Chapter 53
KAELERON
Wind scoured the winding path that clung to the steep north face of Noainfir, its cold fingers seeking gaps in my black and silver plate armour I had summoned to me the moment we had crossed the border into the Shadow Court.
Saphira worked to fasten the last strap on my left pauldron, her hands steady and firm, and then stepped back to appraise her work. “I think I did it all right.”
I glanced down at my armour. “As if you were an expert. Were you taking notes when you removed it all that time?”
She mock-scowled at me, but it did not last. Her smile broke through, threaded with pride.
“I like to think it was practice for when I get my own set of armour.” She looked at her attire—those soft black leathers that hugged her long legs, and that matching under-bust corset that pushed her breasts up in her cream long-sleeved blouse.
“I find myself in a quandary… while part of me wishes to see you thoroughly protected by the finest Shadow Court steel, the rest of me does not like the thought of you clad in so much metal.” I placed my hands on her waist, drawing her towards me.
“I feel it would rather inhibit my ability to satisfy the hungers that would no doubt rise in me every time I saw your formidable figure in such armour.”
She rolled her eyes, exactly the reaction I had hoped to provoke, a moment of levity before the coming storm.
She stroked her fingers down my left side, the light fading in her blue eyes as worry creased her brow. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
Her eyes lifted to meet mine.
“I am sure.” I raised my hands and cupped her cheeks, and lowered my head to press a kiss to her brow. “I will be fine. We will be fine. Whatever happens, nothing will part us. Not even the Great Mother could achieve such a feat. I would not let her.”
She tilted her head back, so my lips found hers, and I kissed her softly, slowly, cherishing every second of peace and warmth that twined around us.
Deeply aware of that coming storm.
Oberon rounded the corner and cleared his throat, shattering the moment, and I glared at him. I still struggled to believe he was my brother, and I equally struggled with the anger that flared in my veins whenever I did feel certain that he was.
It would be a long time before I could forgive him for what he had done, how he had treated myself and Jenavyr, and come to terms with it all. I was not even sure how I would break it to her, and I feared there might not be time before she learned of it from others.
The outcome of this coming confrontation rested heavily upon Oberon’s role in it.
I stalked towards him, ushering Saphira in front of me on the narrow path, and he turned away before we reached him, taking the lead.
The thought of causing my sister pain cracked my heart open, but it was necessary. I could not win this fight without using the best weapon in my arsenal.
I only hoped that she forgave us both.
Rhyn stood on the plateau of Dagger Overlook, the wind that had picked up the moment I had crossed into my court, stirred by the heavy black clouds that hung over it, buffeting him.
His white hair whipped this way and that, the tip of his sword swaying in its scabbard as it hung from his waist, and the tails of his pale blue tunic jacket flapping against his tight dark blue trousers.
Rhyn had chosen not to wear his armour, instead presenting himself as someone who had not come to this court prepared for war, but had just stumbled upon everything during a scheduled visit.
Oberon joined him and I came up to stand beside him, Saphira at my side.
Cold stole through my veins as I looked down at my beautiful court.
And those vessels in the harbour and off the coast that flew the flag of Ereborne.
Oberon had not been lying.
Elduin was in my court, and he was not alone.
Nightmare Court ships bobbed among his armada.
Every one of those ships was large enough to hold hundreds of men, all of them waiting for the order to attack the Shadow Court.
My only comfort was the fact half my fleet were anchored around them. Jenavyr must have sent word to them before Elduin had taken over Falkyr, summoning them back to the royal city.
I stared down at that city.
Afraid for my sister. For my friends. For my people. I knew how vicious Elduin could be, and my fear ran deep, but I shoved it down and locked it behind those fae steel walls I had constructed around my heart centuries ago, hiding it from everyone.
Only Saphira slipped her hand into mine, and her soft look of concern told me I could not hide it from her.
She knew me too well.
“All will be well,” I murmured as I looked from my court to her, meaning those words.
I would not let anything happen to her, to our family, or to her beloved court.
I scanned that court, my gaze skipping over everything, scouring it all and refusing to miss anything.
I did not know where Elduin had stationed his forces, or whether he had men waiting in hiding in the woods, or had cast wards upon my land, so I took everything in, seeking anything that was different or a sign of Elduin’s plan.
My gaze tracked back to the cottage on the hill high above Falkyr.
It was quiet.
No smoke from the chimney.
But something about it seemed wrong.
Too quiet.
“Meet me there.” I pointed to the small building and then teleported with Saphira, landing outside it.
Malachi burst from the door in a riot of black leathery wings and his huge broadsword, a growl pealing from between his fangs as his onyx horns flared with aggression.
His black leather clad shoulders sagged as he saw me.
“It is just Kaeleron and Saphira,” he rumbled before backing into the cottage that looked far too small for his enormous frame.
“Saphi?” A soft feminine voice rang out, filled with surprise and relief.
Saphira raced into the single room, almost shoving Mal out of the way, and hurried to the large bed as I stepped inside.
For once, Everlee did not look horrified to see me.
The relief in her eyes as she hugged Saphira to her was directed at me too.
Apparently, all it took was the arrival of a fae far more of a monster than I was to make her come around to me.
My little wolf squeezed the redhead so hard I was sure she would sustain injuries. Danica joined in, making a tangle of wolves on the bed that fluctuated between embracing each other and checking each other over.
The females were not the only wolves crammed into the cottage.
Morden leaned against the wall near the fireplace, a tower of darkness in his black clothing and that expression that shadowed his face as he watched his sister and diligently kept his eyes off Saphira.
Wise wolf. Chase looked harried as he came to me, his blond hair ruffled as if he had been clawing at it, and dark shadows beneath his eyes.
I knew that look.
I felt that same frantic, fraying sort of responsibility for my people—for my kin.
“What happened?” I looked from the alpha wolf to Malachi.
The big demon’s black eyes gained a reddish purple corona that told me whatever had happened it had been bad, and he did not want to tell me about it.
But he still said, “When the high king’s fleet arrived within sight of our spotters on the towers, Kalyn teleported half an army into the courtyard. We are not sure how he breached the wards so easily.”
“I am. Kalyn is exceptionally skilled at creating wards, and unravelling them. Even with the royal warlocks shoring up the ward around the court, it would not have kept Kalyn out for long. I knew what I was setting the court up for when I denied him what he wanted in exchange for his support.” I still did not regret telling Kalyn he would never have my sister as his bride. I would deal with him and his army.
“I did the only thing I could think of when I sensed the swift rise in power and heard the alarm bells ringing. I went to your sister…” His grim look and that brightening purple fire in his eyes told me how well that had gone.
“She refused to leave Falkyr. I tried to convince her, but she wanted to stay. She said it would be too suspicious if no one was at the castle and she wanted to get word to the townsfolk to barricade their doors and clear the streets.”
I sighed. “That sounds like Jenavyr.”
Oberon stepped into the room, locking up tight as he caught the tail end of our discussion, and I grew tense too as I thought about what we had planned.
I pushed it to the back of my mind as Malachi continued, nothing I could do about it now except practice a thousand apologies in advance, ones I hoped would appease my sister.
“I went for Saphira’s wolves next.” Malachi looked at her as she extricated herself from the tangle of females wolves and sat on the bed facing him, Everlee and Danica behind her. Gratitude shone in her eyes as she gave him a tight smile as he said, “I teleported all I could carry here.”
He had singled out those he perceived to be of high value to Saphira, and for that I was grateful. It would ease her mind in the coming confrontation.
“The rest of the pack are safe. Confined to the camp according to Malachi. They’re under guard, but they are safe.” Chase shoved his hand through his hair again, tightening his plaid shirt across his shoulders. “I feel like shit for leaving them. I’m their alpha. I should be there with them.”
“You are their leader, and if you had remained, you would have been a target for Elduin, and had your people tried to protect you, they would have come to harm.” I slowly shook my head.
“Sometimes, it is better for a leader to retreat or remove themselves from the battlefield before it ever becomes one.”
My words did not seem to comfort him at all, which was understandable. I hated it whenever I felt doing such a thing was necessary. The thought of leaving my soldiers or people exposed and without my protection clawed at me, but there were times when it was necessary.
And there were times when a leader’s return was necessary too.
“Everlee and Danica will remain at the cottage, and the wolf will stay here to guard them.” I narrowed my gaze on Morden, daring him to argue.
“The wolf is going wherever his alpha goes.” Morden folded his arms across his chest. “Everlee and Danica will be safe enough without me. In the whole time we’ve been holed up here, no one has even set foot within a kilometre of us.”
Malachi put in, “The harpies are back in the woods.”
My eyebrows rose. “For once, I am glad to hear that… but it does mean altering my plan. I had intended for Chase, and Morden since he is so insistent on getting himself killed, and who am I to stop him, to run through the woods to the castle.”
Saphira shot me daggers. “If you’re looking for the element of surprise then it could still work. I ran through those woods when the harpies were here.”
“And I have yet to punish you for that, but I shall, and it will be rather imaginative.” I grinned at her as her cheeks coloured slightly. “No, I shall not risk either male. They will be teleported with us instead and I shall ward the cottage with magic, so none can see it let alone enter it.”
Both female wolves looked relieved to hear that.
I ran everyone through what I had in terms of a plan, one that was evolving every minute but one I was sure would still work, leaving out some things I intended to do because for those to work, I needed genuine surprise from some among my allies.
We stepped outside as the light reached its brightest, and the others waited while I wove the ward that would keep Everlee and Danica safe.
When I was done, I turned to Saphira and took hold of her hand.
Teleporting with her into the heart of the castle garden, which Malachi had informed me was often empty since Elduin had arrived.
Only it was not empty now.