
ng them to save other people, and they’d never been faced with that decision before.
One man stood up. An elf who had grown surprisingly fat with long brown hair. “I don’t have fairy magic, Prince. How would I fight through a fairy’s shield?”
I grinned and pulled the obsidian blade from my sheath. “There are more than a hundred blades. You will each be given one for the battle and for training. At the end of the war, we will buy them back from you. You will be required to sell them back, but I swear to you that we will pay their worth.”
There were more than a few eyebrows that rose with that comment, and I said, “Think on it. If you are willing to train to become an assassin, meet me here tomorrow at the same time. If not, then I can do nothing else to convince you.”
I turned and walked away from the group. There was another group that I needed to talk to. Goblins. Not nearly as important as the shadow walkers, but valuable, nonetheless. They would be a surprise, and surprises can turn the tide of battle.
As I walked through the gate, a man ran up to me. Although he looked like an elf, he had a trimmed beard, and I had to look a second time. Wearing the typical attire of an officer of the guard, silver and black linen coat and pants, he looked like a normal officer other than the bizarre beard.
“Prince Sebastian,” he called as he came closer. “I hear that you’re looking for officers for the war efforts.”
“Yes. What of it?” I stopped walking and let him get close.
“Sir, I know war better than the rest of your officers, and though I’m younger than most of them, I’ve seen real combat. I’ve watched men die all around me, and I’ve kept command of terrified boys. No one in this damned city has as much experience as I do.”
“Where were you part of a war? There hasn’t ever been a real war in the Immortal Realm.”
“Sir, I’m a half-elf. I grew up in the Mortal Realm. I fought in the war. I was on the beaches of Normandy, and though you probably don’t know what that means, it means something on the other side. I’ve never planned a war campaign, but I’ve pulled a bunch of boys scared shitless through a hail of gunfire. Nobody here has any idea what they’re about to see.”
He was right. I didn’t know nearly enough about the Mortal Realm, but I could hear the confidence in his voice. When I reached out to key into his emotions, I felt the twinge of sadness.
“How many people died at the Normandy battle?” I asked as I crossed my arms.
“I don’t know. The whole battle lasted days. All said, maybe a hundred thousand? I never read the casualty reports.”
My eyes opened wide. A hundred thousand lives lost in days? That was insanity. That was the entire Dark Court.
“Do you have command experience?”
He shook his head, “No sir, not large-scale command. I can’t command a war if that’s what you’re asking, but I know what we need to do starting yesterday to train these lads up.”
“I’m listening.”
“We need to fight each other. Get all the healers together, and we need to march against each other. It’ll be costly. We’ll have to fix armor, and there may be some lives lost, but may the void take us if we don’t let these lads find out what it feels like to be cut, to watch their brothers in arms fall to arrows, to watch the blood spurt when their spear finds flesh.”
“You want me to command our army to attack itself?” I asked in disbelief.
“Yes sir. I can’t think of any other option. You and the Queen train with real blades when you spar. You use magic. You’ve been cut and burned and hurt over and over again. You don’t freeze at the first bit of pain now, do you? You don’t get overwhelmed when the arrows rain down on you. They’re going to. The White Queen’s got troops who’ve seen battle. Ours haven’t. We need them to see it.”
I bit my lip and grumbled. The boy was right, but I didn’t like the thought of losing lives in practice. Yes, most of the troops would be fine if we had plenty of healers, but those that weren’t? How did you explain that to their wives and children?
“I’ll think about it. What’s your name?”
“Name’s Frank. Frank Russo even though nobody uses last names here.” He smiled in a strangely serious way and scratched at the black beard.
“Well Frank Russo, I don’t disagree with you. I’ll confer with the other war commanders, and we may see what kind of training exercises we can go through in the safest way possible. It would be a shame to find out your brother died while training, wouldn’t it?”
Frank nodded. “I just don’t see another way around it.”
“Thank you for bringing it up, Frank Russo.” I turned and left the half-elf behind. The goblins would be assembled at the practice field. Rose should be down there by now. I’d been asleep when she’d finally come in last night, and I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her since she’d slept in after her late night.
Frank was right. We had to find a way to let the soldiers experience battle before any actual war or they’d freeze. I knew that Nyx would never have accepted any kind of training other than battle as an acceptable training method. He was also a half-fairy and capable of healing quickly.
I wasn’t so worried about the fairies or any of the Fae with healing abilities. They’d be training in battle already. It was the harpies, the centaurs, and everyone else that would need a healer that would break during a large-scale charge. How did you convince people to run into the enemy without fear when they’d never been on the receiving end of a silver sword?
I didn’t know the answer. It seemed like that happened more and more as of late. For now, I could focus on something I had an answer for. Fifteen goblins had decided that their one purpose in life was battle. Tiny beings that would be perfect at protecting Rose in tight quarters and unfamiliar areas.
Her Goblin Secret Service. That’s what she’d named it at least. Well, she’d named it the GSS, but that didn’t make sense. It was a human thing to use letters instead of words, and I was not convinced that it made any sense at all.
As I got close to the practice grounds, I saw Rose land with a spray of sand. She stood up, a shadowy shield tight around her body, and smiled at me. “Good afternoon,” she said to the goblins.
“Good afternoon,” they said in near unison. Their emotions were open to see, and even without empathy, I would have been able to tell that they were ecstatic to be here, to be learning to fight.
I approached them and said, “You’re here to learn to protect your Queen. Your only job will be to keep her safe. You’ll have no other objectives. You won’t chase enemies or form lines. All you have to do is keep anyone from getting to her.”
Several of the goblins gave me shocked expressions. Others grinned with excitement. “Why us?” one of them asked.
“Because goblins are perfect for the job,” Rose stated. “Your gifts can be augmented by my power, letting you move faster and be stronger than a vampire without any of the struggles they face. You also have the unique gift of discerning unusual things that most people would miss.”
“Why not fairies? I can’t shoot magic outta my fingers like them.” He crossed his arms, and I realized that he thought this was a joke. Goblins had been picked on for centuries because they were typically considered one of the weakest of the Fae.
“I’m not worried about fighting off magic,” Rose said. “Sebastian and I can handle all of the magic. We need you to handle the physical fighting. There are weapons that can get through our shields, and Queen Seraphina will try to use trickery against us. That’s what you’re going to guard us against.”
That seemed to make sense to the goblin. “Now, we need to know just how strong and fast you are. Rose is going to make her power available to you. You need to reach out and tap it, letting it amplify your abilities.”
That one goblin who had spoken up jumped to his feet, and he seemed to fly by, his body a blur as he ran as fast as he could. He began to jump up and down with excitement, but when he jumped, he jumped higher than h
e ever had before, and he hadn’t expected it.
His arms flailed around as he tried to keep himself from twisting in the air, but he failed miserably, landing flat on his back on the sand. Other goblins rushed to his side, moving just as fast. They helped him up and he was laughing loudly. I glanced at Rose and saw the wide smile on her face. Yes, this could work.
“Now, for today, we’re just going to go through some basic techniques. Tomorrow, we’ll have some healers come out, and you’ll spar. You need to know what it feels like to be wounded, and you need to know that one cut is not the end of a battle. You’re going to be the last wall between the enemy and your Queen, the same Queen who gave you the freedom to do as you choose.”
I could feel the fear coming off them in waves, but the excitement was still there. And pride. A greater pride than I’d ever expected to feel from a goblin. They were going to be the Queen’s personal bodyguard, and that was a far step above cleaning chamber pots.
I gathered up some of the silver training swords that hung around every training circle and handed them out to the goblins. Rose’s eyes drifted away from what we were doing, staring off into the distance as she assimilated more knowledge of the past.
I tried to ignore her, letting her be a font of power, but not disturbing her. Step by step, I showed the goblins the proper way to wield a sword. It would take months before they were fully competent with it, but with their extreme speed and strength, they didn’t need to be more than slightly functional, and they’d outmaneuver most soldiers.
The hours passed, and I worked them. They would need hours of training every day, but as I’d said, they would be the last wall between the enemy and Rose. They deserved some time.
As the goblins began to pant, their ears drooping, I called it for the day. Tomorrow, I would have another trainer come to teach them. I noticed Rose was watching them move with a smile. When I approached her, she said, “They once had a specific caste of warriors, did you know that?”
I shook my head, and she continued, “When the goblin clans went to war with each other before the Thrones were made, each clan would send their warrior caste out, and only the warriors would battle.”
