Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
MADOC
M y mind races as I listen to the recap of Rivan and Meri’s visit to the Federation to present the proposal. It’s a toss-up on whether they’ll take the deal, but I like the way the two of them presented it. Not as a plea to avoid war or to sell Avalon as the answer to all the Federation’s needs, but as the best offer they will get from us.
“Maybe we can play it up,” I start, slowly gathering my thoughts. “We know their spies are watching us. Let’s bring in some of the worst. Vampires, monsters, magic wielders, one of the Elven elite, and a demon or two. Get them practicing in the yard. Give them a taste of what they will face in this battle.”
Cormal’s smile is truly frightening. He’s completely enjoying the idea of putting on a show.
“You’re in charge,” I say, pointing to him. “I’ll concentrate on reorganizing our battlefield. Make sure our worst is front and center for the big day.”
Cormal rubs his hands together. “I’m going to start with the most terrifying of them all.” When I raise an eyebrow, he gives me a droll look. “Lucifer, of course. With a little help from Evren.”
I open my mouth to ask why but close it again. Don’t get me wrong. Lucifer is truly terrifying up close where you can feel the power he wields and the dynamic force of his fuck you attitude, but at a distance, his appearance resembles an angel. Whatever. This should be interesting.
“Oh, and, Cormal, tell Lux I said thank you. His response was the perfect ending to the proposal,” I tell him. “I’ve already spoken to Aamon.”
“I was incredibly impressed with his restraint. Maybe he’s finally growing out of his destructive phase,” Cormal says with an indulgent smile. “I’m off to find a disguise.”
Restraint is always a matter of perspective. I hope he remembers that when he finds a disguise for Lucifer.
“We could hold an aerial exercise with Valerian and myself,” Rivan offers. “Most Phoenix are aware of the lethality of a dragon’s fire, but they think they’ll be able to outfly the large beasts. I want to showcase their speed.”
“Perfect. Go for it,” I reply. “The Phoenix are one of our most dangerous adversaries in this battle.”
His broad grin tells me he’s enjoying this, too. Maybe we’re the monsters in this story. The three of us find way too much enjoyment in scaring the living hell out of our enemies.
With the two of them gone, I pull Meri closer, careful not to get near the blade at her waist. “Keep that with you at all times. They would have me on my knees if they took you. All of us, really.”
She presses her lips to mine. “What can I do to help?”
“How about you work with Arden to set up a show in the courtyard? Remind our foes that the magic witches wield has few boundaries,” I murmur against her lips. Pink and plump, they tempt me to abandon everything for a few hours.
“There’s never enough time for the fun stuff,” she pouts. “By the way, Bianca, one of Arden’s coven, is the best portal creator I’ve ever seen. You know. In case you want to really throw some theatrics into the battlefield and bring the creatures from the Wilds in right before it starts.” She pecks me on the lips. “I’m off.”
There was definitely a twinkle in her eye when she offered that tidbit. All four of us are pretty warped.
Peering down at the board, I swipe my forearm across it. Their idea to emphasize the differences between the last war and this one was brilliant. We need our force to reflect the worst of our allies. I want complete nightmares to be standing on the frontline, staring at our enemies.
Putting the dark Fae army in the center, I reduce the number of lines, but make them longer. Our entire force is still there, just hidden a bit.
Then I create a large space to the left of my army for Lucifer’s bloodthirsty group. Two lines for vampires. Led by Daire, of course, who’s well known for his battle prowess. With him front and center, along with some of his ugliest and scariest vampires, that should do the trick. Maybe we can showcase their speed too.
Vargas isn’t joining the battle, much to his dismay. Solandis is close to giving birth.
Callyx is taking his place. Equally disturbing, he will lead the demons and shadow wielders. I line them up next. Widening the rows, I make sure there is plenty of room to showcase their beefiest, ugliest, and most brutal-looking demons.
Lucifer is at the front, between the demons and magic wielders. I can’t wait to see what Cormal and Evren come up with to showcase the ruthless leader of The Underworld.
To my right, I reserve two lines for Fallon’s elite, led by him and that ferocious commander of his, Garrett.
I chuckle. Meri was right. Bringing in the monsters right before the battle will truly set the tone. Waving a hand, I add a portal with a few of their worst at the front and scatter the rest behind them. It’s not as if they’ll stay in single file once the battle starts, anyway.
Torin’s dark Elves are added on the other side of Lucifer.
Last, but not least, Valerian’s dragons. I thought to put them in the front to decimate the Phoenix, but if I want to showcase the rest of our gruesome army, I’ll have to place them in the rear. Rivan was right. They’re fast. As soon as the battle starts, they can fly to the front in record time.
I nod in satisfaction. This is the plan. Rivan was right to warn them. In order to preserve this kingdom, I’ll wipe them from the board. I can’t afford not to with my allegiance to Odin and the need to keep the Wilds in check.
When I read up on the Fire Fae Rebellion, I realized part of the reason the first war lasted two hundred years was because of all the cease fires to negotiate terms, which would, of course, then fall apart, causing the war to start up again.
I don’t intend to offer a ceasefire. Ever. The two offers on the table will end when the battle begins, and no other negotiations will take place. These are all-or-nothing stakes. I will offer no quarter. If they choose battle, it will end with their deaths.
With a heavy sigh, I drop into the chair and stare out the window. It pains me to think of going to war against my own, much less killing them, but they have left me no choice. We can’t continue to fight this battle. If they want their freedom, they need to take the offer on the table.
Cormal’s absent the next day, but I go outside to watch Rivan and Valerian fly maneuvers. Valerian is a beast of a man and the biggest damn dragon I’ve ever seen. The massive black dragon makes the courtyard of the palace look like someone’s yard, dwarfing everything around him. Only the palace itself is bigger. He swivels around and even I swallow at the size of his teeth, and as his golden predatory stare locks on me, I feel the menacing power he wields.
Rivan, in his full Phoenix form, slaps Valerian’s tail and takes off laughing. “Catch me if you can, youngling.”
I frown, not realizing Rivan was so much older than Valerian, but I guess it’s true. The last Fire Fae Rebellion happened prior to Valerian’s birth, and Rivan was already almost a thousand years old.
With a huge roar and a gigantic gust of wind, Valerian shoots up into the air lightning fast. I understand why Rivan wanted to showcase this for our spies. Who knew something that large could move at that speed?
The two chase each other through the trees, showing the Phoenix’s ability to maneuver barely beats the dragon behind him and only in tight quarters. When they move to the wide open sky, Valerian’s ability to use his tail to change course gives him the advantage over a Phoenix.
From a speed perspective, they’re pretty evenly matched. Anyone watching on the ground will think they have a shot at defeating Valerian until he wraps the shadows around his opponent and holds him mid-air. Instead of fire, he freezes Rivan to show how easily he could have killed him.
Blowing a warm breath over the Phoenix, he releases the shadows, and the gruesome smile he gives him is absolutely frightening.
The two of them return to the ground, and their human forms, and shake hands. “Brilliant. Thank you, Valerian.”
Rivan walks over to me. “That should do it. Even if they know it’s staged, it should get our point across.”
“Great job,” I tell them both, then murmur to Rivan. “Biggest damn dragon I’ve ever seen. Enough to scare most Fae.”
Valerian hears me and roars with laughter. “We have exceptional hearing, too.”
Daire strides up next. “Cormal asked us to demonstrate our speed, but I felt we needed to add a little flair to it.” He raises his arm, and a hundred straw dummies appear behind him. Turning, he blows a kiss to Arden.
Tossing me a timer, he pulls out his sword and counts down. “Three, two, one.” In a blur, he takes the straw heads of all one hundred in eight point three seconds.
Stopping in front of me, he asks for the time. When I tell him, he frowns. “Damn it. I’m getting slower.”
Astonished, I scan the field of straw heads littering the ground. “If you say so. Hell of a demonstration. I’m sure a couple of them wet their pants watching it.”
He dips his head. “Happy to help. The real show is about to begin.”
Arden walks over and pulls her sword. With a flick of her hand, she lights it on fire, then multiplies the one into fifty flaming swords. As her sword engages with the first headless dummy, the other swords follow her command, taking on the enemy. What’s most remarkable about this feat is that each sword is moving independently. Thrusting, stabbing, and fighting without a hand on the hilt.
After a few minutes, she changes the swords into one giant lasso of fire and ropes the dummies into a grouping in the middle. The lasso drops to the ground, becoming a ring of fire surrounding the dummies. Lightning strikes them from above. Then, a tornado.
For the finale, she stalks forward, changing instantly from a witch into a dragon, breathing fire. With one exhale, she incinerates the dummies.
Sweat rolls down her temple, but that’s the only sign of the tremendous magic she exerted right in front of us. And our enemies’ spies.
“Hopefully, that helps,” she says, her brow furrowing. “The last thing I know you want to do is fight your own people. Believe me. I understand.”
“It does, thank you,” I assure her. “And you’re right. I hope this works. We’ve all seen too much death to want this war.”
Meri comes up and hugs Arden. “Thank you. One witch of your caliber is worth more than ten coven members. More effective, too. If the power of one can do this, what will ten witches be able to achieve? Even if they know of you, this drives the point home.”
A horn heralds at the other end of the courtyard, and we all turn to watch.
Towering over the soldiers around him, the ginormous warrior stalks forward, smoke and shadows swirling around him. His blood-red cloak frames the two thick leather straps crossing his chest, which hold an impressive number of knives and other weapons. He carries a mammoth sword in one hand and a battered gold shield in the other. I narrow my eyes at the words hammered into its surface. “Memento Mori.” A Latin phrase to remind his enemies of the inevitability of death. Effective. I’m slightly jealous.
He stops in front of me and tilts his head. Horns rise from his enormous red helmet, and I chuckle.
Meri gasps beside me, and I turn a questioning glance at her, but she shakes her head and mouths “later.”
“Lucifer,” I greet him. “Truly terrifying.” It’s so bad. I can’t believe he actually wore it. Evren must have used her wiles to get him to agree.
He yanks off the helmet. “It’s the helmet, isn’t it? I told them it was ridiculous.”
Holding up two fingers an inch apart, I nod. “A wee bit.”
Evren slides up next to him. “Fine. You’re right. The helmet was too much, but it was fun. Admit it. You needed the laugh.”
He turns and stares at her incredulously.
Meri leans forward. “What is it with these grumpy men?”
“Who’s grumpy?”
Evren nods her head vigorously. “They don’t even know.” She winks at Lucifer. “Don’t worry, the rest of you is fierce.”
Cormal appears on my right. “Besides Lucifer, the rest went well. I think that should do it, don’t you? And it’s only a glimpse. When they stare across the battlefield, they will see what it’s like to face death.”
The somber words are a reminder of what will come to pass if they force us to fight.