Chapter 3 Lily
LILY
Now that I was Queen of the Southern Isles, I couldn’t stay in my villa anymore.
I needed to be close to the soldiers who guarded the castle, to be insulated by the stone that had survived for centuries, even after the attack in the courtyard decades ago.
I needed to be easily accessible to everyone at a moment’s notice if the enemy was spotted approaching our shores.
I occupied one of the guest suites, one with an en-suite bathroom and a spacious balcony with a marvelous view of the sea on a clear day.
A large four-poster king-size bed was in the bedroom along with a grand fireplace, and the suite had a seating area, a dining room, and another bathroom for guests.
But it didn’t have a kitchen, not when the servants were supposed to bring me whatever I requested at all hours of the day.
That seemed unnecessary.
I hadn’t slept in nearly two days, and I should have been exhausted, but I sat on the edge of the bed in my armor and stared at the seating area in the next room, eyeing the dark rug on the hardwood floor and another fireplace that hadn’t been touched in a long time.
My heart was so heavy I couldn’t breathe.
The person’s advice I most wanted was unreachable, and his incapacitation was the very reason I was in this position in the first place.
I wanted to ask him what to do, but it was up to me to figure it out, to prepare for war when the only battle I’d seen had happened just days ago.
As if he could feel my sorrow, Wrath appeared beside me, dressed in nothing but his trousers, like it was any other night. He looked ahead for a while, gazing at the same seating room, before he turned to look at me directly.
Then his hand slowly reached for mine, avoiding the sharpness of my vambraces, gliding over the sleekness of the dragon scales donated by Khazmuda, and then his fingers slid into mine before he interlocked them tightly.
I pressed my cheek into his hard shoulder and closed my eyes, feeling the sting of tears as they began to pool. I wanted to sit in the privacy of my bedroom and have an ugly cry, to grieve for my father who bore a wound that might never heal.
“It’s okay.” Wrath couldn’t see my face, but he must have felt the way my breathing changed. Noticed the way my breaths were strained and uneven. His lips brushed my hairline, and he placed a gentle kiss there. “It’s okay, Xivin.”
I pulled away and looked at him through the mist in my eyes. I wanted to grieve for what I’d lost, but I had work to do. “Tell me everything you know about the Barbarians.” I forced in a deep breath to cleanse the moisture from my lungs because that was how the tears had pierced me.
His expression didn’t change, but his eyes hardened momentarily.
Silence lingered for a while before he found his answer.
“Weather patterns are usually predictable, but nothing stays the same forever. Their homeland was struck by a winter that never abated. They implored their king to leave before their reserves were consumed, but he didn’t listen.
A lot of people died, and those who survived resorted to cannibalism. ”
A painful sense of terror shot through me, along with disgust…and even pity.
“Hence, their name. Their kingdom was once a flourishing acropolis of wealth and elitism. But golden ships and diamonds and jewels won’t save anyone from famine.
Those who survived are mostly from the military.
The ones who didn’t hesitate to eat their own kind.
They’ve lost their humanity and now believe in savagery and brutality exclusively.
They seek a new acropolis to build their empire—and I hate to say that the Southern Isles is exactly what they’re looking for.
A moderate climate with rich soil and the greatest jewel of all… dragons.”
I had to defeat men who had already survived the worst hardships. Men who didn’t trust the governance of kings, men who believed every circumstance was eat or be eaten. I suspected diplomacy would get me nowhere with those men.
“You’ll need your allies to win this war.
The Northern Isles will answer your call for aid because they’re loyal to your father.
You’ll also need to turn to the east, to ask the Empire Colonies to fight with you.
If they conquer all three of you, they’ll have control over the entirety of the Great Sea.
You’ll also need to proposition the Brigandine Empire, the faction of pirates that visit Skull Island under a banner of peace.
They’re a smaller colony of fighters but still loyal to your father because he allows them to continue their business as long as they adhere to his laws. ”
“We have dragons, but you don’t think that will be enough?” I asked warily.
He was quiet for a while. “I believe arrogance is the same as complacency.”
That was something my father had said—and I wondered if Wrath was repeating that intentionally.
“They know of your dragons because they were chased out to sea by them. If they attack the Southern Isles, they’ll be prepared. You, in turn, need to be prepared for that, to guess your enemy’s actions before he makes them.”
I nodded in agreement. “Then I’ll leave at first light.”
“Take your brother with you. He’s the person you can trust most right now.”
“You called him an unfit child a few hours ago.”
“And he became a man once he was humbled by a woman,” he said. “I trust his love for you.”
“I do too.”
“It’s been so long since I was a young man that I can’t even remember what it was like. I believe that’s why I have limited empathy and patience.”
“How old were you when…when you became immortal?”
“Thirty-two.”
“So you’re older than me in either regard.”
“It doesn’t feel that way to me,” he said as he looked at me. “You feel like my equal in every way. From the grit in your eyes to the toughness in your heart…and the kindness in your smile.”
I turned into him and pressed a kiss to his shoulder, feeling the warm skin against my cold lips. “I’m not in a place to make love tonight, but I don’t want you to go either.”
He slid his hand into my hair, and he cradled my face so my eyes looked up at him.
“You think that’s the only reason I’m here?
” His eyes weren’t strained in anger like they’d been in the past when I’d said something he didn’t like.
Just intense and contemplative and deep.
“I’m here because your heart is the place I call home. ”
My father’s men—or, I should say, my men—packed my supplies in Zehemoth’s saddle for my departure.
Movack, Zehemoth’s sister, was also prepared for the journey.
She had taken a liking to Hawk from the moment he was born.
I was young when Zehemoth hatched, but old enough to remember the way his dark scales had broken through the shell and emerged.
Movack had the reverse experience with my brother, meeting him at his birth.
They’d been close over the years, and it seemed like that relationship deepened once Hawk became an adult.
They’d agreed to fuse whenever my father decided Hawk was old enough to pause his age in time.
I stepped into the courtyard and saw Zehemoth there, waiting for me to mount him to begin our journey across the sea.
In my battle armor, I felt my black cape pull against the breeze when it gusted through the bright morning.
Winter had reached its end, and spring crested the horizon, a new dawn ahead.
Zehemoth lowered his head so our eyes could meet. I like your cape.
I smirked. Gonna take some getting used to.
The ruler of the Southern Isles was designated not by a crown, but a cape, a symbol of power.
It was ordinary, black like Zehemoth’s scales, but when it caught in the wind at just the right moment, it was majestic.
It was also a testament to the skill set of the wearer—because fighting with a cape was much harder than without one.
It got caught on things, flapped at the wrong time, and could easily be stepped on by friend or foe.
It was a purposeful disadvantage—because a ruler needed to be strong enough to win regardless.
His dark eyes drank me in. You look like your father.
I chuckled. Thanks?
In a good way. A feminine way.
I hope so. Have you spoken to your father?
Nothing has interrupted the ship’s passage across the sea. They’ve made it a third of the way.
Good. They need to make it back before the Barbarians return.
We killed many and destroyed a significant number of their ships. If there are any left, it’ll take them time to regroup.
If they’d been killed off, Wrath would have shared that with me. So they were still out there. Perhaps they only sent a portion of their fleet to take the forest, underestimating the residents of Riviana Star. I hoped so.
Hawk finally emerged from the castle in similar armor, our family crest in the center with Khazmuda in the skies above. But it was different from mine, with less ornamentation, denoting his status as inferior to me. But he was still protected by hard dragon scales, impervious to fire and arrows.
He drew close before he greeted Zehemoth in a silent conversation I couldn’t hear, but I knew it was happening based on the way their eyes locked together for a time. Then Hawk placed his palm on Zehemoth’s snout.
In the battle in Riviana Star, I’d rarely been struck, because my opponents were twice my size and I knew my armor spared me from serious injury.
But that was a double-edged sword, because a simple scratch on the nose from their blades could slice open your cheek.
My father had trained us to be mindful by having us eat dinner wearing all our armor, to always be conscious of the weapons on our bodies, even when we weren’t in battle.
Wrath was nowhere to be seen, but I also knew he was there, watching from his shroud of invisibility.
I’d started to grow more accustomed to his presence, aware of his kingly power.
It was similar to the way I felt when my father stepped into the room.
I knew he was there before I actually saw him. “Ready?”
Hawk nodded. “Where to first?”
“The Northern Isles have already launched an armada to accompany our father across the sea. They must be aware that we’re at war. Aunt Eldinar would have filled them in. I suggest we focus on the Empire Colonies first and then the Brigandine Faction afterward.”
“Pirates?” he asked incredulously. “They’re a lawless faction of criminals.”
“But they’re expert sailors and fighters, and we need every man we can get.
If the Barbarians return, given the arrangement of the landmass before it leads to the archipelago in the east, our armada could be easily cornered.
Having the Northern Isles and the Brigandine Faction coming from the north, we can attack the Barbarians from both sides.
Add in the Empire Colonies, and it’ll be three sides. ”
Hawk considered that for a moment before he gave a nod in agreement. “That’s a good move. I just worry how receptive they’ll both be to our plea.”
“We’re allies,” I said. “And if we lose this battle, they’ll be next on the list.”
“Alliances change with kings,” he said. “When they know Dad is incapacitated and will remain so until we find a cure, they may take advantage of our vulnerability.”
My eyes narrowed. “You really believe that?”
“I know Dad used to be a pirate, but all the men he sailed with are either dead or too old to sail anymore. So whatever loyalty was there has passed on. And Father always told me to be wary of King Ithaca and his two sons.”
“But Dad says that about everyone.”
“And he’s usually right.” This was the first time my brother and I had had to work together like this, in a high-stakes situation with real consequences.
My father had trained us separately, and Hawk had made a career in the military, so his time was spent away from the castle.
Now I got to see my brother’s capabilities firsthand, the way he questioned everything just like my father.
“Never give anyone a chance to stab you in the back. Never give your allies a chance to be your enemy. That’s what Dad has always said.
That peace can only be maintained by the power of an uncorrupt man. ”
My mind was already heavy with so much to address, and now something as simple as petitioning our allies had suddenly become dangerous. “Would anyone be stupid enough to provoke a kingdom protected by dragons?”
“It’s been done before,” he said simply. “Why can’t it be done again?”
My heart suddenly gasped for air.
“History always repeats itself.”