Chapter 47
Chapter Forty-Seven
Clay
There was something incredibly grounding about sitting at a table surrounded by my friends and allies. My court, I supposed.
We didn’t have a High Council. Not anymore. I decided not to be called the Dragon. It was a title my father had poisoned and a government structure that he had corrupted.
No, together we would build something new.
Thea to my right, Iris to my left. Nikolai beside Iris and Kent beside him. Rankor and his dark-haired instructor on the other side. Elaina sat across from me, bouncing Myla on her knee.
None of us had been prepared to step into this role, but here we were.
It was finally starting to feel like we stood a chance at finding success.
“President Jonan pledged twenty thousand men to us.”
Part of me had doubted whether he would hold true to his word when I had flown out to see him, but President Jonan was a good man, and he had come to our aid when we needed him. It wasn’t something I would forget.
“We brought ten thousand Mortals and Descendants alike with us,” Kent told me, eyes tracking over the parchment in front of him with our numbers. “Add that to Nikolai’s forces and those that Damon and Veric could secure, we’re looking at sixty thousand.”
Thea bit down on her smile next to me, and I squeezed her hand under the table. I felt it too, that need to be cautiously optimistic.
“I’ve brought you all here today to discuss our next move.”
Rankor nodded. “I can have the men ready to fight in a few days. We wait for your orders.”
I shook my head as Thea placed the book Nikolai and Iris had brought on the table in front of us. It hadn't left her hands since she’d first seen it. Ayanna was the only one who seemed to recognize it, and she leaned forward, reaching for it quickly with a furrowed brow.
“Where did you get this?” she demanded.
Thea’s fingers tightened possessively on the book as Rankor grimaced. He tugged on the back of Ayanna’s robe to urge her back into her seat, which earned him a glare as she flicked her hair over her shoulder. Rankor ignored her and shrugged at me apologetically.
“Do not corral me like a common dog,” she warned him.
He narrowed his eyes, giving her a look that I had seen send men bumbling away from him with apologies. “Or what?”
The instructor only tilted her head at him. “Shall I demonstrate my power for your friends too?”
I couldn’t tell if this was a game to them or not.
Rankor wasn’t typically one to idly allow someone to mock him, but the instructor seemed to have a stubbornness that rivaled Thea’s.
I hadn’t even invited her into this meeting.
She’d just marched in and sat down as if she was a vital member of my court.
Then she’d caught me staring at her in bewilderment and introduced herself casually, as if the only problem in her being here was the fact that I hadn’t known her name.
Ezmie rounded the table to stand behind me, looking over my shoulder at the map spread across the table while she nibbled on an apple. “I don’t understand why we can’t just set him on fire.”
Gods, I was going to leave this meeting with a splitting headache. “Because he is a God, Ezmerelda.”
“Okay,” she said around a mouthful of food. “We’ve got like dozens of Dragons here. That’s a lot of fire.”
“The answer to all your problems is not setting things on fire,” I chastised her dryly. “That’s something you should take note of in case you ever find yourself in the unfortunate position of ruling this country.”
Thea flinched, as if even the mention of my death was too much for her to consider, but my younger sister only tilted her head and made a sound of consideration. “I’d get a really big crown then, right?”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I forced myself to breathe deeply and ignore the growing urge to demand that she leave. She was a child, so I was giving certain allowances, but that child was my heir. Whether she liked it or not, she needed to grow up and prepare for the possibility of this role.
“Anyway,” Thea’s voice carried a hint of amusement as she took charge of the conversation, leaning forward and gesturing towards the tome on the table.
“This book contains instructions for an ancient ritual that brings a God into maturity and forges their Godly weapon. We think it will reignite my powers.”
Considering glances were exchanged around us, but Thea continued on.
“We’re still figuring out some of the logistics, but once we do, I’m going to complete it. Then we attack the capital, and I defeat Hyrax.”
Ayanna stood again, swiping the book and beginning to flip through it. Rankor moved to take it from her grasp, but she yanked it to the side and leveled him with a glare so threatening that even Nikolai leaned back in his chair with raised brows.
“Shouldn’t Camilla do it too?”
Every single person in the room stopped what they were doing to look up at Iris.
Nikolai had an arm tossed casually over the back of her chair, fingertips twirling in strands of her magenta hair, while Iris’ attention seemed locked on the blade she twisted around in her fingertips.
When she lifted her head and met our confused gazes, there was a clarity and calmness in her eyes that I hadn’t seen in some time.
“She’s a Goddess now, too.” Iris shrugged, setting down the blade and leaning into Nikolai. “And she, apparently, wants to help. If you all trust her, then maybe we should consider her an advantage at our disposal.”
She looked at me, lifting her brows and waiting for my opinion. I wasn’t necessarily opposed to the idea, but this was a divine matter. It didn't feel as if it were my decision. So, I turned to Thea. She was the Goddess among us; it should be her call.
In the end, though, it was the instructor who spoke next.
“No, she’s too young.” Ayanna didn’t bother looking up from the book as she continued leafing through it. “A God needs time for their powers to settle initially before they can attempt their Forging. It took time for Theadora’s powers to regulate and strengthen. Camilla will need the same.”
She was right. Thea had barely summoned the tiniest sparks of magic when I’d first met her. In that first year at the palace, though, her power had grown steadily, morphing into a force strong enough to wipe out armies.
Ayanna placed the book down on the table. “I’ve read this before. Several times, in fact. I’m an expert in all forms of Godly weaponry and in the history of Godly creation and maturation. I can help with the Forging.”
She glanced around the table, frowning as she realized we were all staring at her in surprise. After a moment, she shrugged and sank back further into her seat.
Perhaps I had been wrong, and Ayanna had deserved a seat at this table after all.
“Very well,” I nodded.
“It says I have to go to the seat of my power,” Thea explained, shifting to better look at Ayanna. “Do you know what that means?”
The instructor gazed at the ceiling thoughtfully. “It could be referencing a place where your power is strongest. Zion, for example, is strongest in the sky. Hyrax in the Underworld. Palaemon in the ocean.”
Thea frowned, eyes going distant as she considered.
“The bridge, maybe?” Iris suggested.
As much as I hated to admit it, that would make sense. The bridge leading into the castle was where Thea had first appeared during her creation. I had no idea how we could safely get her to perform a ritual like this right in front of the damn castle Hyrax was currently rebuilding, though.
Thea shook her head, frowning as her fingertips lifted to slide against her throat, almost as if she were tracing the memory of a necklace.
“Veilstones,” she murmured, lifting her head to gaze at Nikolai. “Is there a cavern nearby with Veilstones?”
He snorted. “There used to be one close to here. It was looted decades ago, though. I doubt you’ll find any left.”
“That doesn’t matter.” She straightened excitedly, turning once more towards Ayanna. “They form where the Veil between realms is the thinnest.”
Ayanna pursed her lips with narrowed eyes before nodding. “I suppose that would work.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go. Immediately.”
“I’m coming with you.” It wasn’t a question. There was no way I was letting her do this alone.
I expected her to protest. And if not her, then I expected Rankor, Kent, or Iris to give some reason it was better I stayed behind, but there seemed to be a simple acceptance amongst us all.
We would not lose her again.
Rankor cleared his throat. “The Inanis ships are sailing towards us now. I can send word to them that they should prepare to attack from the west at landfall, all while we begin arming our forces and readying to march. We will have prepared by the time you finish."
The feeling of resolution that fell over me wasn’t entirely unlike the last time we had gathered in this room and made a plan. Only so much was different. New faces had joined us. Old friends who had turned enemies were now assets. Thea was at my side once more.
I took a single breath in, vowing to myself, to Zion, and to any other Gods listening that I would do whatever it took to serve these people seated around me and protect not only my kingdom, but the entirety of the Mortal Realm.
"Alright," I stood, resting my palms on the table as the others all followed me and rose. "Let's end this."