16. Kellan

Chapter sixteen

Kellan

What remained of my army had finally exited the gods-forsaken Sylis Forest two days prior. We forced through the trees, traveling day and night, only resting when our bodies absolutely demanded it—and even then, it frustrated me to no end. We needed to get back.

Back to Isla.

Back to the queen.

And back to my fucking kingdom.

With Callius and Kai out of the picture now, it was only a matter of time until I could infiltrate the castle and its ruler’s bed.

That was the way of females—as long as you whispered pretty little lies into their ears, they would welcome you wholeheartedly.

I wasn’t beneath Callius’ tactics for getting what I needed. If occupying that vindictive bitch of a female’s bed was what it took to eventually be crowned king, then so be it.

I was desperate to find a nearby village to steal supplies. Elianna’s little wyvern stunt had decimated nearly every ounce of supplies we had aside from the shirts on our backs…and even then, some of those were in tatters, nicked by the flames she cast down on our camp. She even freed our gods-damn horses, forcing us to travel across the entire realm on aching, bleeding feet.

“How much farther to Isla, Captain?” William asked as he caught up at my side.

My jaw ticked as my gaze leisurely fell on him. “Did I just somehow pull a map out of my ass, William?”

The little fuck had a smirk tilt the edge of his lips for a second, and I would’ve made an example of him right then if I had even an ounce of energy left.

“Land is not my strong suit,” I grumbled. “I prefer to take to the seas.”

“And that’s why you have been forcing us to travel southeast, toward the coast.”

My brows furrowed. “Indeed.”

“The stars, Captain. That’s how I knew. The rest of who remain fear they will drop from starvation or exhaustion soon, whichever claims them first. What is your plan once we arrive at the coast?”

I clenched my teeth. This male was too smart for his own good, and I hated that I was forced to trust him, considering Vincent was now assumed dead.

I cleared my throat. “There are cities and ports along the coast. We could barter for, or commandeer, a ship if necessary.”

“Commandeer, Captain?”

“I refuse to be told no, so if they don’t have an extra ship to supply their queen’s captain, we will take it by whatever means necessary.”

We walked through the night, undoubtedly losing many exhausted males along the way. I didn’t take a moment to look back and take a head count. Their instructions were clear: we stop for no one. We move straight through, aside from a few hours here and there, to let our bodies rest.

If starvation or exhaustion took them before we reached a port, then that was on them. I had no time to deal with pleasantries.

We continued to move for miles in silence when my gaze landed on mirage-like structures in the distance.

A bead of sweat dripped down my brow, and I moved my hand to shield my eyes from the blinding, scorching sun. No matter how many times I blinked my tired, bloodshot eyes, the vision of what lay ahead remained.

A city. And not just any city, but one with the Vayr Sea at its back.

“William!” I barked into the air, voice hoarse.

Hurried, shuffling footsteps sounded behind me, and he appeared at my side a moment later.

“Aye, Captain,” he greeted.

I turned to him then. The male's lips were chapped and appeared to be a breath away from chipping off his face. His exhausted, sunken eyes were a stark contrast to his sunburnt skin.

I gestured to the distant city with my chin, and his stare wandered in its direction .

"Holy gods," he breathed, his voice raspy and parched, as if his throat was filled with desert sand.

“Looks like those pesky gods are finally on our side again, young William.” I gripped his shoulder and shook him in victory, but he nearly collapsed at the contact.

Turning to face those who remained, my eyes flared as they fixated on significantly fewer standing bodies than I had anticipated.

“Fuck,” I muttered.

“I tried to warn you, Captain.” He circled back and faced our remaining army with me.

“What…did the rest of you cowards fucking drop ?!” I boomed at them. A wicked chuckle left me, but it wasn’t from amusement. “Just another gods-damn disappointment.”

I counted a handful of them out loud.

“We still have enough to man a ship. Follow my lead, and absolutely none of you speak unless I deem it necessary.”