Page 85 of A Queen This Fierce and Deadly

When he finally glanced back at me, Tor’s gaze lingered on my gown, his expression tinged with disgust. There was no use telling him this gown was borrowed or that I felt just as uncomfortable sitting in it as he did looking at it.

Galon, Rythos, Marth, Lorian, and I sat on the long side of the table. Daharak, Telean, Demos, Natan, and Asinia sat across from us. Natan and Demos were speaking quietly, and the ghost of a smile drifted over Demos’s face. Madinia prowled the edges of the room, occasionally gazing out the window.

Blynth and Hevdrin were deep in conversation down at the other end of the table, with Rekja and several of his advisers across from them. Conreth had also sent one of his most trusted advisers—a man named Meldoric.

Tibris took a seat next to Demos, and I took mine next to Lorian. Everyone fell silent.

I took a deep breath. “Let’s get started.”

I told the others of the priestess we’d spoken with in Rekja’s castle. And how she’d turned on Regner. Daharak chimed in with the belief that if Regner was killed, all the stolen magic would be returned to those from whom it had been taken.

“You truly believe that?” Madinia asked from her spot near the window.

Daharak shrugged. “We have to try. The grimoirecan’t be destroyed, so it’s our only hope.”

She told the others of the dark god Calpharos, and the importance of taking the grimoire from Regner and hiding it—before this world had no hope of peace.

“Well, that’s depressing,” Tibris muttered.

Rekja sent him an amused look. “Where are we with numbers?”

“I have less than fifteen thousand people in fighting condition,” Daharak said grimly. “Regner planned his ambush well.”

My heart sank. When I’d first learned of who Daharak was, my aunt had told me she commanded eighty thousand men. I’d since learned that number wasn’t quite correct. She’d had eighty thousand people before Regner’s attack, including women and children, along with those who were too old or young to fight. It took thousands of people just to move her fleet into place.

“We have approximately seventeen thousand fae and hybrids in the hybrid camp, ready to fight,” Blynth said, drawing me from my grim thoughts. “More are joining every day.”

Hevdrin nodded. “The fae numbers are fluctuating as Conreth works to negotiate with Verdion, Caliar, and Sylvielle. As it stands, we have almost twenty thousand fae readying themselves for battle.”

Twenty thousand fae. Hope stirred in my chest. Even with all the fae iron and stolen power Regner wielded, one fae would be worth at least two human soldiers on a battlefield.

All eyes turned to Rekja.

He sat straight-backed in his chair, his expressionsolemn.

“Now that Regner is marching on our lands, I will not be able to spare as many soldiers as I had hoped. We will need to ensure enough are well positioned to protect our people.”

My heart sank. Another reason why Regner had chosen now to march on Gromalia. So Rekja would have fewer people to contribute to our armies.

He nodded at whatever he saw on my face. “We will march with you to war. But I can only spare thirty thousand soldiers.”

“Just under eighty-five thousand total,” Lorian murmured next to me.

I didn’t enjoy talking about people as numbers. Each of these soldiers had a family and friends who loved them. And we were speaking of them as if they were tools.

Was this the reality of royalty? Of power? People became little more than pawns that were moved into place with no regard for the lives lost or changed forever?

The thought sickened me.

If we lived through this, I would do whatever it took to ensure this never happened again.

“Zathrian still has twenty thousand hybrids,” Galon said. “Camped near the Cursed City.”

“And Regner?” I asked into the silence. “What are his final numbers now?” No matter what those numbers were, they could have been worse, I reminded myself. If he’d allied with Gromalia, we would have been decimated.

“One hundred sixty thousand, plus however many creatures he can wield against us,” Demos said quietly. “I got the final estimate this morning.”

“Plus Zathrian’s army,” I said bitterly.

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