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“Oh, Bree, you have no idea. I feel as if I have not seen you for years. I cannot even explain it. It was if I was awake, alive inside of the darkness. But I could not hear a thing. I could not see a thing. The only image I had was your face, your smile, and those eyes of yours. It was the only thing that kept me going and knowing that everything would turn outokay.”
His words warmed Bree from her head all the way down to her toes. He was here before her now, and there was something she yearned to whisper into his ears. Why, oh why, did they have to prepare for a battle right now? Why could she not take him back to her room and show him exactly everything she felt inside of herheart?
“Soon,” shewhispered.
He gave a nod. “If we survivethis.”
“When,” Bree insisted. “Notif.”
* * *
Every single faewho had shown for Taveon’s celebration had gathered in the Great Hall for the meeting about the upcoming battle. Murmurs, angry ones, rippled through the crowd like choppy waves at sea. Every single fae who had fallen was now alive and well and awake. But they were angry. The outposters had attacked them in their own home, they had targeted their new King, and their vengeance was in desperate need ofrelease.
Dagen stood on the stage beside Taveon with Conlan, Branok, and Ethne just behind them. Their faces were solemn, but their eyes were full of fire. They were just as angry as the crowd beforethem.
“Thank you all for gathering here, even after the confusion of this morning. I know some of you have questions.” Taveon raised his voice to be heard over the entire crowd, and the murmurs fell to silence. With an outward force threatening their home, all of the inner turmoil whispered away into nothing. They were now loyal to their King, no matter whose son hewasn’t.
One small, young male at the front of the crowd stood from his seat. “May I speak, myKing?”
Taveon pursed his lips and gave a nod. “Of course. Every single member of my Court has a voice, includingyou.”
“How will we beat them?” he asked. “What if they just try to curse all of usagain?”
“We will have the element of surprise on our side,” Taveon said with a nod. “They have no way of knowing that we are all un-cursed inside of this castle. They will be expecting nothing more than Eurig and Bree here. That will give us a chance to surround them before they can get inside ourwalls.”
Bree raised her eyebrows. This was certainly not what she had expected. And by the sound of the murmuring voices, the rest of the Court had not expected it either. The castle was so heavily fortified, the perfect defensive system against potential invaders. The smart thing to do would be to hunker down inside, letting the soldiers take charge of thewalls.
Taveon raised his hands in the air and gave the court a long serious look. They fell silent, listening to their King for once. “I understand your confusion and your wariness. And, in any other situation, I would agree. Our strength is in our walls. Our castle can protect us. But we have a chance here to take them out before they try to get inside and realize that none of us are cursed at all. They do not know we are in here. And we will use that to ouradvantage.”
Across the room, Taveon turned his eyes her way, and he motioned for her to join him on the stage. Bree’s face warmed as she stood from her seat, her feet moving as if she was in a trance. Every eye in the great hall was on her, and more murmurs filled the air. Bree had no idea what Taveon would ask of her, but she knew she would do it no matterwhat.
She joined him on the stage, and he placed a solid hand on her shoulder. “You all know my champion, Bree. Your freedom from the curse is all thanks to her. She found a way to undo it, and she may just be our saving grace in this fight.” Her King turned toward her, his eyes solemn and his lips pressed tightly together. Her heart clenched tight. She wished that she could feel his emotions, just as she used to do. He felt so far away from her now, almost like a stranger. Almost like a King too far above everyone to truly knowhim.
But she did know him. Better than anyone else. And she trusted him not only with her body but with herheart.
“Bree, there is one last thing that I need for you to do.” His eyes gazed deeply into hers, and she swore she could almost feel the whisper of his mind against hers. “We need you and Eurig to create a distraction. Can you do that forus?”
It was a question that she did not need to answer because he knew what she would say. That was why he had brought her up before all of his Court without warning her. She would say yes. She would have volunteered even if he hadn’t asked her. Because even though she was a stranger, a foreigner to these lands...somehow, over the past few months, this Court had become herhome.
