Chapter 26 Lily
LILY
I stood in the war room with Hawk and Commander Maverick. The other commander on the fleet didn’t make it back, so now we were just down to one. Most of the ships that returned had damage, so they were being repaired in the harbor, everyone preparing for a war that was guaranteed to come.
“Not only have we lost the Empire Colonies as allies, but we’ve gained them as enemies,” Hawk said. “Ten thousand Barbarians, plus that entire army…at least fifty thousand. The cliffs are a natural barrier, but they can’t stop an onslaught of that many people.”
“We need to use the dragons,” Commander Maverick said. “It’s necessary.”
“We don’t have enough armor to outfit them all,” I argued.
“Even so, this is how it must be,” Commander Maverick said. “They’re the only leverage we have. If the Barbarians make it to land with their vampire army, it’ll be a massacre. Based on what you described, our men don’t stand a chance.”
“He’s right,” Hawk said. “I hate the idea too, but it’s either we risk them…or we risk everyone.”
“Zehemoth was able to navigate the golden spikes, but he had no other distractions—”
“We will lose dragons,” Hawk said. “There’s no denying that. But there is no other way.”
“The dragons are a part of the Southern Isles,” Commander Maverick said. “They should defend it like one of us. It’s unfair to ask the soldiers to put their lives on the line if the dragons aren’t willing to do the same.”
I turned to Commander Maverick, my protectiveness almost making me angry. “They’re not soldiers or citizens. They’re free dragons who live beside us as neighbors. They’re not horses or sheep.”
“They’re free dragons because of Talon Rothschild—who barely clings to life as we speak,” he said authoritatively but respectively.
“I know it’s hard, Lily,” Hawk said. “But I’m sure Khazmuda would agree. We must use every tool at our disposal if we want to win this. We can’t afford to keep our strongest weapons away from the battle. Every second counts.”
I turned to my brother. “But they will be shot down. What part of that don’t you understand—”
“Commander Maverick, could you give us a moment?”
He gave a slight nod before he let himself out of the room. Daylight came through the open window, but it was dropping quickly below the horizon because this meeting had taken far longer than I anticipated.
Hawk moved to the other side of the table and stared me down.
“Lily, I understand your love for these dragons. Remember that I care for them just as much. But we’re fighting to survive right now.
You told Zehemoth to stay behind when you went to the Empire Colonies, and what happened?
He came anyway. They know if the enemy prevails, they’ll be hunted and forced into servitude in some capacity.
They’re fighting for their freedom too. This is how it has to be. ”
I stared down at the enormous map of the Southern Isles and the other nearby kingdoms. My heart ached for the violence about to ensue, not just on my fellow humans, but on my dragon kin.
“Now I know how Dad felt when I left. Loving Zehemoth is like…loving a child in some ways. I understand he’s a powerful dragon, but his heart is so pure and innocent.
They’re such extraordinary creatures that could rule the world if they wanted, but all they desire is peace. ”
“I know,” he said quietly. “But peace can only exist with power, and this is the way to ensure it continues.”
I continued to stare at the board, unable to meet his gaze, to give the order I didn’t want to give.
“Lily.”
I finally conceded and lifted my gaze to him. After a long stare, I gave a nod in agreement.
He nodded back. “Alright, we’ll continue to work on strategy. There are a couple different possibilities. They could strike us solely from the sea, or they might separate their army into halves and have one of them take us by land.”
“It would take them weeks to reach us from the south.”
“I agree, but then they would have us cornered. And our men are no match for their vampires. It’s what I would do.”
“But our dragons would destroy them.”
“Our dragons would either have to be split between sea and land, or they would be distracted by the attack from the south and their ships would dock. The only other option is to attack them, because they probably wouldn’t expect us to do that.”
“But the cannons…”
“If they can use those cannons on land, then yes, we’re fucked. They’re better at sea and better at land, and if they fire their spikes from the ground, it’ll be hard for the dragons to discern where they are. On the ships, it’s very easy to figure out.”
“What would Dad do?” I said it more to myself than to anyone else.
“He would say that we’ll figure it out. That he has complete faith in us.”
“Yeah, but would he mean it?”
He stared at the map again for a while. “Can you think of any other allies to call for aid?”
“We don’t know anyone else, Hawk. If we sail around asking for help, they might take advantage of our vulnerability.”
“Yes, but you sailed around the seas for six months,” he said. “Said you met lots of people. Can any of those people help us?”
The only time I’d thought about Viper was when I realized the Barbarians were a type of vampire.
But I never considered asking them for help.
They were so far away, and our connection had been brief…
and mainly physical. I got the impression that he might have wanted more if our circumstances were different, but I refused to prey upon a good man’s heart. “I did meet some vampires on the trip.”
“You met vampires?”
I nodded.
“And you’re just mentioning this now? Do they have anything to do with the fact that the Barbarians have vampires in their army now?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because they’re a different kind of vampire.”
“Are you an expert in vampire species now?” he snapped.
“Shut up. I’m not in the mood.”
“Trust me, I’m not either. You said you met them. You didn’t say you were attacked by them.”
“Because I wasn’t. They were friendly.”
“Why?” He cocked his head, his eyebrows raised.
“Why what?” I couldn’t care less if my brother knew I’d bedded a vampire, but I thought I felt Callum in the room, observing the conversation and invisible to the naked eye.
“Why were they friendly?”
“The same reason a dragon wouldn’t attack you unless provoked. Not all monsters are evil.”
“I just don’t understand.”
“I can send a message to them. They might help…I really don’t know. We don’t know each other that well. My time there was brief. But they’re far away, at least a month’s journey by boat. I’m not even sure if they would make it in time even if they left the moment they received my letter.”
Hawk stared at my face, but his mind was somewhere else. “When you talked about the battle, you made it sound like you could move from one place to the next within a heartbeat. When you asked Jack to search for the platinum, you made it sound that way as well.”
Since it wasn’t a question, I didn’t give an answer. Just stared at him.
“Perhaps you could make this request in person. Increase their chances of offering aid. Because if they said yes, that could drastically change the outcome of this war. We would have vampires to fight their vampires.” Hawk phrased the request gently, careful not to pry into exactly how I could accomplish this.
“Like I said, we don’t know each other that well. I don’t think fighting a battle across the world is a worthy cause. Because the outcome of this battle wouldn’t affect their lives at all.”
“The Barbarians seek complete domination.” Callum appeared at the side of the table where Commander Maverick had stood before he departed the room.
He stared at me for a heartbeat, and then his attention turned to my brother.
“With a horde of dragons in their service and ambition bigger than their galleons, they will try to conquer the world. It will affect them—eventually.” He turned back to me.
“You need every ally you can find. If there’s a chance to gain them in your ranks, proposition them. ”
My eyes flicked from Callum to Hawk, trying to understand if my brother saw him.
Hawk stared right at him, like he did.
“I will take Lily to their lands,” Callum said.
My heart did a somersault—because now I knew Hawk could definitely see and hear Callum.
“And we’ll also take the opportunity to ask about the platinum. We’ll need it to heal the wounded, reanimate your father.” He looked from me back to my brother again.
Hawk gave a nod in agreement.
What was happening right now?
Callum turned to me. “Are you ready, Xivin?”
I looked at my brother, who didn’t appear terrified or even surprised by the presence of the god of the underworld, in his armor and with his broadsword across his back. “You’ve seen him before…”
Hawk held my gaze but gave no confirmation of my suspicion.
I turned to Callum, knowing he wouldn’t lie to me. “You’ve spoken to him before.”
“I made it clear that I serve you. Instead of letting him live in fear of my intentions, I assured him how pure they are.” He held my stare with such authority that it was clear the discussion was over.
“Time is not on our side, Xivin.” He extended his hand to me, so I could go to him when I was ready to leave.
Hawk gave no objection, as if he understood the relationship, when there was no way he possibly could.
I moved to Callum, and the second his hand was on my arm, I felt the pull between us, the inherent magnetism. It made me think of our night in the bathtub and how he held me while I slept all night, keeping the water warm for me.
“Where?”
“Far to the north. There are mountains and snow. Just above the Viamin Kingdom.”