Shadow Cursed by May Sage Page 0,66

us?

And more importantly, would he have ever gone south if I hadn't come?

I know the answer to that.

No, he wouldn't have. He would have let us burn.

The seelie aren't unlike us at all, it seems.

"To be fair," I say, "I was asleep for the last decade.”

Come to think of it, I understand exactly why Drusk can't stand him.

"There'll be plenty of slaughter for all of us." I point to the path past the marches. "If we follow this road, we'll get to the other side of the river. There's a stone bridge to get us where we need to go. Some of us could cut off their exit."

"Unless they blow the bridge," Drusk replies. "I say we face them head-on. Most of them are human soldiers, on foot."

I turn to Titus, soliciting his input. His eyes flash purple as he focuses on the battle ahead. "That tent," he says, tilting his shield. "How do we reach it?"

I saw no tent at all, focused as I was on the swarming soldiers at my gates. I follow his gaze, looking past the army, far in the distance.

"On the hill, in the woods," he says.

I finally find it: a large cloth tent, dark brown, almost indistinguishable from the trees of the Silent Orchard. It's perfectly positioned to have a clear view of the entire valley where Whitecroft has been built.

"Violet." I say her name softly, like a spell or a promise, and my teeth flash.

I didn't expect her to show. In the last ten years, all we learned of her suggests that she's remained hidden behind the walls of the Shadow Peaks, and let mortals fight her battles. But she's here, today, because she believes she is winning. That she'll finally take us down.

"If we want to cut off the head of the snake, that's where we need to go."

I nod. "And fast. Before she flees." I have no doubt that the moment she sees the seelie forces, she'll rush back to her hole. "We can reach it from the southern river flank."

"I'll lead most of my men directly to the river. You can take the path to the bridge—whether it's destroyed or not matters little. Once you're at the bridge, my men can cross it to cut off the army if they're able. And you can reach the hill on foot, so she doesn't see you coming."

I bite my lip. If I'm to walk from the bridge to the tent, I may arrive too late. Violet would spot Titus and flee.

"You'll need to wait it out. Give me time to get there before you descend on Whitecroft. If she retreats to the Wicked Court, she'll be as shielded as we were in Whitecroft. There'll be no reaching her there."

And I need to reach her. There can be no peace while there are two queens in Tenebris. The Court of Ash has proven that. If they disagree with one monarch, the minor lords could defect to the other until the end of time.

Drusk glowers. "Every moment we delay our attack is a moment the folk of Whitecroft are suffering. We have to get down there right now."

These are the words of a soft heart, a beautiful soul.

Not the words of a ruler.

Titus ignores him entirely. "We'll give you till sundown." He tilts his head, and wordlessly, one of his commanders moves his horse right behind mine. "Use the time well."

I nod, and turn to Drusk. He looks beyond mad, understandably. I don’t ask him to follow me. He won’t. His place is right here, with those who’ll help the folk. He needs to get to his sister, his parents.

I have no one to save.

I have everyone to save.

I bring my fingertips to my lips and blow him a kiss.

“Stay safe,” he tells me.

“Always.”

Then, I ride at the head of a hundred knights.

Tastes of Power

Vlari

I should have taken exercise a lot more seriously.

After we reached the bridge—thankfully not blown up yet—I took Samel, the commander, along with two knights he picked with me, and I struggle to keep up with the three of them. Though my limbs ache, my lungs burn, and my throat tightens at each breath, I push forward.

At sundown, Violet may flee. To truly end this war, we have to get there before. Red and gold already strike the horizon in the distance.

I push harder and harder, half wishing I could call to Drusk's power, but firstly, I'm not trying to reach him for once. I don't think I could make