Page 193 of A Queen This Fierce and Deadly

The blood drained from my face. I could see what Demos wanted to do, and it made perfect, logical sense. But it might also kill—

“What about Vicer and Herne and the others?” Asinia demanded, ripping the words from my mouth. “They’re fighting right where you want to pull the most soldiers.”

My stomach hollowed out. The man who had sacrificed so much for our people. And the man my brother loved.

Demos’s jaw firmed. “We have to trust them to hold on for just a little longer. We have to thin Regner’s army before we fall back ourselves. And the best way to do that is to break his lines and make his soldiers panic. Otherwise, Regner will stay protected. He won’t appear until he thinks we’re almost done. And if we don’t break his lines, we’ll truly be done soon.”

Next to me, Lorian pulled out his waterskin, handing it to me. “Drink,” he ordered.

“What do you think?” I asked him.

“I think it’s the hardest call you’ll have to make in your life, wildcat. But it’s the kind of tactic that may just save us. We’re losing. At this point, it’s only a matter of time.”

“We break their right flank, and it could give us a chance to get to Regner,” I said.

But if this didn’t work, anyone on our weakened right flank was dead.

No. I couldn’t afford to think like that.

I turned my gaze to the sea, where Regner’s ships bore down on Daharak’s fleet with brutal ferocity. Daharak’s pirates had defended our kingdom so far, butthe enemy was relentless, the sheer numbers tipping the scale, exploiting gaps and weaknesses.

In the water, the sea serpents were now fighting back, slamming their tails into Regner’s hulls. But each of the Eprothan ships proudly bore one of those dead serpents hanging from its mast.

“The ward falling took the serpents by surprise,” Demos said, his voice heavy with grief.

“How many do you think are left?”

He swallowed. “The ones the humans managed to kill? They’re the babies.”

I closed my eyes against his words, but I was forced to open them once more as several people inhaled sharply.

Many of Daharak’s ships were ablaze, the sea around them a graveyard of floating debris. And Regner’s ships were arrowing away from us.

Toward our kingdom.

“The elders have prepared our people,” Demos said, but his voice was grim. “The Eprothans won’t find any hybrids near the coast. What they will find are vicious traps that will keep them busy until we finish this.”

Firming my lips, I nodded. Demos turned back to the others.

“For this to work, we need to make sure we’re ready. The trowth stones will help us communicate across the battlefield, but the noise and chaos on the front lines will still make it difficult.”

Lorian gazed out at the battle, and his hand tightened on his sword. “Our army is highly disciplined and well-trained, but it will still take time to realign forces without confusion or breaking the formation.”

“Terrain and visibility are good,” Demos countered. “Our biggest issues are speed, timing, and the risk of exposure. If it’s too slow or poorly timed, Regner’s commanders will realize what we’re doing, and they’ll hit our right flank hard the moment they sense weakness.” Demos’s eyes met mine. “This is where you come in, Pris. How much power do you have left without burning out?”

My heart raced, and my skin suddenly felt too tight.

“If you can ensure our soldiers are ready to move, I’ll buy them the time they need.”

Lorian nodded. “The Bazinith,” he said. “This is what they trained for. Get them to the front lines of the left flank to lead the charge with us. Now.”

It took time to move soldiers from the right flank to the left. The word had to spread, and our people began to slowly move to the left. It was messy. It was disorganized. But soon, as I stood on the hill above the battle, Lorian once more fighting on the front lines, I could see the restructure taking place.

We’d needed a distraction to hide exactly what was happening. And Conreth gave it to us. He attacked with his wardens, crashing their power into Regner’s left flank again and again.

This would drain most of what they had left. Already, one of the fae generals was screaming something at Conreth—likely begging him to retreat. And he was right. If the fae king went down…

But Conreth ignored him, his vicious, deadly power cutting through creatures with four legs and those with only two.

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