kissed her head and stared at Ristan, who observed us. He knew what it meant to see the future and what damage it could do. It could mess up things, but mostly, it could change her. It could turn Kahleena into a seer of future events. It could also make her a target because seers were rare, and the only other one in the history of Faery was Ristan.
As the others flooded the room, I silently prayed Danu hadn’t projected her ability onto her blood relatives and that Kahleena didn’t have the sight, because if Danu had, even ending the war wouldn’t stop the danger to Kahleena.
Chapter Twenty
I sat in the war room beside Ryder in silence. The mood of the entire day was somber, and nothing worked to remove that feeling as we gazed at the map, which was still spelled, alerting Bilé to every marker placed upon its surface. Frowning, I glared down, trying to figure out if we were marching into a trap, or worse, to face off with a god hell-bent on destroying us all. I hated the unknown. Having no control over what was going to happen caused an ache that sat like a rock in my chest.
“Take Ryder off of the map,” I blurted, turning my wide eyes to him. “Bilé doesn’t know he’s still alive. No one outside this stronghold knows Ryder didn’t drink that potion.”
Golden eyes stared into mine as a smile played over his lips. “Zahruk, move my piece from the map and place yours into my position as the leader of this assault. Let the mages think they succeeded. Afterward, move the main forces of our troops into the valley there.” Ryder pointed at a location on the map.
We remained silent as Ryder furrowed his brow in thought before speaking again. “The cliffs near the Valley of the Fir Dolcha are wide enough that the mages would have to come within them to reach us. If we let them think we were here,” he pointed to the middle of the rough terrain, “when we take the surrounding advantage, it will trap them in the valley, and they’d have no place to escape us or run from the troops while we’re on the high ground. We could take out a large portion of their army before they ever realized we weren’t in the valley waiting to be slaughtered.”
“We can only use this once,” I pointed out softly. “We need to make it count.”
“Move a large force here, into the stronghold,” Ryder said, frowning as he pointed at a position on the map. “I won’t have the mages thinking it is unprotected while we make our move. Place the other half of the pieces in the Valley of the Fir Dolcha. It will show our army is divided, but the mages will likely march their troops toward the biggest target. Place Synthia’s figurine in the valley as well and show them the Queen of the Horde is exposed with her troops and you as her guard.
“The Elite Guard needs to be separated as well,” he mused, watching as Zahruk placed the wooden pieces around the map. “If this works, we may have the end of this war in our hands before it even starts. I will call in the oaths I’ve been collecting over the years, and Lucian, his men, and Callaghan will join me as we march into the valley. I want this fortress locked down as if it was under siege. Fyra and the female dragons can remain here, within the fortress to help defend it. I need the rest of you with me. Take tonight to say goodbye to your families, because tomorrow morning, we march to war.”
Ryder turned, regarding me as if something else was bothering him, but whatever it was, he kept to himself. He extended his hand, and I accepted it.
“I want to go with you. I hate being separated from you.” I frowned, forcing my brows together between my eyes while worrying my lip, staring at him with a fire burning in my gaze.
“Not this time, Pet. The women will remain here, and if this goes wrong and the mages don’t fall for the ruse, I need