Chapter Thirty-Six
Arianna
Problem was an understatement.
“Can you run that by us again?” Rion asked through gritted teeth.
“Vairik’s army is only two days out,” Saoirse stated, drinking straight from the bottle. One she’d clearly been nursing all evening.
“Have we heard anything from Fiadh?” Arianna asked, fear spearing through her all over again.
“Not a word,” Raevina stated. “My father has chosen his side.”
“What about the other allies you mentioned?” Arianna asked, looking at Sive. A young female Weaver stood beside her, watching the woman carefully. No one had the energy to argue that she should still be in the infirmary.
“I—” her voice faltered, a first from the woman who usually seemed so confident. “I’m afraid there isn’t time.”
“We could try The Guardians, right?” Talon asked. “Aren’t they supposed to protect The Divine and the land or whatever?”
“The issue is that we don’t know how to contact them,” Eimear said.
Despair spread like a virus, infecting one after another. They were out of time. Out of plans. Out of hope.
“There’s a lake,” Eimear said, her brow scrunched. “On the outskirts. A pool of water is hidden in the trees. Something about it is … different.”
“What does that even mean?” Talon asked, his face buried behind his hands.
“It carries the same sort of ancient magic as the forest. The Fairy Folk favor it.”
Talon’s hands slid down his face. “What does that have to do with The Guardians?”
“I don’t know,” Eimear admitted. “I just see Arianna there.”
“Doing what?” Talon asked. Eimear’s jaw worked. “Doing what?”
“Crying.”
“Is that before or after we’re all dead?”
“Before.”
“How do you know?” Saoirse asked, her tone far gentler than Talon’s.
“Because it’s not on fire. Everything …” she gripped the side of her head. “Everything is on fire.”
More silence followed as they absorbed the information. The certainty. Two days. Maybe three if those at the pass could delay Vairik’s monsters. They had mere days to prepare for a war that would change the trajectory of their entire world.
“Do I go now?” Arianna asked.
Eimear shook her head. “In two days.”
“But Vairik will be here then.”
“And that’s why.”
“The last time we listened to you, nothing came of it.” Saoirse shot Talon a glare.
“I’m not trying to be rude. We lost warriors.
We were almost killed ourselves. Who’s to say Arianna won’t be overrun if she ventures there?
Who’s to say she’s not crying because she knows exactly what’s coming for her? ”
“Those are things we’ve always had to consider,” Eimear said. “My visions are never fully certain.”
“Have you checked with the youngling?” Alec asked. “Are his visions any different?”
Eimear shook her head. “All he sees is a world consumed by fire. And wings.”
“Helpful.”
“He’s only a youngling.”
“I don’t blame him,” Alec clarified, then tapped his fingers on the table.
No one else offered ideas. The group had fallen silent.
Was that it? Were they really out of options?
Two days. What could Arianna hope to do in two days?
Alec cleared his throat. “It’s time then.
Rion, I trust you’ll be leading the front? ”
Rion nodded, but Arianna noted the circles beneath his eyes. He needed sleep. They all needed rest. There was no time.
“Avalon will lead another. We’ll keep close and rotate warriors, pulling back as needed and inserting a new wave. We’ll need to focus on preserving our numbers as much as possible.”
“The Guardians might join without our prodding,” Rion said. “It’s not like they’ll sit by while the world burns.”
“They won’t be enough,” Eimear whispered, then caught herself. She sat straighter. “I apologize. It’s been a long day.”
“Is it all hopeless?” Arianna asked. “Does Vairik just win?”
Eimear didn’t respond.
No one moved.
“I’m fighting regardless,” Talon declared. “If I die on the battlefield, then so be it, but I won’t just lay down and accept my fate. Hell, who knows, maybe I’ll get the chance to take that bastard with me.”
Something in Raevina’s expression shifted, a gleam of admiration in her eyes.
“I’m fighting, too,” Rion said.
“I’m not sitting aside either.” Alec stood.
Saoirse raised a hand, and a servant emerged from the doorway, carrying glasses and another bottle. The female filled each one. Saoirse lifted her bottle. “Here’s to someone finding an opportunity to send that bastard to hell.”
Zylah stepped forward first. She took a glass, clinked it against Saoirse’s, then downed the contents.
Saoirse laughed to herself. Arianna wondered if she was on the verge of hysteria. “Not sure I’ve ever planned a battle where we know we’re going to die.”
Alec reached for a glass next. “We’ll take him with us. One way or another, Vairik isn’t walking off that field alive.”