“Bell?”
The sound of Noe’s voice cut me out of my trance, the painful memory gone but never far away. My eyes came back into focus, and apparently, I had stopped pacing at some point, leaving me standing in the middle of the war room, unmoving.
The war council members were all staring at me as if I had gone mad. Quite honestly, I had. That was the problem with finding something you loved. Suddenly, the things that you did out of obligation and duty seemed far less important.
“Sorry, what were you saying?”
Noe shook her head, the disappointment and frustration she so clearly felt pinching her face. Lian seemed far more inclined to pity me, as if the sight of a bloody Asher in my arms as I screamed and cried brought her back to the loss of Yuza.
I would never forget that moment either. The way Lian clung to Yuza’s body, the way she stroked the blonde’s hair and repeatedly chanted that she was going to be okay. I had sat a few feet from her, waiting, trying not to scare her any more than she already was.
Hours had passed before she finally allowed me to portal the two of them to Eoforhild. By then I had already concocted a plan, and we landed on the beach of what would one day be Haven. What would one day be a graveyard for more than just Yuza.
So it made sense that the sight of Asher and I would bring back harsh memories of the very event that left Lian forever changed. Only three days after I rescued her, she asked me to teach her how to defend herself. How to never allow herself to be a victim again. Which was how a fae from the Air Lands would end up becoming a captain in the demon army and my swordmaster.
Now, as she stared at me with unashamed sympathy, I felt the weight of my own death and how it would affect Asher. How much I would need to fix before I left her. Though I knew in my heart that I would always be with her, that she would never be alone again, I also knew that she would suffer immensely. I needed to be strong enough to leave this world a place worthy of her.
With that in mind, I shook my head, as if clearing it of the thoughts that plagued me. Then I squared my shoulders and walked up to the center table, where a wooden model of Alemthian resided, all three realms that made up our world recreated in stunning clarity.
I was a prince, a general, a force of nature.
A fucking idiot, yes, but also a greatly feared being.
And now I needed to plan a way to win this war. Something I was born to do, something I was conceived to accomplish. Though I would win it for a different side than I had been made to support. Or maybe I would find a way to leave every realm intact, to win it for the innocents that Asher was so desperate to protect.
“Damon, tell me about the attacks,” I said, looking from the replica to the silver-haired demon across the way.
Damon was one of my chief strategists and my lieutenant general. Having Henry absent meant I needed my other seven captains and Damon to be present during this discussion, Noe joining as my spymaster as well.
A cold chill blew in through an open window, the early months of spring not enough to prevent the mountainous area of Sophistes from showing us discomfort over hospitality. The northeastern territory of Eoforhild was notorious for having colder weather, but this particular portion of Lady Timea’s lands was especially cruel. Still, this was the heart of the demon military, with above and underground facilities situated between the peaks to act as a base. For many, this was where they lived all year, a home of sorts. Even the cold could not sway them to leave Pike.
Over the last eighty years, I had been slowly building our army back to what it once was. As a newly appointed general, I was keen to prove myself, prepared to be as ruthless as needed to show that I deserved the leadership role. I spent decades recruiting, remaking, and restructuring the military so that we would be ready to take down the fae.
However, it was Lian’s blood curdling screams and the way she constantly rocked back and forth at night that made me truly ready to fight in another Great War. The previous one had lasted over five hundred years, only stopping when Adbeel had lost his son and daughter—his wife gone not long after.
He knew then that the war was not worth the lives of someone’s children, parents, or partners. It was a realization that came far too late, but one that was widely supported among the demons of Eoforhild. Still, I knew that it was Zaib, his late daughter, that made him end the violence. That, and his wife’s pleas.
More than that, he allowed refugees of all kinds to find safety in Eoforhild. Faeries and wraiths and banshees, even fae when I asked to create Haven. When I found purpose in a world that seemed to want nothing but my death and sorrow. When I stumbled upon the truth that lay behind the pointed ears and pretty power.
I had told Asher that I went to Betovere because I needed to connect with that portion of myself, which was not a lie, but a piece of me desired to see the parts that so many demons had said were wrong. To understand their hate and finally feel it as well. Little did I know that I would not hate the fae, but instead would loathe and curse my own parents.
Not that I had previously liked them. Adbeel himself had been the one to cut down Asher’s family—had taken me and never looked back—and he had told me at an early age that my parents had not once attempted to get me back. Not once even asked.
“They are growing far more vicious. Since the first attack, we have had three villages laid to waste. One in northeast Eros, one in the western mountains of Elpis, and the final attack being in central Kratos yesterday.”
Damon’s voice was steady, his dark eyes focused and full of rage. He, like everyone at the table, was prepared to fight. I nodded, encouraging him to continue and staring down at the five islands to the east of our realm. The five islands that were home to hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting and innocent creatures.
As I stood there listening to Damon describe the horrific attacks the fae were laying on Eoforhild through the use of a traitor demon, I knew that I was not like the male who had raised me. Because I would not prevent the war to save the realm. No, I would burn the entire thing to the ground to save Asher. And that made me the most dangerous thing anyone would face.
“Clearly, the demon that is working with them is strong. I saw him portal ten ships past The Mist, each full of Golden Guard. They are able to strike anywhere at any time because of him. Which means we have a target,” I said, pointing my finger at The Capital. The tiny island was the center of Betovere and the home to the royals. “The demon clung to the fae queen like a male begging the gods to be spared from death. It was obsessive, the way he followed her. I cannot imagine he would be willing to live apart from her.”
Along with the leaders of my military force, the five members of the war council were present. Each of them were brutal and dangerous warriors that had fought in the Great War. Their advice had never been utilized before now because I did not need suggestions of invading and conquering. Now, I took them gladly—greedily. I was desperate.
“So we lay waste to The Capital,” Marjorie said, her face stoic and calm despite the rage that simmered in her fierce brown eyes. Her scarlet hair was full of intricate braids swaying in the next gust of wind that came through the window, but she did not shiver. Her dark skin did not pebble. No, she drew warmth from that fury.
“Precisely. I have been there more times than I can count. Their defenses are weak, their guards sloppy. The forest at their southern border is rarely patrolled, especially with the lake—”
“Perhaps there are better options,” Finnick said, cutting me off mid-sentence. I clenched my teeth, attempting not to argue with the eldest member of the war council—or remind him of whom he bowed to.
