Chapter 42 #2
Lucifer straightens, all humour sliding away. “Realm leaders?”
“All of them,” I confirm. “No delays.”
He nods once and heads for the door. “On it.”
He pauses, glancing between Korithax and me before settling on Korithax with a wicked grin. “And for the record?” He smirks. “You only overreacted a little bit.”
The war room fills fast with worried faces.
I stand at the head of the table again, spine straight, as gazes turn towards me—Aran, Sariya, Elyistria, Maelkar, Vor’Khar, Virena, Danika, and Lucifer. Korithax stands at my right whilst Ezra stays near the back, hovering close to the wall like he’s trying hard not to take up any space.
I don’t waste any time getting to the point, because honestly… there’s no time to waste anymore. “They know Korithax is alive,” I say flatly, causing a ripple of reaction to move through the room. “And they’ve already started terrorising Earth. They threatened Ezra. Directly.”
Aran stiffens, his emerald gaze snapping to Ezra, filled with something like guilt.
“They’re escalating,” I continue. “Whispers say they’ve resurrected Saerathi war beasts. Vorrythael. And something else—something worse.”
Maelkar’s shadows curl violently around him. I glance to Korithax, silently pleading for his input. I still don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I’ve never prepared for freaking war. The closest I ever come to battle strategy was the whole gel pen drama between Talia and Ezra.
“We start training now,” Korithax says, and I let out a soft sigh of relief. “Joint drills. Cross-realm combat. Soldiers fight together, or not at all.”
Aran smirks faintly at his king taking command again.
Vor’Khar nods once. “Agreed.”
“And we need to push forwards evacuation plans for civilians,” I add. “Children first. Anyone who does not want to fight.”
Virena’s mists seem to ripple anxiously. “The leylines—”
“—will be watched,” Elyistria finishes grimly.
I know Elyistria, Aran, and Sariya have been continuously testing new routes, each one more stable than the last. But we also know they’re being watched.
Interfered with. The leylines are getting stronger, holding for longer, but whatever is trying to break them down is putting up a godsdamned fight.
Before anyone can speak again, the doors slam open. A familiar guard stumbles in, his usual vibrant green skin gone pale. “Your Majesty,” he gasps. “The wards—”
Every spine in the room goes rigid, both Korithax and I reaching for our swords in unison.
“They’re rippling,” he finishes. “Only slightly. But… it’s not natural. Something is on the other side.”
Every heartbeat in the room picks up, hammering against my ears like a violent drum. They’re not trying to break the wards. They’re testing them. Testing their strength. War is no longer just coming, it’s at our gates, knocking loudly.
I nod once to dismiss the guard, and he slips back out, closing the door behind him.
I fall into my chair and bury my face in my palms, releasing a heavy, tension-filled breath.
I feel Korithax’s reassuring hand settle on my shoulder, softly squeezing as if to tell me he’s with me, despite knowing he would rather be anywhere else than in this room right now.
“I want to help.”
The words cut through the tension like a pin through silk, every eye turning to one singular spot in the room. Ezra straightens, nerves plain on his face, but there’s something else there, too. That fierce determination that lives in him. The part that I love so much.
“I know I’m useless in a fight,” he says quickly. “Like, genuinely tragic. I trip over air and can barely use a knife.”
Lucifer, leaning near the doorway, snorts. “Can confirm. Horrific at protecting himself.”
“But,” Ezra continues, pushing on despite Lucifer’s taunting. “I can help elsewhere. Healing. Support. Logistics. Something.”
Sariya tilts her head. “He has human endurance limits. That could be… useful in medial triage.”
Ezra blinks. “That’s the nicest insult I’ve ever received. I think.”
I stare at him for a long moment. The thought of him being involved in any of this is terrifying. But I guess it’s too late for that anyway. He became involved the day everything happened in the throne room. But if he’s inside the castle, helping the wounded… he’s out of their sight. Right?
“Actually,” I say slowly, “that’s a very good idea.”
Ezra’s eyes light up, and I can’t help but smile at him.
I turn to Aran. “Assign him to a senior healer. Someone patient.”
Lucifer grins. “Oh, this I want to watch.”
Ezra groans. “Please tell me they’re not scary.”
I laugh softly. “Ez, you’re in Hell. Everyone here is scary.”
Aran tilts his head, silently telling Ezra to follow him, and the council breaks apart. Plans are already moving, orders being murmured. Leaders drift towards the door, preparing to return to their realms and ready their people for what comes next.
My eyes follow Ezra as he walks towards the healers’ corridor, his shoulders a little straighter despite the nervous twitch to his fingers. I watch them all file out, one by one. And despite knowing this has been coming for a long time, everything suddenly seems to hit me all at once.
They came for my people. They came for my husband. They came for my fucking family. And now, they’re doing everything they can to make it that much more personal.
If I have to train twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week until they break through those godsdamned wards, I will. They will not come out of this alive, even if I have to die in the process.