mere tensions, but after Cress's abduction and Tyr's betrayal, a new phase of this long suffering conflict had finally hit. Now it was our turn to hit the human King where it hurt—his supply train.
"Yes, sir." Xantho nodded. "I seduced a young human who works within the castle and made some inquiries. She said that the Duke Everett is a close personal friend of the King's; he's been storing the King's extra supplies there for years."
If we did this—no, I shook my head, when we did this—an entire castle would be out of food. It was distasteful but such was the product of war. Hard choices that harmed innocents in the effort to stamp out the evil of hatred. I closed my eyes and reached up, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"Your Highness," Xantho said, leaning forward. I opened my eyes and fixed him with a look. "This is the right decision," he said. "Once the human King has no extra supplies, nor anywhere to store them, we'll be able to lay siege to his castle. If he decides to retreat and block us off—he'll receive no aid, no food, and no medicines until he surrenders."
"He won't surrender," I replied. That much I knew for sure. I'd seen his conviction at Cress's intended execution. The rage in his voice, the hatred he had spewed into the crowd of onlookers had been melodramatic and over staged. Yet, I had seen the honesty in his face. With each and every word, he truly believed in his right to kill as many Fae as he could until we were all wiped out. As it was, our race was not thriving. We couldn't in Alfheim now. It was a barren wasteland just waiting to perish. It was ruthless and dangerous. Soon enough, even the Frost Queen and my mother would have to come to grips with the fact that they resided in a dying world. I sighed. "King Felix would rather die than surrender to us," I finished.
The first guard slammed his fist on the table. "Then he dies," he said harshly. "That man has taken numerous lives of our loved ones. Even if he does surrender, we will show no mercy." The others surrounding the table shifted and grew restless. A few even voiced their agreement.
No. I wouldn't ask them to show mercy to a man such as him. My upper lip curled back. "He will be tried and executed for the crimes he's committed in this war," I assured my men. "But the villagers..." I gesture to the surrounding area of Norune Castle. "Like this one, the King's palace is surrounded by a capital city. There are people who live there—women and children. We kill the fighters," I stated. "The soldiers and the men, but we leave the innocents aside."
"Children grow into adults," an older guard, Leif, with a long scar torn down the side of his face spoke up. "We leave the seeds to grow and they will plant more destruction in the end."
No. This was where I drew the line. I let anger darken my voice. Fire erupted at my scalp and I did nothing to tamp it down. "We leave the children," I repeated. "Regardless of your convictions or beliefs, I am your Prince and you will follow my commands." I took a moment to glare around the table as silence descended. Several of my men frowned. They were confused by my statement—they agreed with Leif that to let the children of the soldiers who had killed their friends and family live made no sense.
I had to make it make sense, I realized. I pointed to the map and conjured magic, slowly—one by one—little figures began to draw themselves and then lift off of the parchment. Small figures. Pregnant figures and little ones who ran around the larger, slender frames of the others like darting little animals.
"If we eradicate the possibility of another generation of humans," I began, "we become the very monsters they believe us to be."
"Who cares what the humans think?" one brave soldier erupted. "We know the truth."
I lifted my gaze to the man and stared him down until he grew uncomfortable, shuffling back away from the table a few steps before lowering his eyes. Only then did I continue. "If we do this," I said. "Kill the children—the seeds—we will no longer simply be suspected evil, but we will be true evil." I shake my head. "No. Our main objective is the King and the