Chapter 37

37

C loaked in my magic, Desmond and I watched the battle unfold, set back from the main action. I kept a close eye on Endre, Viktor, Kaztar, and Vadim, gauging just how handily we were winning. We outnumbered their forces, especially after our crushing victory during the ambush. The Dragons wouldn’t make a difference, of that I was certain.

Endre raced off into the fray, cutting a line straight to the front toward the edge closest to the Dragons.

Good, he was finally getting on board with our plan instead of balking the entire way.

But a flash of chestnut beneath one of the massive black beasts caught my eye, and a swell of heat crept up my neck. I clenched my reins and squinted, needing a sharper look.

Izidora.

Covered in dirt and blood, sporting the armor she’d worn during Béke, she battled against the Night Fae – her fucking people – with that mongrel bastard by her side.

She was fucking awake?

A muscle feathered so strongly in my jaw I forced myself to open my mouth and suck in a deep breath. The binding magic thrashed in my chest, surging against the grip I held over it to maintain our surreptitious position.

Take her take her take her take her…

A growl rumbled in my chest, and I dropped my hold over it before it consumed me. I needed to maintain a clear head and lead this army. Fek leaped forward as if he would race to her location, and I yanked on the leather, tucking his chin so hard into his neck he halted immediately.

Vadim raced toward me, half-carrying his limping father, and shattered my view of the female who had rejected me. High Lord Nikolai clutched his side, barely holding together a deep wound across his abdomen. “Kazimir,” Vadim panted, “we’re getting wrecked out there. We need to fall back. Everyone’s magic is tapped out and the Iron Realm just got reinforcements.”

“Their reinforcements are nothing,” I dismissed, scanning the battlefield for her once again.

“My King, I must agree with my son,” High Lord Nikolai wheezed, recalling my attention. His bearded face was pale, and more ruby gushed between his fingers.

“Let me get you to the healer’s tent, father,” Vadmin insisted, hiking Nikolai up higher on his shoulder.

I wanted them gone so I could find her again. “Return to me once you’ve dropped Nikolai off,” I ordered. Vadim nodded and continued on to the frenzied tents at the rear where both Night and Crystal Fae healers tended to the wounded – though the latter with much more reluctance that would have to be beaten out of them.

Beneath me, Fek shifted from foot to foot as if he wanted to join the fray. But I ruled the Night Realm, which meant that my life was more valuable than those of my soldiers, and I had no heirs – yet. No, we could not whet our appetites for blood today.

Even if all I wanted was to capture Izidora and return to the Night Realm with her, install her by my side as it always should have been.

When Vadim returned, he glinted with more daggers than I could count. Standing before me, he attempted to redo his hair so that it no longer fell in every direction. “I have nothing left, Kazimir. Neither does Viktor – if he’s still out there. I left him to return here once my father was injured.”

An olyphant trumpeted in the distance, rearing back before stomping down with enough force to shake the ground even at this distance. A dozen soldiers were crushed beneath its feet, and the ones who managed to avoid the strike were thrown backward, then speared into the ground by the Day Fae who ringed the gray beast.

“My King, now that we know the true force of the other realms, would it not be wise to fall back and regroup? I am certain I can find a way to defeat the olyphants and the shifted ones if given some time and resources,” Desmond said, straightening and puffing out his chest.

“I will not be made a fool of – not again,” I snapped, raking a hand over my face. “We keep pushing.”

Why did the people who served me not understand this?

I was growing weary of having to explain how these things needed to go.

A blast of heat from the wildfire started by those damn Dragons swept over us, the strong breeze carrying embers to the few pieces of grass that hadn’t been churned into mud.

“We also don’t want to get swept up in that,” Vadim said pointedly, following my attention to the multicolored fire battling against a host of Iron Fae. At least Ruslan was failing in that regard too, and had been forced to split his forces to clean up his mess. Pathetic.

“My King, no one would blame you for saving your soldiers from an uncontrollable fire set by the so-called emperor of the continent. He is their savior?” Desmond scoffed. “No, he is their executioner.”

“Their executioner…” I murmured, considering his proposal as I took a broad survey of the battlefield.

If I pulled back due to the fire, I would look like a benevolent king who cared about his people, and appearances were everything. With a sigh, I acquiesced. “Give the order to fall back. We’ll move to Vlisa as quickly as we can and regroup from there.”

My army was nowhere safer from an inferno than beside a lake, after all.

Vadim wasted no time in racing back to the fray, shouting orders as he went. Desmond and I turned our horses toward the healers’ tents, readying for our swift departure. A group of three Night Fae with the ability to use the Mage spells gathered in the center of the camp, linking arms to amplify their power. The words whispered out of them, and they flung their net of magic over us and all the injured, then whisked us deep into the Crystal Realm.

The long, aqua lake greeted us, and the crystal palace that had once been the beating heart of the capital reflected on its glassy surface. I left the healers to their work as I surveyed the haggard groups popping into existence as they retreated from the Day Realm.

The flow of Night Fae slowed to a crawl before finally ceasing altogether. Scanning them, I finally found some of my commanders – Vadim, Viktor, and Kaztar. They dismissed anyone who’d been in their groups, Vadim pulling a few aside and giving them hushed instructions. Once the soldiers seemed to settle in, the three grouped and strode toward me.

“Where is Endre?” I hissed. He wasn’t among the riders leading their horses to the edge of the lake to drink, nor was he among the healers with his father. In fact, there was no sign of his messy hair and terrible attitude.

The three of them shared a look before Viktor opened his mouth to speak.

“He defected.”