Chapter 5
LILY
Splattered with dirt and the blood of my opponents, my beautiful armor was a muddy fresco. The battle raged on, me single-handedly drawing their attention while Zehemoth knocked over the others with his tail, making sure I was never swarmed by more than a dozen at a time.
We worked together as a team, and without his aid, I wasn’t sure if I would have been enough.
I wouldn’t stop until I defeated this entire army by myself or Viper came to my rescue.
After what felt like an hour, the familiar sound of the horn blew from the gate that I couldn’t see because I could only focus on what was directly before me.
If I dropped my attention for even a second, I would be sliced by a golden blade and might never recover.
But the funnel of foes in my direction lessened as they turned their attention back to the wall.
My brother’s voice spoke in my mind. The Kingsnake Vampires are here.
I finally let myself feel the exhaustion in my limbs. Callum’s godly strength had sustained me throughout the long night, but even now, it started to wane. Zehemoth’s energy had dwindled too, so my supernatural focus had begun to fade. Good. Wouldn’t have lasted much longer.
Yes, you would have. Are you hurt?
No.
The gates are open, and they’re coming through.
I noticed the vampires that had wanted me dead turned their attention back to the north, their vampire foes a much bigger problem than me.
You don’t need to fight anymore, Lily. Meet me at the courtyard.
I wanted nothing more than to return to the castle and check on Mom and Dad, to take a breath, have a drink of water, even something to eat.
But I wouldn’t leave my post until the victory had been secured.
I’ll meet you when the battle is over. Return to the sea and watch the conflict unfold. Let me know when we’re victorious.
There was a pause full of hesitation before he answered. Alright.
I had a much easier time cutting down my enemies from behind, only receiving a fraction of their ire because they were distracted by the Kingsnake Vampires from up ahead.
Zehemoth stayed by my side and helped me fight them from the rear, splitting their attention and direction and making it easier for my allies to dominate.
The battle lasted hours, and the two armies became uniform throughout the space.
The Kingsnake Vampires were distinctive in their black-and-red armor, and the Barbarians were bright with their golden accents.
From where I stood, it was hard to see the tides of the war, but if the Kingsnakes made it to the rear, that meant there were more of them than there were of the Barbarians.
After another hour, it was clear that the battle was won. The remaining Barbarians were being rounded up and executed. Some tried to surrender, but I didn’t take prisoners, and it didn’t seem like the Kingsnakes did either.
Viper eventually emerged in my vision, his armor slightly scuffed from the clashing of blades.
Blood was on his armor and clothing, and I hoped it wasn’t his.
His eyes immediately found me through the crowd of people, and he paused to stare at me before he walked over, his black cape behind him, eyes subtle and furious like the adrenaline was still pumping hard in his heart.
He stopped before me. “Are you hurt?”
“No. You?”
“No.”
“I hope you didn’t lose too many men.”
“About as many as I expected. As for the sea, I don’t know.”
“My brother told me the battle has been won. Their ships have been wrecked to the bottom of the sea. There are still some vampiric dragons left, but they’re being hunted by dragon and ship as we speak.
” I couldn’t believe the words that came from my mouth, that we had survived this battle, that we’d won it.
“I would have lost my people and my kingdom if it weren’t for you. ”
The stoicism started to fade as he held my gaze, a hint of emotion moving into his hard expression. “I’m glad that didn’t come to pass.”
“Is Kingsnake here with you? I would love the opportunity to thank him for his generosity.” He’d launched his entire army to come to my aid when he’d just had his own battle. And he’d done it immediately, without taking more than a day to consider the plea.
“He’s not here.”
“Well, I’ll make sure to fly to your kingdom imminently and get on my knees and thank him.”
His eyes flicked back and forth between mine before they went still again. “That will be unnecessary.”
“He saved my kingdom. I will gift him jewels and coin as well as my gratitude—”
“My brother denied my request to come to your aid.”
It took me a moment to understand what he’d just said. My own eyes flicked back and forth between his before my breath returned to my lungs.
“But I came anyway.”
A complicated mixture of every emotion in the world swept through me. One moment, I felt guilt and shame, and then the next, I felt a surge of gratitude so strong it nearly knocked me off my feet.
“I came for you.” As if he expected nothing from me, he turned his back on me, his cape flowing beautifully behind him.
His enormous blade was sheathed across his back, and as if he was equal to the soldiers he commanded, he helped one of his men lift an injured soldier from the dirt and carry him toward the gate where the medics waited.
Sunieth.
I continued to stare at Viper’s back, the guilt crushing my chest every time I took a breath. “Yes?”
My father wants us to return to the castle.
“Yeah…alright.” I turned back to Zehemoth and climbed up into his saddle before we were launched into the air.
With his strong wings, he lifted us high off the ground in seconds, and we flew to the tops of the cliffs where the castle still stood.
The midnight sky had turned to a deep blue, dawn on the horizon.
Minutes later, we landed in the courtyard. Hawk stood there next to Movack, and he rushed to me when my boots were on the stone. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m unharmed. You?”
“I’m fine,” he said quickly. “We lost over half of our ships. The Northern Kingdoms took the greatest casualties. Riviana Star came out the most unscathed, but they didn’t have many soldiers in the fight since they’re still recovering from the battle in Riviana Star.”
“What about the Brigandine Empire?”
“They seemed to fare the best. Lost the least number of ships.”
“I guess that doesn’t surprise me. What about the dragons?”
He took a slow breath, like he didn’t want to answer the question. “We lost a lot of dragons.”
I immediately bowed my head in despair.
“At least a quarter.”
“No.” I closed my eyes.
“Yeah…it’s…yeah.” He bowed his head too.
They gave their lives for their kin and their home and their queen.
Khazmuda lowered his head so he could look at us both.
And I know I can speak on their behalf when I say they wouldn’t have changed anything, even if they’d known the outcome.
We’ve always believed in the many over the one.
Their hatchlings will live on and have their own hatchlings in a world where their kin are free.
That’s what matters. He moved his cheek and gently swiped it against me before he did the same to my brother.
I’ve informed your mother of the outcome of the battle, but she would love to see you.
He gave my brother a playful nudge forward.
Together, we walked across the courtyard, the dead already piled into a single bonfire and burned there away from the trees. The smell of blossoms was obscured by the stench, but at least that stench was cloaked in victory.
When we made it to our parents’ chambers, she immediately pulled us both into her arms with a tearstained face.
She was shorter than both of us, so her head stopped at my chin.
She hugged us tightly in our thick armor and kept her eyes shut, savoring the moment that her children had returned to her unharmed.
It was minutes before she pulled away, her skin pale and absent of blood, the bags under her eyes puffy.
She grabbed one of our hands each and held them together between her palms like she wanted to feel our pulses.
“I know not all mothers are as lucky as I am. I know so many soldiers didn’t make it home today. ”
Many, many soldiers didn’t. And many dragons didn’t either.
“Your father prepared both of you so well. This victory is his legacy.”
“It is,” I said in agreement, knowing he deserved all the credit.
My mother took a deep and heavy breath before she released it, letting go of all her pain in that moment.
“Now that those assholes have been defeated, we need to repair our kingdom. Pay widows and mothers for their losses. Make sure our people are fed and sheltered as we rebuild. That’s the priority.
No need to rebuild our ships and forge new weapons to replace what we lost yet. ”
“I agree,” I said. “Hawk and I will stay here for a week to help, but then we’ll start our new mission—to find the platinum to heal Dad.”
“Where will you go if you don’t know where to search?” she asked.
“I’ll search this whole world until I find it,” I said simply.
Hawk nodded in agreement. “We’ll find it, Mom.”
She squeezed both of our hands before she finally let them go. “Khazmuda tells me that the Kingsnake Vampires are the saviors in this battle. But how do we know them?” She looked at me, already assuming the association was mine.
“Um, remember when I told you about that vampire I met when I set sail with the crew?” I’d already shared this story with my brother, but it was still awkward to repeat it. “Well, I pleaded for him to come to our aid…and he did.”
Her eyebrows rose slightly. “He came all the way here with three hundred ships and an entire army?”
“Yeah…”
“From the other side of the world?”