Chapter 50
I tore down the hallway, urgency flooding my veins, and threw open the first door I could find. Surely, in this moment of desperation, the castle would lead me to Sybelle.
But on the other side, I found the courtyard of the castle.
I faltered. Was Sybelle here? Or was the castle redirecting my path?
With a growl, I slammed the door shut. “Please,” I pleaded. “Please, I need to find her.”
I opened the door again and once more saw the courtyard. The afternoon sunlight gleamed along the polished stone steps.
Frustration built in me, so volatile I thought I might explode. Black shadows streamed around me. I almost flung the door shut hard enough to break it off the hinges… but something stopped me.
In the distance, an unfamiliar horn blew, echoing in the air.
I froze, my blood chilling.
Fae soldiers rushed into the courtyard, swords drawn. One paused to glance at me as I stood there, lingering in the doorway.
“What’s going on?” I demanded.
“An army is advancing on the castle, Your Highness. We don’t know where it came from; our sentries didn’t see anything along the road.”
An army.
But… how ?
After Warwick’s threats, I’d stationed sentries everywhere—beyond the castle, monitoring Chesser Road… There hadn’t been a whisper of any soldiers.
At any rate, the shadow storm had completely overtaken Pern District. Any army would have to travel through the Necro Shadows to get to the castle.
I shook my head and stepped over the threshold. There wasn’t time to think. I scanned the frantic soldiers flitting about, searching for a familiar face.
“My lord!”
I turned and found Clermont shuffling toward me. He was already dressed in armor, with a long sword strapped to his hip. In his left hand, he carried my breast plate.
“What the hell’s going on?” I asked as he started fastening the breast plate to my chest.
“I don’t know how they did it, Varius, but they are here,” Clermont muttered, his nimble fingers moving quickly. He removed his sword, scabbard and all, and offered it to me.
I quickly fastened it around my hips and nodded my thanks. “Who is it? Where did the army come from?”
“They bear the flag of the Earthen Court.”
I stared at him, horror sinking in my stomach. “That’s… not possible. There was no one there! And the Necro Shadows…”
“I know. I don’t understand it myself. Clearly, some kind of powerful magic is at play.”
Magic? From a court full of humans? None of this was making sense.
“Can we keep them from breaching the palace?” I asked.
“They are already at the portcullis.”
“Shit.” I turned to race down the steps, then shouted over my shoulder. “Seal the castle doors and protect the staff, Clermont! That’s an order. ”
“Yes, my lord.”
As I hastened down the steps, I withdrew the amber stone from my pocket and held it up to my mouth. “Sybelle, if you can hear this, the Earthen Court army is here. It isn’t safe. Stay in the castle with Enzira. I’ll hold off the army to ensure they won’t get to you.”
No answer. Gritting my teeth, I shoved the stone back in my pocket just as I reached the portcullis. The sight made me go rigid with fear.
Hundreds—no, thousands— of human soldiers waited on the other side, the number so vast that they filled the road and even took up space in the forest surrounding the gate.
In front, sitting atop a large white mare, sat a woman with a gleaming silver crown on her head. She had dark blonde ringlets and icy blue eyes that seemed to pierce right through me. But there was something familiar about her heart-shaped face and the proud jut of her chin.
I spread my arms and bared my fangs. “What is this, human? Why have you come here?” I sensed soldiers assembling behind me, taking up a formation. But it wouldn’t be nearly enough.
This army was ready to breach the gates. And we hadn’t even assembled a single regiment yet.
“I am Queen Orla of the Earthen Court,” the woman said, her voice loud and full of authority. “I have come to take your kingdom and end your deathly shadows for good.”
My eyes narrowed. Queen Orla? “I have never heard of you before, queen ,” I spat. “Where is King Maddox?”
“My father is dead,” Orla said without remorse.
I stilled. This was Sybelle’s sister.
Sybelle had been adamant that her father never would have marched on my kingdom. Not when he had a plan in place already.
But… if he was dead, then his other daughter was free to do as she wished. Even if it meant invading my lands .
“I have an agreement with your court!” I shouted. “The contract has been honored for hundreds of years.”
“I have signed no such contract, nor do I honor any agreement made by my foolish ancestors,” Orla said coldly.
“You have demanded brides from my kingdom and assaulted my people with your shadows for too long, Wraith King. It ends now.” She drew her sword, wielding it with surprising finesse, given her minute stature.
“Surrender now, or we will tear down these gates and burn your castle to the ground.”
Hisses and snarls sounded behind me as my soldiers raised their own swords, prepared to fight to the death.
I knew they would. They would lay down their lives for our people and our kingdom.
But I couldn’t sentence them to that fate.
They would die in minutes. We had fae strength and magic on our side, but the humans had numbers.
The mass of mortal soldiers was at least ten times as many as the soldiers defending the castle.
I might have been able to obliterate them with my shadows, but most of my strength was being used to maintain the Lumen that protected our castle.
If I removed the Lumen, the Necro Shadows would descend. But those shadows did not know friend from foe. They would destroy both human and fae alike.
And those within the castle walls would be at the mercy of the deadly shadows, at least until sundown when the Umbra Mist reemerged.
“You try my patience, Wraith King!” Orla bellowed. “Give me your answer, or we will advance.”
I swallowed hard. I was out of time. “Let us parlay,” I offered. “We can discuss terms and come to a new arrangement. No blood needs to be shed today.”
“It is too late for that,” Orla sneered. “The moment your shadows breached our borders, our agreement was nullified. Any promises you make of protection or peace will fall on deaf ears.”
The shadows breached their borders? My blood chilled. The Necro Shadows had spread farther than I’d thought.
But if I tried to explain that I had no control over them, Orla would not believe me.
My fingers curled to fists at my sides. If I surrendered, my people would be at the mercy of these bloodthirsty humans. Judging by the enraged expressions on the soldiers standing behind Orla, they would not be benevolent.
We would likely lose this battle. My armies were spread throughout the kingdom and too far away to rally to our defense in time.
But perhaps we could hold off these humans until help could arrive. Tislora alone was powerful enough to fell dozens of soldiers with her magic. I had seen it on the battlefield before.
Did she know about the army? I had left her so abruptly…
The soldiers beside me shifted their stance, teeth bared as they prepared to fight. Orla lifted her sword in the air, a shout on her lips.
With a roar, I spread my arms, allowing my shadows to burst from me and engulf the courtyard. Screams erupted, but I pushed on, blanketing the square with black mist that spilled down the road, blinding the human soldiers.
With the humans shrouded in darkness, I drew my fingers to my lips and let out a shrill whistle. Loud, animalistic shrieks answered me, and the great beating of wings told me the alporas had heard my call.
My keen fae eyesight locating Zorben , my alpora, even in the darkness. He galloped toward me, and I swung atop him with ease.
“On me!” I bellowed, thrusting my sword in the air. Several soldiers mounted their alporas. Some cheered with battle cries, lifting their weapons toward me in unity .
As one, our alporas soared into the air, carrying us over the portcullis. Below us, the humans screamed, still blind thanks to my shadows.
I jabbed my sword toward the humans, the rage in my blood hungry for carnage. “ Attack !”