Page 133 of A Tale of Ice and Ash
“Thank you, Lord Hammersmith,” said Eirwen, keeping her words steady. She looked desperately to Onyx for instruction, but he only nodded and gestured for her to continue. “We are eternally grateful for any and all assistance you can offer.”
“It is the least I can do,” he said. “Men– make camp.”
Eirwen called Hammersmith over to Onyx and gave the official introduction, instructing him to let him know everything about the strength and skill of his men.
“It’s not quite enough, is it?” she asked Onyx.
“No,” he said. “But it’s a start.”
∞∞∞
Over the next few days, more and more armed volunteers, guards, knights and nobles arrived at the site, spurred by the actions of Hammersmith and his men. Onyx called Eirwen into the war room when their numbers reached two hundred.
“We should act soon,” he said.
Eirwen paled. “Are you sure? The numbers–”
“Though the Queen commands similar numbers, she still has the upper hand. She always will, attacking from the castle. We could wait a month, but brute force is unlikely to ever win the day. Castles are rarely ever taken by force, and a large scale battle could go on for months. Not to mention we don’t know her plans, what advantage the Mirror gives her, what she took from the depths. We need to act quickly before she makes her next move.”
Eirwen inhaled. “Then what do you suggest?”
“A small party sneaks into the city, a few at a time. You among them. We’ll use the faulty glamour ring; it should make you look different enough to pass through the gates undetected. We head to the palace, the knights drawing the attention of her forces to the city gates. We sneak in and confront her, offering her a final chance to step down peacefully. If she doesn’t…” Onyx shook his head. “Assination is still less risky, just so you know.”
A bitter taste rose on the back of her tongue. “I nearly killed her, you know, the day of the ball? There was a moment when I could have done it. But I didn’t. I thought at the time it was because I was too much of a coward, but I swear, I never felt less myself than when I was contemplating killing her. It was like a monster had crawled into my skin. I don’t want to start my reign that way. I know… I know she deserves to die. I know history might remember me as a hero. But I would never, ever see myself as one. I would think I was as bad as her, every day, for the rest of my life. It’s selfish, I know. But I don’t want to feel like that. I don’t want my reign to begin like hers did.”
Onyx sighed. “No wonder Janus wants your heart, lass. So few are like it.”
“Do you think I’m being childish?”
“I think you’re being you. And here I was worrying you didn’t want to kill her because you were soft on the boy.”
“Iamsoft on the boy,” Eirwen said, without hesitation, “but that isn’t the only reason I want to avoid killing her.”
The smallest of smiles played on the corner of Onyx’s mouth, but he quickly quashed it.
“What is it?”
“I dislike how fast you’re growing,” he said. “And I’m notentirelysure I like the boy, but… but if he makes you happy, then I suppose I have to like him. I can’t hate anything that makes you happy.”
Eirwen wound a lock of hair around her finger, avoiding his gaze. “Good,” she said, “because I rather think he might be my Garnet.”
∞∞∞
There was no time to waste, declared Onyx. He drew up a plan, brought the dwarves together to discuss it, and told no one outside of Eirwen and Cole the specifics.
“We cannot afford the Queen using the Mirror to discover it from another soldier,” he explained. “But if we managed to keep Eirwen hidden for so long, it should be safe to talk amongst the few of us. The rest of the men will find out on the day in question. Not the greatest move for morale, but it is what it is.”
“When do we strike?” Eirwen asked.
“Tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll start moving at dawn.”
Eirwen felt something slither out of her. Tomorrow. So soon. If it went well, she would end it on a throne. If it went badly, that dawn would likely be her last. Every certainty was thrown into shadow.
Not being able to say anything, to be free with that information, haunted her for the rest of the day. The rest of the camp carried on like nothing was amiss. She wondered how many would be alive tomorrow, and hated that she knew and they didn’t. Every laugh mocked her, their ignorance painful.
Cole put his arm around her shoulder, and said nothing. It had been difficult over the last few days to find any time to be together, a few traded kisses had been all they’d had time for.
Time was scrambling away from them, and she’d still not found the way to tell him.
