Page 63 of Devastation
"Lead the way," Hale answers, gesturing for her to do just that.
We trail after her out of the dining hall and head towards the training yard, and I notice other fae filing in the same direction. Their numbers seem larger than before, and I notice new faces that puzzle me.
Where did they come from?
We stop at the edge of the yard and lean against the wooden posts lining it. Raven hops up onto a tree stump, using it as a platform, and yells, "Alright, alright. Thank you for coming on such short notice. I will wrap this up quickly."
She gestures around, "As some of you may notice, there are new faces here. Yes, they are from the dark fae castle." Her announcement creates a visible wave of unease in the crowd as people shuffle and look around nervously.
"They have freely offered their services and have asked for a second chance to make things right. Not all were accepted. We all know that the guards were under the influence of a potent concoction that caused their powers to be snuffed out until they were trusted by Anshar and Sebastian."
Maybe it's a good thing that Ash isn't here for this. I'd hate for him to hear all of this and relapse back into self-loathing. Not to mention the impact of being shunned by the people who no doubt associated him with that name and the cruelties of the man who bore it.
Raven continues, "We only accepted those who are clear of the influence. Some, however, have developed an addiction to Anshar’s compound and cannot control themselves. Please know that this decision was not made lightly—we know full well that it is a risk to accept help from those who were considered enemies not long ago."
Jumping off the stump, Raven gestures for Noreen to take her place. Noreen does so quickly, picking up where Raven left off. "One of the mightiest weapons we can wield in life is forgiveness. Weallhave made bad decisions, but we alsoalldeserve the opportunity to make amends for those choices. Because the weapon of forgiveness is also one of the greatest gifts we can give. Andthat, I daresay, is more potent even than any elixir of control that Anshar could muster.”
"Spoken like a true queen," Lana murmurs, and I look to her as she does, catching the glowing pride radiating from her.
Glancing back at Noreen, I see her hesitate before she squares her shoulders and announces, "I am honored to announce that I have been chosen as the next queen by our land and Mother Nature." Her eyes skim over the crowd until they find Lana and settle on her.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lana give her an encouraging thumbs up, causing the young queen to smile before she continues her speech. A look of determination flashes in her eyes as she declares, "It is time to end this war once and for all. We have won an important battle here, but it is now time to put an end to the devastation of war for good. We owe this to the future generations of all the realms, so they may know peace and harmony in their lifetimes. We do this for them and in honor of all those we have lost."
She takes a deep breath and shouts, "Are you with me?"
For a moment, there is only silence. Then, someone yells, "For the future!"
At that, more and more people join in until their words or encouragement and support become an enthusiastic victory chant.
Noreen lets out a deep sigh of relief at their support and grins widely down at her people. Raven grabs her hand and squeezes it, looking up at the fae queen with pride.
Noreen holds up her free hand, asking for silence. The crowd dies down quickly, and she speaks once more. "Thanks to Lana, we know that this war will be beginning any time now. We must be ready. Raven will discuss our plan of attack with you all, but first let me urge you to eat, rest, and sharpen your weapons tonight. Hold your loved ones and remember thattheyare why we will win this, because we have no other option."
With that, she hops off the makeshift platform and strides towards us, the crowd parting for her. Raven jumps back up, instantly commanding the crowd’s attention once more, and begins laying out the battle plans.
"So, you said Serenity will open a portal tomorrow to signal the start?" Noreen asks Lana, confirming my earlier sentiments about the war beginning soon.
Lana nods in response and laments, "Yes. I’ll have her open portals from each of the realms into the demon realm once we remove the block. My gut tells me Erebus is there and biding his time to launch his attack on us, so we’ll surprise him and his forces by bringing the fight to them."
"Okay. We will be ready," Noreen agrees as she releases a shaky breath.
Lana grabs her hands and reassures her, "All of the realms are prepared. We are not in this fight alone this time. We are all fighting for the same hope."
This moment truly brings us full circle from both of our lives. Here stands Lana, ready to lead us to war, just as Oslana had, but this time as someone who has prepared in every way possible and inspires hope in her people. In all of the realms, it has been so clear to see that they are all willing to follow her into battle, knowing that her plan is our best bet.
Gone is the girl people once knew, and in her place is a glorious woman who would give her life up before allowing the realms to fall to Erebus.
The two women hug as Lana tells her, "We have to get back to the witch realm, just as soon as we say goodbye to Grammie."
As if Grammie is listening in, her voice calls out behind us, making me spin around, "You’d better come visit me more often once this war is over, young lady!"
I love the way she speaks with such conviction that our side will be victorious. That's the type of spirit we all need to have going into this.
"We'll make sure she brings us, Grammie," Leo grins as he pulls her into a hug.
She pats his chest, "You’d better! I won't be around forever, you know."
"Don't say that! You're only what, thirty?" Luke teases her as he takes his turn to hug her.
