Page 111 of When Storms Ruin

We hadn’t been able to find Isaac when we returned to the cottage, the following days consumed with plans of how to move against Akra. We would have to fill Isaac in once he returned—whenever that was. We assumed he was connecting with our resistance forces in Prins.

The library had turned into a full-on war room, complete with parchment maps strewn across the tables and little figurines signifying our forces, and Donika’s.

We didn’t have an exact number of how big Donika’s numbers were, but with the help of Zion’s intel, we knew that they crushed ours in comparison. But with my storm magic being bound, we were banking on not needing as many men. We had to consider that we wouldn’t have the element of surprise, after she sent her forces to attack us in Prins, she was expecting our retaliation.

We hovered around the table in the newly appointed war room, the pieces moving about the board as we tested different strategies.

“If we can get someone to open the gate from the inside, we can use the secret passages we escaped through to access the castle,” Zion pointed out, moving a piece towards the back of the mountain.

“You think it will come to that?” Annelise asked, pointing towards her pieces on the battlefield at the base of the mountain. “You don’t think she will want to meet us out here with her forces?”

“I think she will,” Zion agreed, “but I think Donika herself won’t show her face. I believe a smaller contingent of us will need to breach the castle walls to bring her down.”

I nodded in agreement. I didn’t see Donika facing us on the battlefield herself, she would send her soldiers, Araneoch, and Noctani to do her bidding, but she would certainly take all the glory if she was victorious.

“I think our fastest and most powerful soldiers should breach the castle through the secret passageways. They are narrow, only allowing for soldiers to pass through single file.”

“Agreed,” Nik replied, moving his own piece towards the back of the mountain. “But how many soldiers will she keep in her immediate guard to protect her?”

“Knowing Donika?” Zion laughed humorlessly as he ran a hand down his face. “Not many. She might be egotistical, but she is proud. She will have Noctani, and Corian most certainly.”

“And how do we handle the Araneoch and Noctani?” Tess asked, her arms folded across her chest. “We haven’t battled them yet. We had a difficult time taking down the Araneoch as it was on the training field that day, but the Noctani? We have no idea if they will fall in battle the same way, if our weapons will even work against them.”

Zion nodded thoughtfully. “There’s no reason to think they won’t, the Araneoch weren’t immune to our weapons. It is a chance we are going to have to take and pray that she hasn’t had that much success with them. When I left The Stone Palace, there were only a few. Just short of ten if I had to hazard a guess.”

Nik turned towards me, his brow furrowed. “Have you had any more visions about Donika or her Noctani?”

I shook my head. “No, I haven’t had a vision about her in a concerningly long time. I haven’t dream walked in weeks. It makes me think Corian is actively blocking me.”

“We might need to dream walk intentionally to see what they are up to,” Tess replied with a nod. “It’s dangerous if she runs into Corian, but otherwise it would give us the upper hand…which would be invaluable.”

“I have to agree,” Nik replied with a nod. “We should plan to try to spy on her at least once or twice before we make any moves. And I still would want Isaac’s input when he returns from Prins.”

My eyes moved back and forth between Nik and Tess, shocked they were getting along so well and agreeing on something for once. Nik wasn’t the biggest fan of Tess when they had first met, but it appeared they had moved past that.

Plotting war strategies had kept me busy, not allowing me any spare time to overthink my relationship with Annelise. We hadn’t spoken since the binding ceremony. I was still angry with her, but I didn’t want to unpack those emotions yet. I wanted to plot against Donika, and deal with everything else later.

“How many are we thinking for the castle attack, ten men or so?” Zion asked, studying the map.

“Give or take.” I shrugged. “I’ll be going, obviously, but I think Nik should stay back.”

“What?” He turned towards me, an expression of hurt crossing his features. “I’m one of the strongest witches, and I wield shadows. You’ll need me there.”

“I wield shadows now too, remember?” I asked, a dark shadow snaking out from my raised palm to prove my point. “Have you forgotten that if you die, I die? And vice versa. We can’t risk one of us being taken out before we even get to her. Only those of us in this room know that we are bound, but it’s still a risk we can’t take.”

Nik appeared as if he was about to argue, but he bit his lip, his gaze falling to the map. He knew I was right, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

“Annelise and I will be with you,” Zion confirmed as he met my gaze.

“Is that wise?” I asked, my brow raised. “Does she know Annelise is alive?”

“We must assume she knows I’m out there…somewhere. She let me live that day on the battlefield, but she hasn’t seen me since. I’ve stayed out of her way, but I will stand by nolonger. If my presence can help in any way, I need to be there,” Annelise replied, her mouth tight.

“And can you do it?” I asked, my jaw set.

“Do what?” she asked, her stern gaze holding mine.

“Watch me kill Donika. She is your daughter, after all. I can’t have you second guessing at the last moment and getting in the way.”

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