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High Lord Tukka interrupted our talk of war as he spotted Liliana laughing with Domi and the two new wives. “Who is that lovely female in your company?”
Kaztar chuckled, shooting a conspiratorial look at us before answering. “That is Lady Liliana Arzeni. Her brother, Vadim, also travels with us. But he isn’t the one you need to worry about. She will eat you alive.”
Tukka rubbed his hands together. “I do love a challenging female.”
I snorted, knowing that Liliana was the ultimate challenge for any male. The only one she did not put up a fight with was Endre – yet. But that day would come. Another Crystal Realm noble stopped to speak with her, and she blew him off as if he were nothing more than a passing servant. It was honestly impressive how handily she turned them down.
Mikko slapped Tukka on the shoulder. “Good luck with that, friend.”
We shared a laugh at Tukka’s expense, then Kaztar and I excused ourselves, promising to reveal more later. I scanned the room, attention catching on the haphazard mix of Fae, the dark hair and green eyes woven between the light blondes and blueeyes, the strong and muscular males and the lithe females, and the levels of nobility that seemed to matter not in a court that was filled with light and air.
So different from the Night Realm.
And the Iron Realm.
Bloodlust consumed me, as it did every other time I thought of the Iron Fae. It was not really their race I loathed – only their leaders. Vengeance called to me, a sweet song that promised to relieve my pain and return my mate. I imagined the rush I would feel when I sliced Ruslan collar to groin, delivering a painful death blow to the male who dared lay hands upon my mate. I shifted from foot to foot as my blood heated, anxious to begin the council meeting and formally declare war on the Iron Realm.
What seemed like hours later, King Airre called the High Lords to gather. His council was smaller, only six members instead of the Night Realm’s seven, and at the snap of his fingers servants carried in more chairs for Kaztar, Endre, Viktor, Vadim, and myself. We almost doubled the presence in the room, and I hoped they would feel the right level of intimidation from our united front.
King Airre called the meeting to order. “It has been brought to my attention that the Iron Realm invaded and attacked the Night Realm, captured their monarch, and plans to wage war across the continent. I believe we should unite with the Night Realm and prepare for battle. It is long past time we did something about this problem. King Azim thinks we must be soft, too comfortable in peacetime to rise against him. But he is wrong, and the Crystal Realm will not bow to the Iron Realm. Do you agree?”
The High Lords of the Crystal Realm banged their chests as they shouted, “Agree!”
“Fantastic. Any questions before we dive into logistics?” King Airre glanced around the room.
“I would like to hear a bit more background on the situation and how it came to pass,” a male I did not know said.
“High Lord Vaszoly, the floor is yours.” King Airre swept a jeweled hand across the table, inviting me to speak. My chair scraped against the floor as I stood, sucking in a lungful of air before launching into the tale of how we rescued Izidora, were chased to my family’s home, arrived at Este Castle only for her to be snatched the following day, and how Ruslan spoke of an agreement between King Azim and King Zalan for Izidora’s hand. I finished with his promise of conquering the continent and how many of our close friends and family had perished in the fight against him.
The room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop once my voice died away. Aake shook his head as if he could not believe the madness we had recently endured. Grief surged like an angry wave from the pit of my stomach, and I wished for a stiff drink – at least it would numb me as I drowned in sorrow.
Yet I had no time to process these deep feelings stealing small pieces of my soul when I wasn’t looking; I needed to save my mate. I gripped the sides of the table instead, using the pain in my knuckles to ease the pain in my heart. I waited for any glimmer of doubt or second thoughts from the Crystal Realm’s High Lords. But none came. Instead, the male who had asked for our story, who introduced himself as Einari, said, “I will offer all my soldiers to the war effort.”
Each male seated around the table offered soldiers in turn, until the full strength of the Crystal Realm’s soldiers, trained and ready to fight, was offered to our cause. My heart leaped as I calculated our new army’s size, surpassing that of the Iron Realm’s since the Crystal Realm had allied with us.
The conversation turned to integration and logisticsbecause, unlike the Night Realm, the Crystal Realm had no standing army, only soldiers who served as personal guards for each noble house's region.
But my mind drifted to Izidora. It had been over two weeks since I’d last seen her, and every action, every breath I had taken since that moment had been for her. Everything I did was for her, and it had been for the past ten or so years. She’d ruined me long before I’d ever laid eyes on her. And when I did? I couldn’t help my desire, couldn’t hold back despite knowing that she might be ripped away from me. So I pushed her in the direction I wanted her to go, and she gladly accepted my plan because she felt it too. Until Ruslan ripped her away from me.
A sharp elbow in the ribs brought me back to the council room. Endre jerked his head in Viktor’s direction.
“Sorry, what was that?”
“I asked if you wanted to explain our army’s structure,” Viktor repeated himself.
“Go for it, Viktor.”
A hint of disapproval etched his mouth, but he continued. “Kazimir is head of the war council, so he acts as general on the battlefield. We also have healers. We could use more, though, if you have any. Our army should move into Crystal territory in a few days’ time, with plans to regroup in Zheka. We hope to convince the monarchs of the Day Realm to join our cause before they reach their border.”
King Airre rubbed his bare chin, the rings adorning each finger sparkling in the light. “Since we planned on leaving in a few days’ time for Béke, most preparations for rule in my absence have already been made. Mikko, Aake, Tukka, you will accompany us as planned, and you will lead in the army when the time comes. We must be strategic in our approach to this. I do not want to plan extensively before we have agreement from Queen Viktoria and King Consort Geza. If they will notally with us, we will need to change course drastically. We rely on them to solidify the ruse of maintaining peace during Béke.”
The males bowed their heads in acknowledgement to their king. He turned to the three other High Lords. “Can you coordinate the troops and send them to Zheka if we ride out at first light? It will likely take days to ready them all, and we must make haste.”
“Yes, My King,” Einari replied.
“Good. I will ask Queen Immonen to gather healers to join with the soldiers. Now,” he rose from his seat, the rest of us rising with him, “I must coordinate our expedited departure. I will see you all at dinner.”
We departed the room in waves, the Crystal Realm’s High Lords scattering to carry out their tasks, and the Night Realm representatives trekking back to our rooms.
