Page 162 of Crown of Briars
“They are already at the portcullis.”
“Shit.” I turned to race down the steps, then shouted over my shoulder. “Seal the castle doors and protect the staff, Clermont! That’s an order.”
“Yes, my lord.”
As I hastened down the steps, I withdrew the amber stone from my pocket and held it up to my mouth. “Sybelle, if you can hear this, the Earthen Court army is here. It isn’t safe. Stay in the castle with Enzira. I’ll hold off the army to ensure they won’t get to you.”
No answer. Gritting my teeth, I shoved the stone back in my pocket just as I reached the portcullis. The sight made me go rigid with fear.
Hundreds—no,thousands—of human soldiers waited on the other side, the number so vast that they filled the road and even took up space in the forest surrounding the gate.
In front, sitting atop a large white mare, sat a woman with a gleaming silver crown on her head. She had dark blonde ringlets and icy blue eyes that seemed to pierce right through me. But there was something familiar about her heart-shaped face and the proud jut of her chin.
I spread my arms and bared my fangs. “What is this, human? Why have you come here?” I sensed soldiers assembling behind me, taking up a formation. But it wouldn’t be nearly enough.
This army was ready to breach the gates. And we hadn’t even assembled a single regiment yet.
“I am Queen Orla of the Earthen Court,” the woman said, her voice loud and full of authority. “I have come to take your kingdom and end your deathly shadows for good.”
My eyes narrowed.Queen Orla?“I have never heard of you before,queen,” I spat. “Where is King Maddox?”
“My father is dead,” Orla said without remorse.
I stilled. This was Sybelle’s sister.
Sybelle had been adamant that her fatherneverwould have marched on my kingdom. Not when he had a plan in place already.
But… if he was dead, then his other daughter was free to do as she wished. Even if it meant invading my lands.
“I have an agreement with your court!” I shouted. “The contract has been honored for hundreds of years.”
“I have signed no such contract, nor do I honor any agreement made by my foolish ancestors,” Orla said coldly. “You have demanded brides from my kingdom and assaulted my people with your shadows for too long, Wraith King. It ends now.” She drew her sword, wielding it with surprising finesse, given her minute stature. “Surrender now, or we will tear down these gates and burn your castle to the ground.”
Hisses and snarls sounded behind me as my soldiers raised their own swords, prepared to fight to the death.
I knew they would. They would lay down their lives for our people and our kingdom.
But I couldn’t sentence them to that fate. They would die in minutes. We had fae strength and magic on our side, but the humans had numbers. The mass of mortal soldiers was at least ten times as many as the soldiers defending the castle. I might have been able to obliterate them with my shadows, but most of my strength was being used to maintain the Lumen that protected our castle.
If I removed the Lumen, the Necro Shadows would descend. But those shadows did not know friend from foe. They would destroy both human and fae alike.
And those within the castle walls would be at the mercy of the deadly shadows, at least until sundown when the Umbra Mist reemerged.
“You try my patience, Wraith King!” Orla bellowed. “Give me your answer, or we will advance.”
I swallowed hard. I was out of time. “Let us parlay,” I offered. “We can discuss terms and come to a new arrangement. No blood needs to be shed today.”
“It is too late for that,” Orla sneered. “The moment your shadows breached our borders, our agreement was nullified.Any promises you make of protection or peace will fall on deaf ears.”
The shadows breached their borders?My blood chilled. The Necro Shadows had spread farther than I’d thought.
But if I tried to explain that I had no control over them, Orla would not believe me.
My fingers curled to fists at my sides. If I surrendered, my people would be at the mercy of these bloodthirsty humans. Judging by the enraged expressions on the soldiers standing behind Orla, they would not be benevolent.
We would likely lose this battle. My armies were spread throughout the kingdom and too far away to rally to our defense in time.
But perhaps we could hold off these humans until help could arrive. Tislora alone was powerful enough to fell dozens of soldiers with her magic. I had seen it on the battlefield before.
