back her Cloverye and finished the glass in a large gulp, like she still couldn’t quite believe she was in this moment, having this conversation. Or the fact that she knew there was no other way out of this war. Wesley saw the twitch on her face. She was desperate and he could work with desperate.
“We have around two hundred and fifty people,” Wesley said.
“Ashwood has double that,” Schulze said.
“But combined with your forces we outnumber him.”
“Except that his forces are mostly Crafters. Do you have a plan to deal with them and save Yejlath from their magic?”
“Actually, we do,” Wesley said. “I’ll lead a small team into Creije, at which point we activate magic to freeze Ashwood’s forces in the city, locking them in a moment of time. At that point, our army will head in. Half will go to Yejlath to defend the city from falling, led by you and Arjun over here.” Wesley nodded at the sword-wielding Crafter. “The other half will stay in Creije, led by me, and start taking out Ashwood’s incapacitated forces, regaining the capital.”
“A double-pronged attack,” Schulze said with interest. “We would come at Dante Ashwood from all sides?”
“Exactly,” Wesley said. “He won’t know what part to defend.”
“But he still has the elixir,” Schulze said. “Even if we defeat his forces once, he could make more.”
“It seems my people are coming up with all the plans.”
Wesley said it like it was real hard work and he took no pleasure in it at all. Only, he took great pleasure in his team being brilliant.
“We have a potential cure for the Loj,” he said. “It’ll protect our armies during battle and give the rest of the realms immunity in the future to stop this from ever happening again.”
Even a politician as well-practiced in deception as Schulze couldn’t hide her intrigue. Wesley and the others were offering her everything she needed to get her realm back and keep it.
The cure was still in the works, but Saxony was confident she could perfect it in a couple of days, especially with an entire legion of Crafters at her side helping, and Wesley was sure that when they finished, it would be a success.
It had his blood, after all, and what could be stronger than that?
“I’m impressed with all that you’ve done,” Schulze admitted. “It seems that Armin was right to align with you. And I don’t say that lightly.”
“Does that mean we have a deal?” Wesley asked.
He held out his hand for Schulze to take.
“I accept your alliance, underboss,” she said. She shook his hand and the sunlight filtered stronger through the window. “When do we advance?”
For the first time since the Doyen had walked into the room, Wesley let out a long breath of relief and clasped his hands on the table.
They had an army.
They had a plan.
Now all they needed was Dante Ashwood’s head on a platter.
30
Tavia
“THAT IS NOT HOW you play Clover Cards,” Tavia said, throwing her hand down on the table.
“It’s how I play,” Wesley said.
“Yeah, well, you’re an idiot. And a cheat.”
Wesley scooped up Tavia’s cards and shuffled them into the rest of the deck.
The estate was quiet with the night, but while the rest of their army slept and rested their bones, Tavia and Wesley sat in the gardens with the moon hovering like a streetlamp above them.
This was the last night they had before they headed into battle and she’d wanted them to spend it together, like old times.
The air was balmy but there were rare moments when the wind picked up speed and ruffled the playing cards like feathers, like the night was breathing out a sigh of relief that it didn’t have to be alone. The darkness had Tavia and Wesley for company.
When Tavia won a hand, the wind clicked the nearby tree branches together in a steady clap.
When Wesley won, the trees themselves swayed so rhythmically that they created a low whistle, the leaves stirring in a rustled cheer.
Tavia didn’t think it was fair for plants to play favorites, especially when Wesley was so clearly a cheat, but apparently the trees liked it most when he played dirty.
“Want another game, or are you tired of losing already?” Wesley asked.
Tavia shot him a rude gesture. “It’s three all,” she said. “That’s not losing, that’s a draw.”
Wesley shrugged. “Whatever helps to stroke your ego.”
Tavia glared at him and snatched the deck back. “I’ll shuffle. That way you can’t palm the cards or fix your hand.”
“So little trust in me.”
Wesley