Page 66 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen
Tears spilled down her cheeks and she didn’t try to hide them. Blár wrapped one arm around her waist and tugged her onto his lap easily. He framed her face in his hands and brushed the tears away.
“I will find a way,” he whispered, his thumb grazing her cheek slowly. “I will resist them, Kolfinna. I will never allow the king and Hilda, and everyone who thinks like them, to take you away from me.”
“But let’s say the humans defeat the fae, what do you think will happen to me? Do you really think the king will want to keep me alive? That the humans wouldn’t decide to eradicate the fae forever?” She intertwined her hands together to keep from digging her fingers into her palms. “It’s not just my fate that I care about. I don’t want my people to be persecuted.”
Blár rubbed her lower back slowly, his jaw set. “I understand. I, too, want a world where both of our races can live together in peace. Without oppression.”
What could they even do? If the humans won, they would likely kill every fae and elf they could. They had already been doing it for centuries—why would it be any different now? Especially when the fae posed a greater threat than ever before?
If the fae won, they would enslave the humans, and would rule above them like they had done all those centuries ago, before King Harald defeated Queen Aesileif’s armies.
“I don’t know which side will be more just,” Blár said after their silence stretched thin. “I don’t have high hopes for either, if I’m being honest. But I will side with the humans.”
Kolfinna stared at him a moment longer, before she couldn’t anymore. She peered down at her hands. Her heart thundered in her chest.
“There are rumors that Commander Bernsten is dead,” he said.
She whipped her head up at that, eyes widening. Commander Bernsten, the commander-in-chief of the entire military?Dead?
“They say one of the fae generals killed him a week or two ago. It’s the reason why the military has been slow to react, to fight. People are scrambling for his empty position. The king is taking this as a chance to grasp total control. Hilda is trying to take over instead. And …” Blár pursed his lips, as if he was debating whether or not to say something.
“What?” Kolfinna shifted on his lap so she could better pin him with a grim look. “What is it Blár?”
“I’m trying to take that position, too.”
She could imagine it. Blár, at the helm of the military, leading the human armies into battle. He would fit it more than Hilda ever could. She would be tyrannical. A monster.
“If I have that kind of power, I can protect you,” he said at last, grasping her face with his rough hands. He stared at her, a glimmer of hope in his forlorn expression. “If I am able to claim power, then we can mold our own future, Kolfinna.”
She thought about the conversation she had with Astrid, and how the mating bond, once consummated, made their power grow. But she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. Thatthey both could grow more powerful if they slept together. Her shyness held her tongue.
“If it’s you, I know you can do it.” She absentmindedly touched the scales of his uniform, her fingers dancing over the smooth surface. It reminded her of dreki scales, dark and glossy. “But how will you do it?”
“The fae general—the tall male one—overtook the military headquarters. His army is still there, battling the humans. If I can defeat him and reclaim the headquarters, I can take over the military. Hilda is trying to do the same, but she knows she is no match for him at her old age, so she is trying more devious methods to take power.” He spoke rapidly, as if he needed the words out in the open to make them more real. “In order for it to work, we need their plans. I’m not arrogant enough to think I can march in there and defeat him and all his armies as I am now. Unlike Hilda, who has men under her, I have no one. But I’m stronger than her, so I can possibly defeat him if it’s a one-on-one match, or if … if I can somehow storm the headquarters. If I have the upper hand … then we have a chance, Kolfinna.”
He must have been talking about Agnarr; the thought of Blár defeating him sent a shudder down her spine. But there was also something else there—guilt.
She thought of the way he had been at dinner, his easy smile, the way he had held Freyja’s hand. He was about to be a father …
She shook her head. She couldn’t think like that. This was war.
“I understand. But you and Gunnar need to hurry if you want to find something. I don’t know when Vidar plans to go to the capital, but it will likely be soon. He wants me to free the queen. I think … she might be there.”
“One week. Two, tops.” He nodded, as if he had already suspected that. “If we can’t find anything, we will take you and escape. I’m still not sure on all the details of the escape plan, butwe’ll do it in the middle of the night. It’s already in our favor that two of the generals are leaving soon.”
Freyja and Agnarr would be going back to their respective military posts. They had only come here to help with her training. Though they didn’t do much. Unless there was another reason they had returned? She wasn’t sure.
“Just hang tight for another week,” Blár said.
“There has to be something I can do,” she whispered, searching his face for an answer. “I can’t just sit here and wait for you to do all of this on your own. It’s dangerous. If Rakel or Vidar see your face, they’ll recognize you.”
“I’m aware.” A wry smile tugged on his lips as he touched the bottom of his cloth mask. “This is a prime opportunity for you to grow stronger, Kolfinna. Nobody else can teach you how to fully use your powers other than the people here. Use that to your advantage and learn as much as you can, because we’ll use that against them.”
She didn’t like that idea. While he was risking his life sneaking around this fortress, she was supposed to continue to train and wait for him to rescue her? It sounded dangerous on his part, and passive on hers.
“I’ll help you gather information.” She leaped out of his lap and paced the room, her mind traveling to different possibilities. “I can ask Freyja. She seems more open than Agnarr, and she must know something.”
He shook his head. “She’s not stationed near headquarters.”
