Chapter 20
War Room
Damien
Ten thousand men. The next morning, I stand at the end of the resistance’s war table, a tactical map of Tenebris spread out before me.
White pegs denote where our spies report New Stygarde has stationed troops.
Two thousand in Willowgulch, Thane tells me—mostly dark elves, based on his surveillance.
Five thousand around Stygarde Castle. Another three thousand patrolling the west villages, the Borderlands, and even Aendor, although Stuart at the Maiden’s Voyage and other spies around the port are good about sending word when they spot the silver coats in the area.
Our possible plan of attack is depicted with black pegs.
Our east flank would attack from the forests of Aendor.
Our mountain dweller regiment would come in from the west, taking advantage of the secret underground tunnels to leverage the element of surprise.
We contemplate various ways to split up the units, various strategies of attack.
Ultimately, though, we are outnumbered. No matter how we spread our troops, no matter the strategy, we don’t have enough warriors to take New Stygarde, especially considering the silver coats’ access to elven magic.
Our vulnerability is still the Borderlands that bisect Tenebris.
Without our having a regiment in that area, New Stygarde and Willowgulch have uninterrupted territory that runs from north to south.
We cannot win. Our defeat is an inevitability.
I spend the morning monitoring the rebels as they practice inside Aendor’s training facility.
These people are the best Tenebris has to offer.
Some, like Warbill, I know from my time here.
But the younger shades, ones who earned their stripes after I was taken, are just as capable.
These men move fast, strike hard, and are ready for battle.
New Stygarde’s soldiers may be less motivated than these men, less loyal.
But Brahm and Nevina will use the rebel’s own children against them.
In some cases, their own brothers and sisters.
Will these warriors be able to kill their own when the time comes?
Under different circumstances, we might be able to spare the young shades poisoned by Nevina’s magic.
But with such a shortage of fighters, any hesitation is a death sentence.
Heavy with dread, I return to the war room. It’s impossible. It will be a bloodbath.
“Where is that better half of yours?” Thane asks, noticing my sour mood.
“I could ask you the same.”
“Tempest usually helps cook in the kitchen this time of day. It takes a lot to keep these men fed and a lot more to do it without drawing the attention of New Stygarde. Tempest buys meat straight off the ships, before any of it is registered in port. She’s the only one stealthy enough and with enough sway to keep it all our little secret. ”
I’m thankful for his honesty and feel I can be honest in return. “Eloise is preparing for a journey to investigate some additional options to help us. Magical options.”
“The rumors are true, then. She’s a witch and a shade?”
“She is.”
“Tempest said you spent time with the witches of Dimhollow and that your mother claimed Eloise was the dragon.”
I sigh. “One of the wise witches, Aurora, saw a future on her deathbed where a son of Malek would rise up to defend them with a dragon at his side. Eloise was born with dragon’s blood in her veins and has resurrected the dragon from the bowels of Mount Damocles.”
“But that would mean…?”
I meet the man’s eyes. “Yes, the very dragon we fought the war over.”
“By the goddess, Damien, an actual dragon? I thought Tempest was speaking metaphorically when she said your mate was the dragon.”
“Eloise is the dragon. It’s her magic that animates the beast. Without her power, the dragon would be nothing more than a pile of bones.”
“If she’s one of them, can she convince the witches to help us? A legion of witches would greatly increase our chances of success.”
“No. She is a witch but not of Dimhollow. She comes from Earth.”
“Then the witches of Earth.”
“It doesn’t work like that. She has no coven. Not like you think.”
He frowns, bracing his hands on the table and leaning over the map.
“Then we are doomed. We don’t have enough men.
Even with the thousand or so you say we can count on from the mountain dwellers, we don’t have the numbers for an offensive against New Stygarde.
Considering what you told me about the Rivertoads, I don’t see any scenario where we can win this war. ”
“I agree. I’ve tried every strategy. We don’t have a chance unless Eloise comes through for us.”
Thane turns to me, raising an eyebrow.
“Eloise and I have an idea. It’s too early to share the details, but give us time. We may have a viable plan soon.”
“It can’t come soon enough.” The older shade scrubs the back of his neck with his burly palm.
“Ever since the Harvest Festival, New Stygarde has been ramping up their patrol of Aendor. All it would take is New Stygarde cutting off interdimensional trade, and they could starve us out. We can’t hunt, ourselves…
not the amount it would take to feed them all.
And I’m sure you can imagine how financing this facility has drained our coffers.
I’m truly not sure how much longer we can continue like this. ”
“We have to. You said it yourself. We do not have enough men. Unless we find a way to capture the Borderlands and fight our way north and south simultaneously, New Stygarde and Willowgulch will be impossible to break. They’ll use our own people against us.”
“I know you don’t trust them, but the Rivertoads are uniquely positioned in the Borderlands. If they joined us, we’d have a chance.”
“Not happening,” I mumble. “Jaqual offered his men only in exchange for Eloise, because he thinks if he has her, he has tamed the dragon and will become King of Stygarde.”
Thane hesitates a moment, then lowers his voice to a whisper. “Have you ever considered that if Jaqual asked for Eloise, as you’ve mentioned, maybe she could influence him… Use her magic to charm him into doing what we want.”
“It’s. Not. Happening.” I meet his eyes so that he knows I’m serious. “I refuse to use Eloise as a bargaining chip for a promise from a man I don’t trust, who rules a people who don’t contribute to our society in any meaningful way. We will find another option.”
Thane nods. “I understand. I wouldn’t give up Tempest to save our world either. I’d let the whole thing burn if it came down to it.”
I stare at the military map in front of me, my arms crossed defensively against an impossible scenario.
“I didn’t return to Tenebris to run from my soulless brother and his wicked dark elf bride.
I wasn’t born of my king father and then trained for decades to fight as an umbrae warrior to bow to the dark elf king who captured and tortured him.
Eloise is the dragon, and we will take back Tenebris. If this world burns, we burn with it.”
His barrel chest rises and falls with his exhale.
“I admire your passion, Damien. You remind me of Malek in all the important ways. You’d make a fine king.
I admit, my own passion has been ground down under the weight of time, disappointment, and loss.
Watching Aendor burn and being helpless to stop it was a particularly low point.
It’s good to have you here, breathing new energy into the cause. We all need that.”
I nod, understanding what he means, how I felt when I left the castle, the loss of my home, the split of my family. The wound still rankles. And just like a slow-to-heal, infected limb, one can be tempted to cut it off to stop the spread. But I have to have faith.
“We will find a way, Thane. Aendor will be yours to rebuild again. We will have peace. We will have freedom for all.”
He runs a thumb along his bottom lip, studying the map. “It will be a relief to have you on the throne, listening and responding to the needs of the people. The voice of Stygarde has been ignored for far too long.”
I hear echoes of Jaqual in the man’s words, and I hate that the notion once again sounds reasonable.
This time, hearing it come from one of my father’s oldest friends helps it find purchase in my soul.
After everything, the voice of the people will need to be heard.
They will need to feel in control. And when I am king, I will find a way to make that happen.