Page 50 of Winter Goddess
"We will win this fight, Aeolus," I say, showing him my conviction through our connection. "I know it's easy to doubt that we'll be able to win against hordes of demons, but we're strong together. Shall I tell you a secret?"
I assess his mind while talking to him. Will he pass on anything I say to the Morrigan? No, he's just scared, he doesn't actually want to support her. If he bows out, he's just going to crawl back to his own Realm and hope for the best.
"Your Majesty?"
"We have new allies. Powerful allies who will be a surprise to everyone."
"The dragons?"
I smile. "No, even more powerful than the dragons. You'll see soon, but until then, I need you to trust that we'll win. I need you to believe in our cause. We all need to pull together but if we do, we'll be victorious."
His mind is getting stronger. He's made his decision.
"I'll be in touch soon," I say as a farewell. "Ready your forces."
I pull back and open my eyes again. The guys are still in the exact same position; no time at all seems to have passed. This kind of mind communication seems to be the same as how I talk to the other three season Gods.
"He's going to support us," I announce. "Let's deal with Hades when the time comes. Saturn... let's use him for our benefit. If we feed him some wrong information, he'll carry it right to the Morrigan, and she's likely to believe a God more than her other spies.
"Good plan." Storm's aura is glowing with pride. "You're dealing with all of this really well."
My mother's death, he means? No, I'm not dealing with it at all. It's pushed away into a tiny, dark corner of my mind and that's where it will stay for now. I need my emotions to stay clear of it until I've succeeded in my current mission.
Killing the Morrigan.
Destroying her once and for all.
I push back the duvet and sit up, frowning at my lack of clothes.
"Your skin was healing," Crispin explains. "We didn't want it to be in contact with fabric that it might get stuck to."
I chuckle. "Nice excuse for having me naked."
"I wish we had time to enjoy the view," Frost sighs. "But you don't look like you're about to lie back down and let us make you feel good."
He's right. I wish I could, but I know I can't. There's so much to do.
"Soon," I tell him and send some loving thoughts along the bond connecting us. "Everything will be over soon and then we'll lock ourselves into my bedroom and ignore the world for a few days."
"Weeks, please," Arc demands. "Or months. We need ya."
"I need you too," I reply sadly. "Being Queen is so annoying."
Chapter Sixteen
As it turns out, a beautiful set of armour has been made for me. It's strange to wear it, but it's also kind of cool to feel this badass. It's made of snug metal plates that make my hips look curvier than they are, but there's a soft fabric inside that somehow lightens them. It doesn't feel like I'm wearing dozens of pounds worth of metal on my body, instead, it's more like the weight of a woollen coat. Two curved bits of metal hug my breasts. Whoever designed the pointy bits at the end was having a laugh. My boobs don't even look this perfectly shaped when I'm wearing a bra.
"The metal is infused with magic repellents," Frost explains as he helps me put on the shoulder guards. "You'll still need to keep up a barrier, but if something gets through, you'll be protected from minor magic attacks. It's also impenetrable to any form of weapon."
"Wait, completely impenetrable? There must be weak spots? What happens if there's a really sharp weapon?"
"Magic," is all he says as an explanation. "This will keep you as safe as it gets. The armour is made from the metal that was once part of Beira's armour, but she was taller than you, so the smiths melted it down and crafted a completely new one for you."
"Before or after the coronation?"
I don't want them to have done it after she died. That feels wrong. Her belongings should stay as they are and not be changed to fit me.
"Before. I think she knew that she would never be able to fight in a battle again, so she had it changed to protect you. She was always thinking of how to keep you safe, even though she knew you had to fight."
