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Keffa’s voice rolled softer and deeper with a melancholy timbre as he continued in demon tongue, singing of a son lost to war and a mother still standing at the door awaiting his unlikely return.
Tears pricked my eyes at the thought. I’d only ever seen King Xakiel, and then Gollaya and his army as the enemy, giant monsters who needed to be annihilated. And yet, the soldiers probably had no more right or will to deny the call of their king than the Lumerians did when my father, and then Baelynn, had called them to action.
There were mothers, wives, and sisters who’d lost on both sides. War was the true villain, the real enemy. And one I was able to defeat by giving myself, my life, to the wraith king. In that moment while Keffa sang a lovely song of his homeland, I determined to make the best of this new life. It wasn’t what Iwould’ve chosen for myself, but it prevented the greatest of evils from killing more light fae. As well as the dark. I was coming to realize they weren’t quite as different from us as I’d always believed.
My neck prickled with awareness, drawing my attention across the fire to my right. Goll leaned against a tree, half concealed in the shadows, his arms crossed, his eyes on me. They glowed more gold by the firelight. As always, he didn’t look away when caught watching me. No. He looked his fill as if it was his right.
Who was I fooling? It was his right. He could do whatever he wanted to me. If I protested, he might return me to Issos and pick up his sword again against my people.
Why was I not furious at this? At the way he’d trapped me into this unwanted new path, intohispath. The only anger I felt right now was at myself. I couldn’t tear my gaze from him, and I couldn’t cut him with a disdainful rejection.
No, instead, I soaked in his gaze, basking in the icy fire burning a trail down my body and slowly back up. His face was a mask of stony indifference, but those eyes devoured me, one small, greedy bite at a time.
A roar of cheers and thumping of fists to chests—wraith fae applause—jerked my attention back to Keffa. The bard bowed his head in thanks.
“More!” yelled Pullo, the younger Culled warrior with a broad smile. “Another, Keffa!” He nudged the young Culled warrior Tierzel who’d guarded me back in Northgall. A shy fellow.
Others chimed in, urging him to give them another song. He raised a hand to quiet them and sang in a livelier tempo a song that told of boyhood friends growing into strong warriors. I smiled as Pullo and Tierzel clapped to the tune, smiling with joy.
When I was finally brave enough, I looked back to the shadow to find Goll. But he was gone.
Chapter 14
GOLL
“One more, Sire!”Lykel called, carrying another brimming tankard to me.
“No more.” I gestured that I was done as I stood from the wooden bench they’d erected around their fire out here on the eastern side of the encampment.
A chorus of disappointments joined Lykel, my general of the foot soldiers, as he said, “Just one more.” His red eyes were glassy with drink, his long braid coming apart from a night of carousing with his friends.
Two of the cavalry played flutes while a few others danced with the women they’d acquired in Issos on their way out of the city.
I’d given Soryn the order to ensure the soldiers took care not to hurt them. Light fae were delicate-boned, their bodies easily broken by our larger ones. I’d even handed over the coin to pay handsomely for the ladies’ company tonight, enough that they could hire coaches from the next village to return to Issos. The last thing I needed as I gained control of each province was theworking women who held the ears of many spreading rumors of our brutish ways.
I wanted the people of Lumeria to fall into line easily under their new king. So I wouldn’t give them any reason to defy me, not even the mistreatment or underpayment of Issosian prostitutes.
“Lykel”—I raised my voice loud enough for the others to hear as I lay a heavy hand on his shoulder—“if I didone morewith every round of soldiers in this encampment tonight, I’d never wake up to return to Silvantis.” I eyed the crowd of fae whose faces lit on the mention of home. “And don’t we all want a swift journey to Silvantis?”
A cheer went up around this final group I’d visited for the last several hours.
“For those journeying to different parts of Lumeria tomorrow, know that I hold you in the highest regard.” While some would return home, many would begin our occupation all over Lumeria. I must ensure the light fae understood who now ruled them. “Enjoy yourselves tonight. You’ve earned it.”
The flute player stopped playing. The fire crackled as I turned my gaze around the small group. “We would not have won this war without each and every one of you. Good sleep, warriors.”
With another eruption of cheers, the flute player started up with a swift, lively tune. I then made my escape back into the shadows. I’d stopped at every fire circle tonight, staying longer with the soldiers than with my Culled and the front cavalrymen.
The front line deserved more of my attention. They’d been fighting for my father for years, and only recently for me. I wanted them all to understand how much I appreciated their valor, their honor, their spilled blood, and their loyalty. I needed to tell them myself. Something my father had never done.
Dalya’s last vision had left me unsteady. While I knew I was on the right path, that Una was my path, there was the addendum to her vision that kept me awake at night.
Two sides of the same coin. Demon-fae. One true, one not. Beware the raven’s back, for he seeks your place…in all things.
Like a lot of Dalya’s visions, it was shrouded in mysterious, nonsense verse. But what I gathered more than anything was that I had an enemy in my ranks. Somewhere. Either here among my soldiers or back at Silvantis. Or possibly farther abroad. Perhaps he would be a problem as I took control of Lumeria.
Because of a lurking enemy, I wanted to ensure these fae here all knew their importance to me. They’d all be rewarded justly with coin and provisions when we returned home. Some would be awarded lands for their long and valiant service, something else my father never would have done. Though it was still a dangerous idea, I wanted my people to know that I wasnothim.
Perhaps in Silvantis, the enemy would be clearer.
