Chapter 23 Lily
LILY
After a two-day sail, we followed the narrow channel that led from one sea to the next, and when we rounded the corner of the shore to the vastness of the sea on the other side, our eyes rested on the Empire Colonies.
But instead of seeing the sprawling city up the hill and the presence of the military along the shore, the haze of smoke was so thick we couldn’t see anything at all.
The gleam of gold was sometimes visible in the open pockets of the clouds.
Then the boom of cannon fire erupted, although I couldn’t determine from which side it came.
I approached the bow of the ship and gripped the rail to get a better look at the carnage, but I couldn’t distinguish much. “We’re too late.”
Commander Maverick came to my side, massive like Callum was but at least a decade older. “What are your orders, Your Majesty? Do we fight or do we flee?”
“I—I don’t know.”
Callum suddenly appeared on my other side, like another one of my generals.
“The Barbarians have already docked and made it onto land. Violence takes the city and its people. Most of the ships are unoccupied. Would be a prime opportunity to sink most of their fleet. It’ll buy you time for them to harvest their special gold and rebuild, or perhaps they’ll attack the Southern Isles without that advantage. ”
Commander Maverick continued to stare at the side of my face, patiently waiting for orders.
I looked ahead but listened to every word Callum shared with me. I wanted to be direct with my questions but not look impaired in front of the men who followed me. “I wonder if they’ve reached King Ithaca yet…or if he met them at the shore?”
“He’s in his castle. When the Barbarians approached, the Empire waved their white flag in surrender then his general pitched the alliance. You can figure out what happened next.”
“Looks like they were ambushed.”
“A bloodbath.”
I turned to the general. “Let’s destroy their ships then depart immediately.”
“Yes, Death Queen.” Commander Maverick turned away to perform his duties, leaving me alone at the bow of the ship.
With him gone, I took the opportunity to speak freely. “I should speak with King Ithaca.”
“Why?” Callum turned to me.
“Maybe I can help him fight back. Keep the Barbarians focused on me and away from their ships.”
“Xivin, that sounds dangerous—”
“They outsailed us with ease,” I said. “If I want my men to survive this, they need every advantage they can get. If I destroy these ships, it’ll be a win for the Southern Isles…at least for my dragons.”
He continued to stare at me, concern heavy in his eyes.
“Take me to him,” I commanded.
“Xivin—”
“You can pull me away if you need to.”
That didn’t seem to bring him comfort, and I didn’t know why. But he reached for my arm, gently gripped me just above my elbow, and then the world twisted for a mere second before it went still again.
“Barricade the doors!” a soldier shouted. “With anything you can find.”
I looked around the throne room, seeing the soldiers moving furniture against all the doors as if that would keep them safe. Too distracted by a pointless attempt at self-preservation, they didn’t notice me right away.
King Ithaca stood near the throne with his terrified wife beside him, his two adult sons nearby with their wives. They had their arms around their wives for comfort, but their faces were the color of milk.
King Ithaca turned his gaze on me, and so much frustration and terror were packed into that millisecond. He took a step back even though we were twenty feet apart.
I moved forward. “You’re dressed for battle but shelter in place beneath a ceiling made of glass.
” All the soldiers stopped what they were doing and turned to me, every single one of them aware of the fact that I’d somehow made it inside even though every door was blocked by a table or a dresser.
“You should be out there.” I pointed at nowhere specific.
“Taking up arms and fighting alongside the men who would die for their kingdom. Leave your wives to flee to safety while you fight for your people on your own two feet.”
King Ithaca didn’t look at me with his signature disdain. Now he had a brand-new look, like he didn’t know what to make of this, like he finally understood how deeply he’d underestimated me.
“You’d rather die trapped like a rat?” I asked in disbelief. “Your men will fight harder if they fight alongside their king.” I continued forward until I was only a few feet from him.
He continued to stare at me like I was a ghost.
“Have you lost the ability to speak?”
A sudden slam erupted against the double doors behind me. The thud was so distinct that all the walls shook. The ceiling looked like it was about to shatter. The room went silent afterward, the smallest breath audible in the quiet.
Then it happened again, the doors shifting from the impact. Again and again. One more hit and the doors would snap.
I turned back to King Ithaca. “I will fight for you if you fight with me.”
He started to sweat from the panic. His wife gripped his arm, as if the tighter she held on, the more likely they were to be saved.
The doors shook again—and this time, they broke free.
I saw a horde of Barbarians enter the throne room, and I recognized two in the center, both with golden masks and mahogany uniforms underneath black armor. I barely had a moment to take it in before Callum gripped me by the arm and squeezed.
Nothing changed, the world remained the same, but I felt a change within me.
King Ithaca narrowed his gaze on me then his eyes shifted around frantically, as if looking for something.
I turned to Callum for explanation.
“We’re invisible to their eyes.” He guided me away from the center of the room as the Barbarians moved in. There had been three leaders in Riviana Star, but since I’d killed one of them, now there were only two.
My eyes shifted to the soldiers who followed.
Their faces weren’t concealed behind gold masks, so I could see their features.
I didn’t recognize them personally from the battle, but their size and stature were the same, the hostility of their auras.
But something was different about them. Their eyes were now vertical slits, like the eyes of a snake.
“Why do you hide me from them? I’m not afraid—”
“You should be.” He kept his hand on my arm. “You can’t help him now. He had his chance, and he forfeited it.”
“Why—why are they different?”
He watched the two Barbarians in the front approach King Ithaca and his family, walking with an arrogant but lazy gait. “They’re vampires.”
“Vampires?” I asked incredulously. “Since when?”
He didn’t answer my question.
The Barbarian in charge took a step forward past the others, his entire body covered in armor, his neck and head concealed in the dark hood, with the details of the back of the mask hidden from view.
I wasn’t sure how he could see properly in battle when his view was so heavily restricted by the golden mask. His hands were gloved in black metal but with golden accents. Gold was emblazoned everywhere on their uniforms.
“In case you were unaware,” the Barbarian said. “I reject your proposition. Now, if you’d kindly get on your knees, I’ll make this quick. Or I won’t make it quick… We’ll see.” He slowly unsheathed his golden blade, the sound of the metal gliding audibly past the scabbard as it retracted.
King Ithaca finally found his words. “There is much you don’t know about Queen Rothschild of the Southern Isles. She’s far more powerful than you realize. With the command of the dead—”
“Yes, we’re aware of her godly gifts,” he said in a bored voice. “And I will explore all of her gifts when I make her my wife.” There was a smile behind the voice, a smile that couldn’t be seen…but felt.
I felt a shiver of disgust erupt over my body.
“She has more than that. She has the strength of fifty men—”
“On your knees.”
“She’s in this room as we speak! You just can’t see her.”
I released an angry sigh. “I tried to help that asshole again, and he still sold me out.”
The Barbarian stilled, his sword at his side, and then he turned to look around the room…like he was actually searching for me. His eyes even stopped exactly where I stood and stayed put.
I looked at Callum beside me, and he held the Barbarian’s stare even though they couldn’t see each other.
Something transpired directly before me, but I didn’t understand it.
King Ithaca continued to betray my kindness. “She’s here, and then she disappears…like a phantom. But she’s real. Real enough to fight and kill my men. Let me help you defeat the Death Queen. As powerful as you may be, you’re no match for a woman with the powers of a goddess.”
The Barbarian faced forward again and stared at King Ithaca with a heavy silence.
I felt no pity for the king. Although I did feel bad for what would befall his family, guilty by association.
“I swear to you she’s here,” King Ithaca said. “She stood before me when you broke through the doors. A demon in the flesh of a human guards her like a vault of treasure—”
“Trust me, I believe you.” He dropped the hilt of his blade on his shoulder, where it bounced slightly against his armor. “On your knees.”
That was when King Ithaca started to tremble, probably pissed himself because he knew there was no way out of this. He’d chosen to punch above his weight, and now he was about to pay the fatal consequences of that decision. “There must be something you want. I’ll give you anything.”
“I’ve just taken your kingdom, Your Majesty. I’ve already taken everything that you have. Now…on your knees.” He lifted his boot and slammed it into the front of King Ithaca’s leg, snapping his kneecap.
He cried out before he fell forward, gasping as he tried to reach for his broken leg and stabilize himself at once.