Chapter Forty-Five

THE CAMP BUSTLED AS EVERYONE made final preparations for the battle we were about to step into. Single tents were taken down and packed, soldiers put on their silver-and-blue armor, Fae tested out their various skills on practice targets and dummies. Families said their goodbyes.

I finished braiding my blue hair and watched them all slowly trickle over to where I stood beside Rune and my guards. One of the Land Fae had made a platform that overlooked my army, and I felt every set of eyes on me as they gathered before it. Most of my friends lined up in the front with the rest of the crowd behind them.

I took that moment to meet the eyes of each person I considered my family. Dallas on one side of me. Rune on the other. Rance beside him. Jesiah, standing close by. Akira, Bassel, Avana, Imani, and Ardley standing proudly in front of the sea of Fae. Even Alvaro next to them. I took the time to truly see them, because this could be the last moment I did.

With everyone finally gathered, I took a deep breath and held my head high. "Today, a new world will be born. Today, we fight for the harmony and kindness our challengers have refused to give. Today, we come together as many but step out onto the battlefield as one. Today, we come out victorious!"

A unanimous cheer erupted from the crowd, and fists rose into the air in huzzah. Different groups broke off to get in their battle positions, and my friends climbed onto the platform with the rest of us.

"Akira," Rune said. "Will you fly overhead to check Elias's army and the field? Make sure nothing nefarious is happening before we all go out there."

"Of course," the Raven Fae answered. He disappeared into the nearby headquarters tent that was still erect, and moments later, a raven flew out from the tent flap, soaring up through the trees. We waited and, after a few minutes, the raven glided back down through the trees and into the tent. A normal looking Akira popped his head out, and when he did, I saw his eyes were wide and face ashen. "Get in here."

My heart filled with lead as our small group and the generals filed into the large canopy where Akria had just finished pulling on his shirt.

"What happened? What did you see?" I immediately asked in alarm.

Jesiah placed an arm around Akira's shoulders, and Akira looked up at him solemnly before meeting my eyes. "They've drained the lake."

"What?" Imani shouted.

"What do you mean they drained the lake?" Dallas demanded.

"The lake is completely dry," Akira fretted, his voice sounding more and more helpless. "It looks like a massive crater in the earth now."

"That was our only source of water out here," a general worried as the color drained from his face. "That's our main source of weaponry and power."

"Of course Elias would do something as cowardly as remove Water Fae's only source of power right before the fight starts," Ardley cursed with a deep scowl.

"Can't you pull water from the air and ground?" Bassel asked, his eyes darting to every Water Fae in the room.

"Not all of them," Rance said. He swiped a hand down the side of his face. "Some can, but … I don't think that will be enough. We need water and lots of it. Without the lake …"

My breath came out heavy and fast as I tried to understand how this had happened. Answering that question wouldn't do me any good, so instead, I focused on trying to come up with a solution.

Forcing my panic down my throat, I snapped my fingers and demanded, "Someone get me a map. Now."

I STOOD ON THE CREST of the hill, staring at the thousands of Fae spread out beyond the crater where Lake Wisps used to be. All that remained now was a deep hole of dried rock and dirt. This had been Elias's plan all along. I'd wondered why he'd chosen a location for our fight that would provide the necessary element most of us needed to even have a chance. Now, I realized he never intended for us to have access to it. He'd wanted us to rush onto the field, realize our water source was gone, and become easy slaughter for his army.

And how he'd managed to rid the lake of its water?

Betrayal.

The Water Fae who had disappeared—Dax and his parents, Angus, Bella and her family, all of them—lined the edge of the lake on the front lines of Elias's army. They'd truly joined him, eager to rid Ambrolia of anyone who followed me, even if that meant joining the people they hated to do it. They'd no doubt been the ones to rid the lake of the water.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke quietly for only my group to hear. "Everyone knows what to do if this doesn't work."

"Yes, Your Majesty," was the quiet response.

From everyone except Rune.

He gripped my hand tightly, and I looked up at him to see the mix of terror and encouragement warring in his eyes. He was against this plan, as were all those closest to me. But we all knew it was the only answer, and should it go wrong, they'd be ready to go with Plan B—retreating with every Fae behind us and hiding in the human world again.

I stood on my tiptoes to kiss Rune.

One more time.

I ran my thumb over the ring on my hand and pulled back only enough to whisper, "Until the waves cease their tide and the flames burn out. Forever with you."

He swallowed hard. "Forever with you."

I gave his hand one more squeeze and took one more moment to stare into his eyes before starting my trek alone down the hill. I took deep inhales and exhaled slowly as I tried to feel past the panic, fear, and anxiety swarming my mind.

According to the map, the closest water source was the Morardian Sea, but it was a good fifteen miles away. I'd never called on water that far, and according to everyone in the headquarters tent, it would be impossible for our kind to summon water from such a great distance without traveling there to get it and walking it all the way back here—something we didn't have time for. Because no Fae was powerful enough to do it these days, I walked through the tall flowers alone. I wouldn't risk everyone's life on an impossible task.

Please. Please water. I need you. Give me strength. Give me power. Help me be like the Water Fae of old. Help me be like my mother.

I listened and dug for that connection, that bond, we'd managed to form. It was always there inside me, and the water that did surround me—in the air, in the blades of grass, in the soil—began to hum. I felt the pulse of its answer to my desperate plea, and as I walked further out into the field, the air shifted to my left. Drops of water spun in the air and rose up from the ground, twirling in the space beside me.

Feeling a rush of encouragement, I whispered, "Help me, water. Help me reach further than I ever have. Help me channel the powerful Fae who came before me."

Taunts and jokes fired my way from the distant gold-and-green army as I slowly closed the distance between us.

"Coming to surrender, weakling?" a bear of a man laughed, spittle flying out of his toothy grin.

"Fucking pitiful!" a woman with scales for skin hissed. "Weak! Just die!"

A large woman raised her clawed fist in the air to shake her sword. "Rot like your people!"

The tether connecting me to the water seemed to tighten and pulse inside me like a shockwave bursting free in my chest. It nearly drowned out the insults being hurled my way.

Only, as I drew to the halfway point, the sudden feeling of a presence hit me. I looked to my left where the drops of water twirled in the air, and more water seemed to join the beads. They stitched together and grew solid and larger. A pale arm started to form, the skirt of a silver dress, long blue hair, and finally, the water finished bubbling together around a face until she walked beside me—not as water, but as real flesh and bone!

Her determined gaze was locked on the distant army, but when she was fully formed, she looked my way and gave me a smile. "Need some help, daughter?"

Giving a breathless laugh, I said, "I need to get the water from the Morardian Sea to the lake bed. It's fifteen miles from here."

Mom nodded and turned back to the opposing Fae. "We can do it."

When I'd called upon the water for strength, for my mom, I wasn't expecting her to actually appear . I'd just wanted its aid in being strong enough to bring the water back to the lake, but this … this was so much more than that ask.

A thousand questions and words wanted to leave my lips—how was she here; holy shit , she was here; did this mean she was back forever—but I couldn't voice them right now. We had a task to do and a Kingdom to save.

The majority of Elias's forces continued to taunt and shout curses, not understanding the power now standing before them. But my old citizens did. Their eyes widened, faces drained of color, and mouths fell open. They knew who now walked beside me in the flesh. They knew the power my side had just gained.

She and I took deep breaths, and as we drew about twenty yards from the edge of the lakeside closest to us, I felt the tingling of my magic intensify in my gut. It stretched, and as it did, my palms grew hot and heavy like they were suddenly weighted down with a force unlike any I'd ever felt. I knew it was my hold on the sea.

"I'm ready," I gasped under my breath, the sheer power already firing up my limbs making it harder to breathe.

"As am I," Alesta answered, her voice only slightly strained.

Moving in sync, we raised our arms toward the right—the direction where the sea was closest—and I raised my arms higher into the air like I was guiding the distant sea up and out of the ocean. My hands prickled with the same sensation I got when my limbs fell asleep. The buzzing moved up my arms the higher I went, and suddenly, I could smell the ocean.

The sound of rushing water sounded overhead, and all the smug faces of the army across the crater changed as they looked to their left. Jaws dropped as the ocean towered into the sky, higher than the trees, casting the field in shadow. Pride, relief, and awe swelled inside my chest at the sight of the glittering sea filling the sky. Hope wasn't lost. We'd done the impossible.

My mother and I arched our arms over our head, and the monstrous wave reared over the treetops and crashed into the lake bed with a force that shook the earth. The water sloshed around in a turbulent dance as the lake filled again, and Elias's army stepped back from the watery storm until finally, enough water took up residence in the lake again.

My heart pounded, and my fingers shook from the amount of effort that took. Still, I kept my face even and devoid of the exhaustion to stare right at Elias across the body of water. His green eyes bored into mine, and his features settled into a deep scowl.

Nice try. You won't defeat us that easily.

The splashing of the settling water acted as the blare of a horn signaling battle. Fae rushed over the hill behind me, and Fae from across the lake made a rush to run around the lake's edge to try to meet them on this side. My mother joined the rush—skirts and all.

Rune, Dallas, Jesiah, and Rance were quick to reach my side, and our team raced to meet the first group of Fae targeting us, which were the Fae able to cross the lake the quickest—Fae with air power. They swooped low and landed in front of us.

A girl swung her taloned fingers at me in an effort to shred my face, but I easily smacked her arm away with one hand while the other pulled a ball of water from near me. I sent it barreling into her, and she tumbled backward, dirt and grass flying up as she rolled across the ground.

It was my first real victory, but there was no time to celebrate. Screams and howls erupted in the field as Fae engaged in harsh combat. Elements of every kind fired off around us as they met foes, and the clang of swords or whizzing of arrows sounded. Already, Fae on both sides were falling, never to rise again, and I forced myself not to look at them. Not yet. If I saw their faces, I'd lose my focus and determination.

I tried to scan the sea of Fae for Elias's face—I wanted to find him as soon as possible to end this madness—but I kept getting stopped by Fae looking to take me down. Dallas, Rance, Rune, Jesiah, and my mom all moved forward with me as a unit, each of us getting engaged in quarrels. Despite all my training and preparation, I tried to avoid as many confrontations as possible. I knew I'd have to defend myself, but if I could avoid permanently hurting anyone, I'd do that at all costs.

Only when I found Elias would I … I'd kill …

My throat squeezed with trepidation. Even after everything, I couldn't stomach the idea of going through with it. There wasn't another option, though.

Right?

My inner conflict provided the momentary distraction for a Land Fae. He rushed past Dallas, who struggled with a Water Fae turned rebel, and barreled right up to me. He swung his fist at my face, which I narrowly managed to avoid. I didn't avoid his other fist slamming into my chest, however.

I grunted as the force sent me rolling back into Jesiah's legs, and he landed hard on top of me. Before we could get up, the same Fae stomped his foot on the ground. A crack in the earth ripped beneath his sole, and it quickly stretched across the ground toward Jesiah and me. With a quick jerk of his arms, the dirt beneath us ripped open and pulled apart, opening to swallow any Fae on it.

I screamed as I plummeted into the fissure.