Page 94 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
“Itake my orders very seriously,” she says. “It is not a soldier’s job to make high-level decisions outside of a battle.”
Cyprien rolls his eyes, stands and puts himself in front of the commander. “I outrank you, soldier. I outrank some worthless senator sent here to control you. Take my orders: restrain Senator Ash and take away any means for him to communicate, including his tongue for all I care. Set a token force around the portals, then march the rest of your army beyond Red Rose Grove and Greenwood Locket so the soldiers can witness the corruption firsthand. So they can understand that Titania lies through her teeth.”
“Do. Not. Take his tongue,” I say with exasperation, holding the man in question tight as he writhes. Calypso is far too literal to keep that detail up in the air.
“Don’t listen to Cyprien!” Ash erupts. “He betrayed the High Chancellor for the exiled king! He isn’t the Commander of the Armed Forces anymore. He is supposed to be trapped in another realm!”
I slam him hard against the bookshelf a second time. Grim satisfaction fills me as his head bounces off a shelf. My voice is savage. “If he isn’t the Commander of the Armed Forces anymore, then who replaced him? Show me the official seal that would accompany the communication of such an event to every faction of the army.”
Calypso looks at him expectantly, but Titania is too arrogant and sloppy to follow such rules. Ash’s mouth works, but no sound comes out. Calypso stalks from the tent, then returns with the guards to have the man restrained and dragged away.
There is a hint of satisfaction in her eyes as she watches him go with no dignity at all. “All he did around here was drink himself stupid and humiliate the troops. And sleep half the day away.”
“It seems like the Dividing Plains are only a couple of hours’ march from here. We could take them all the way to the border today.” Cedar glances up from the maps spread across the table, eyes flicking to me, completely ignoring the dramatics that just unfolded.
I walk behind him and glance at the map over his shoulder, taking in the locations he marks with his fingers. I turn back to Calypso. “Round up the troops. I will speak with them, then we are marching to the Dividing Plains so they can make up their own minds.”
She gives me a long, hard stare, her fingers twitching as she contemplates the order of command.
“Do it, Commander Calypso,” Cyprien snaps, and she jolts, leaving the tent once more and barking orders just outside. Cyprien stands next to me and nudges me in the ribs. “I have to say, Aldrin, I enjoy having more authority than you.”
I scowl at the way his eyes glitter. “Don’t get fucking used to it,” I grumble.
“Trust me, the last thing I want is the responsibility of your crown,” he says all too happily.
Within a handful of minutes, I am on top of one of the watchtowers connected to the main gate, the entire regiment sprawled out before me. The light has disappeared from many of their eyes, and too many soldiers have rough stubble-covered faces, ungroomed hair and crinkled capes. For how long have they been kept away from their families against their will? For how many years have they been posted to an impossible mission and blamed for its failure?
I step from the shadows and place my hands upon the railing, watching their reactions as they recognize me. Fear creases some faces, making them step backward, and exhaustion deepens on others, but so many look up at me with hope melting away the tension in their shoulders and sparkling in their eyes.
They murmur with fervor.
The wordcoupcomes up again and again.
I think there are many among them who would follow me without asking a single question.
This is why a ruler must take care of their army, feed their morale, down to the lowest foot soldier. When they turn, it is like raindrops falling. Each splatter may be powerless on its own, but a torrent of their combined might is enough to flood a riverbank and wipe out everything in its path.
I throw up a hand and every single fae falls silent. “I am not here to convince you to join a violent and bloody coup against the High Chancellor. No, I am here to reveal the truth behind her lies and to open your eyes to the real travesty befalling these lands.”
The soldiers stare at me blankly, some of that hope fading, but I am not done yet.
“There is a reason why the terrain around this regiment is becoming consumed by snow, and it has nothing to do with the portals you are here to protect,” I bellow. “You havenotfailed. You arenotresponsible for the worsening conditions of this region. And I can guarantee there are no Winter fae sneaking through those portals, outsmarting us and destroying our forests and meadows. You are not out here for the purpose of a mission, but because the High Chancellor is terrified of you discovering what she is really doing in the capital. Titania doesn’t want you to know the truth.”
I let my words hang in the air as the crowd leans forward, then I continue.
“I plan to liberate you from her suffocating clutches and give you a noble cause to fight for: our very survival. Iwilltake back the throne and Iwilldo it the right way, by popular vote—not just because it is my birthright and I am the better,more compassionate ruler, but becauseherincompetence is destroying us all.”
Murmuring rises up from the crowd. There are a few shouts. I don’t try to decipher their words. Not yet. Let them see, then let them decide.
It is time to see how far I can push them.
“We will march to the lands that Titania has forbidden you from visiting. You will witness what is there, and then you will know what I speak of. Ask yourself: does any ruler have the right to prohibit fae from walking through their own court? Why would she lock down Red Rose Grove and Greenwood Locket unless she were hiding something?”
Cyprien steps to my side and a hiss of whispers erupts through the regiment as they recognize the Commander of the Armed Forces. “There is no threat of war coming from the Winter Court,” he says. “They send no agents to sabotage us. I have traveled along the Dividing Cliffs to our fortresses that protect the border and the many Watchtower Trees that are our signaling system. Do you know what I have found? Every one of our defenses against Winter is empty of soldiers. Why would Titania clear them out, if she feared war? It is because the true cause and extent of the devastation are clear from their position, and she cannot deny the inconvenient truth if you witness it personally.”
“Today, this changes!” I roar. “Today, we pull the blinders from your eyes and allow you to make your own judgment. Then,then,we will speak of who is fit to rule! I for one will always show you the uncomfortable truth.”
Many of the soldiers cheer. Some beat swords against shields and others thump the ground with their boots. There are islands among them, unconvinced, uncertain and exhausted. It will take more than a pretty little speech to get even the most enthusiastic of these bored soldiers to back me.
