Chapter 65 Serena
SERENA
Isleep like shit and wake the next morning with puffy eyes and a guilty conscience. I don’t know how I’m going to face Zadyn after last night.
After he told me loved me and I…didn’t say it back. I simply took off my top. As if that would make it better.
Hey, sorry, my feelings for you are complicated. I might love you, but for now, here are my tits.
Stupid.
The conversation with Margot flashes through my mind.
Her words had felt like an anchor dragging me down to the bottom of the ocean.
But can I really trust the person who faked her own death to escape her role as queen?
Who abandoned Sorscha and Derek? This could all just be some attempt to manipulate me.
She says she’s on nobody’s side, but who knows if that’s true. My mother has only ever looked out for herself. Why should her double be any different?
I find Mar, Dover, Kai, Cece, and Eaton in the dining room having breakfast.
“No Sorscha?” I ask, sinking into an upholstered chair. Mar shakes her head. I hadn’t expected Zadyn, but I was hoping to at least see the princess.
“She hasn’t really been eating lately.” Cece’s jade eyes link with mine as she sips her tea.
My heart sinks. I’ve been an awful friend to her. With everything going on, I haven’t even been to see her yet. To ask how she’s doing. My friends make idle chit-chat as I peer out the window, too anxious to eat a bite. I eventually drag myself upstairs to the council meeting.
Jace looks up as I pass through the door, his gaze tracking me all the way to my seat. My heart stutters, but I force myself not to meet his stare.
Gronwen, Conwell, and the High Priest are already seated. Sir Max, the new Captain of the Guard, stands stoically behind Jace. Without his bright, lopsided smile and the mischievous quirk of his brow, he looks more like Mal than usual. I shift uncomfortably in my seat.
I hear footsteps as Zadyn and Sorscha enter the room, closing the door behind them.
I stand, wanting to run to her and wrap her in a hug, but she looks right past me, drifting around the table to take a seat next to Jace.
Her face is vacant and grim, no remnants of the bouncing, bubbly party princess I met when I first arrived in Aegar.
Death has ravaged yet another friend, stripped them of their vitality and vibrance, leaving only their lifeblood behind.
I open my mouth, but what is there to even say?
Zadyn sinks into his usual seat beside me, leaning as far away from me as he can manage. As if my very presence insults him.
“Thank you for gathering on such short notice,” Jace says, his intense eyes scanning the round table. He stands in Derek’s place, his palms braced on the table.
But he doesn’t sit in Derek’s seat.
“There are some…pressing matters we need to discuss.” He straightens, adjusting the lapel of his perfectly cut jacket. “Kylian has offered us a deal. In two weeks’ time, he will strike again unless Serena goes with him.”
The lords and the High Priest slide wary glances my way.
“Provided she agrees, he promises to refrain from waging war. If we relinquish the crown to him.”
Gronwen shoots to his feet. “Absolutely not.”
“Just hear him out,” I groan.
“If we don’t agree to his terms, he will march on our land,” Jace finishes.
“Surely, my King, you can see how surrendering the crown will do more harm than good in the long run.”
“Will it?” I ask, earning a glare from Gronwen. I lean back, folding my hands over the table. “We could save countless lives by avoiding a war.”
“What do you think will happen, girl, when you’ve joined him? He will weaponize you like he’s intended all along, and we will all be at his mercy, regardless.”
“No, you won’t.” I don’t flinch from his stare. “Because I intend to kill him. One way or another.”
Gronwen snickers. “I warned Derek about you. That you would be harder to control than a raging forest fire.”
“I’m willing to give myself up to make sure no one else has to die. A thank you would be nice.”
“You are damning us all if you do this.”
“How so? Kylian has promised that you would be protected.”
He throws his head back and scoffs, “You are new to this world and to faerie deals. I’m certain Kylian chose his words carefully. There was a reason for that.”
“So you think war is a more suitable option then?” I argue.
“I think with a dragon it won’t be much of a war. Maybe instead of making back alley deals with devils, you should be learning how to wield your dragon’s power.”
I seethe at him.
“Enough.” Jace’s voice cuts through our spat. “Kylian made mention of knowing how to deal with a dragon. We need to find out if he was bluffing.”
“I’ll have my spies look into it.” Max nods dutifully.
Jace tosses him a grateful look.
“In the meantime, we have less than two weeks to come up with a solution. I want everyone focused on this.” Jace’s gaze shifts to Sorscha, sitting silently at his side. He clears his throat.
“The princess and I have discussed it at length, and we intend to move forward with our wedding by week’s end.”
“The Bloodfast will certainly play to our favor once completed,” the High Priest encourages. “I’ll have the preparations made.”
Jace nods, and I swallow tightly.
Good. This is a good thing, I remind myself.
“Conwell, you’ve written to the other kingdoms?”
“Yes, Sire.”
“Any responses?”
“Only from Hyrax, your Grace. Berringer will send twenty thousand men. They set sail in two days’ time. The other kingdoms may prove more reluctant to provide aid.”
“I could see Aeix remaining neutral,” Gronwen mutters.
“I’m sure they’ll be singing a different tune when Vod starts banging on their doors,” I point out.
“Max, what is the latest on Vod’s numbers?”
“My sources at the border reported seeing golden fleets on the Praxian Sea sailing east.”
“How many?”
“Five—”
“Five is manageable,” Gronwen interrupts.
“Hundred,” Max finishes. “Five hundred.”
Jace closes his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That’s at least 100,000 men.”
I’m no mathematician, but from the looks on everyone’s faces, I can tell Aegar’s armies don’t come close to totaling that.
A grim silence settles over the room.
“If we can’t gather more men, then I’m going with Kylian. And I’ll find a way to stop him before he can cause too much damage.” My eyes skip over everyone at the table. Zadyn still refuses to meet my gaze, his mouth propped against his fist.
Jace hangs his head.
Knowing there is nothing more to be said, I rise and walk out the door.