CHAPTER 54

CHAPTER 54

SLADE

It takes ten minutes onthe back of Argo to make it to the city’s army base.

At the bottom of Banded Mountain, you can spot the corners of a few of the buildings if you’re standing on the west tower of the castle. It’s a checkered collection of squares tucked in with the forest trees, walled up and meant to house a few thousand soldiers.

Right now, it’s about to house far more than that.

As I fly toward it, I see streams of soldiers marching in, this bird’s eye view making them look like a flowing river of black leather. Their progression is rife with curves and turns as thousands of men and women tread across the landscape, passing over the largest bridges and cutting past the castle, their sights set on the looming mountain.

This is the last of them to arrive, so Osrik and Ryatt will be here too. It’s taken three days for them to all filter in, and when the final troops pour past the entrance of the wall, the base is going to be crammed full. Normally, when I’ve called most of my army here, they’re only at the base for a short period of time. But with the situation as it is now, I cannot quickly discharge them to return to their homes.

That fact won’t be well received.

They’ve been gone for months, and they’ve been traveling hard. However, their arrival will be stained like the spill of bitter juice when they find out that war is looming and they can’t return home yet.

With the river of the army flowing in, I direct Argo to drop lower when we make it to the base’s wall. Shouts rise up from below, cheers from the soldiers who recognize Argo from the sky.

I don’t deserve their cheering.

Argo’s wings slice through the air, tucking between the limbs of the trees as he gets even lower. With a tug on his reins, he shifts to the right, heading for the building pitched with beams on all four sides, its roof a pinnacle of pine tar, the dark grain of the wood walls blending in with the trees around it.

As Argo begins to circle in his telltale sign of landing, the soldiers below move out of the way, just as the beast touches down, his talons sinking into the grass.

All around me, soldiers bow their heads as I unbuckle from the saddle and jump down. After giving Argo a pat on his hindquarters to let him know he can go off to hunt, I turn around, nodding at the crowd before I head for the building.

My boots tramp up the three sparse steps leading to the door, and as soon as I get inside, four heads swivel in my direction. Judd and Lu are sitting at the left of the table, Ryatt and Osrik at the right. Osrik’s long beard is even more unruly than usual, the hair on his head in much the same condition.

“You look like shit, Os,” I say in greeting.

He grunts, thick arms crossing in front of him. “Sorry I didn’t primp. Been busy dragging your army across the continent through the freezing ass snow.”

I smirk as I take a seat next to him. “I appreciate it. Did you have any trouble?”

“Aside from the expected grumbles every now and then, and a few fights breaking out? No.”

“Good.” My eyes shift to Ryatt. His helmet is on the tabletop, though other than that, he’s still in full armor. “And you and Hojat got back fine?”

“Of course. Good thing too, because the frostbite running through the camps wasn’t pretty. We’ve lost too many fingers and toes,” he says, his tone dripping with displeasure.

“Hojat was worried about that.”

Ryatt levels me with a look. “What’s going on, Slade?” he asks. “Why haven’t we started dismissing everyone who isn’t in the standing army? Why are you keeping everyone here?”

I look between him and Osrik, and then I catch them both up on everything that’s happened, including the dinner we had with Manu three nights ago. Os spools out a string of curses several times during my explanation, but Ryatt grows quiet. I know my brother. The quieter he becomes, the more furious he is.

“Well, fuck,” Os says when I finish. He rubs the back of his head. “This isn’t good.”

“Understatement of the year,” Judd mumbles as he picks at the dry edge of the wood table.

“We knew they’d do something to try and force my hand, but I didn’t expect this. Queen Kaila and the others are going hard.”

Judd yanks a splinter off the edge, using it to pick at the grains on the tabletop. “What I don’t get is why they’re risking pissing off King Rot.”

“Someone has to take the fall for two dead monarchs in one night,” Lu replies. “They’re choosing Auren as their target.”

“They’re scared of her,” Osrik says. “These fucking rumors. No wonder the other rulers have their knickers in a shit twist. They’re worried she’s gonna steal more magic.”

“The rumors and propaganda have spread more than I realized,” I admit. “The public’s opinion is focused on bringing Auren to trial. All while Kaila is quietly trying to sink her claws into Sixth.”

Osrik’s eyes sharpen. “What?”

I nod. “Last report I had was that she took a trip to Highbell. Made some announcement about how she and Midas were betrothed right before he got killed. Had a bullshit ceremony to fucking honor Midas’s life. She’s trying to dredge up support there.”

Judd shakes his head. “Trying to take over more territory with the public’s fucking blessing.”

“They like her,” Lu cuts in. “She’s perfected her public charm.”

“All while they try to starve us out,” Os says. “A fucking month of reserves, and we’ll be completely wiped out.”

I look between all of them, even Ryatt, whose eyes are stuck on the table. “I need to pull volunteers from the army. I need massive efforts thrown into bringing in our own food.”

“We all know Fourth is made up of mostly swamps and marshes. Not exactly the best farmlands, that’s why we’ve always relied on the other kingdoms. And can crops even be harvested that quickly?” Judd asks.

“Some,” Osrik pipes in. “Radishes, spring onions, spinach, turnips—those we can harvest in about a month.”

Everyone stares at him.

He shrugs his shoulders when he notices. “What? You shits know I was from First Kingdom.”

“Yeah, as a mercenary,” Judd replies, his brows lifted up. “How the hell do you know about farming?”

Osrik shifts in his chair, the bulk of his body making the wood creak in protest. “Hired to kill a farmer who didn’t pay his taxes once. Ended up staying there to help him so he could pay instead of murdering the poor fuck.”

Lu grins at him. “Aww, Os. You’re such a soft-heart.”

“Fuck off,” he grumbles. “My heart’s rock-hard.”

Judd’s eyes practically light up. “No, that’s not your heart, that’s your—”

“Let’s not,” I cut in.

Judd just laughs.

“Alright, so we send soldiers to fucking plant seeds and shit, but we’ll need some actual farmhands who know what they’re doing to supervise, and we need a place to do it,” Os says.

“Yes. I’ll talk to Barley,” I reply. “She knows Fourth’s land like the back of her hand. If there’s any other viable land we’re not tapping into already, she’ll find it. And I’ve already had her and Warken put together a plan to increase our fishing and hunting.”

“But will it be enough?” Lu asks.

I meet her worried eyes, because the same worry is in mine. This is what my Premiers and I have been working on night and day. “I don’t know. Isalee is running the numbers. But for now, we’ve come up with a plan to make a backdoor deal with First Kingdom. They want more lantern oil, so we’ll give it to them in exchange for supplies.”

“Will the king go for that?”

“We will need to charm him enough so he can’t help but take the deal.” My attention moves pointedly onto Judd.

He ruffles a hand over his hair. “Ah, shit. You need me to go to First Kingdom and schmooze King Thold, don’t you?”

“My Premiers are too busy to leave, and out of all of us, you’re the most charming.”

“That’s not saying much. But fine, I’ll go try to schmooze him to give up some food in exchange for oil and gems.”

“Thank you.”

“But what if he refuses?” Judd asks.

I scrub a hand down my face. I really fucking hate being a king sometimes. “Then we’ll try to find another way to ensure people don’t starve.”

From the corner of my eye, I see Ryatt lift his head. There’s a slow roll of his shoulders as his neck straightens, his eyes meeting mine before he finally breaks his silence. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

The only reason I don’t rear back in surprise is because I’ve been bracing myself for his reaction since I walked in.

When I say nothing, he looks around at the others, head shaking. “Are all of you honestly just going to sit here and not even say it?”

“Say what?” Lu asks.

Ryatt tosses his arms out in frustration. “Oh come on! It’s obvious! How can everyone be fine with the fact that there’s a damn good chance the entire kingdom is going to starve?” His fierce gaze snaps back to me. “Auren needs to go to the Conflux.”

Fury gropes beneath my skin. It pokes and pries, trying to wrest me open and ooze out onto the floor. I glare at my brother, feeling that fury charge the air of the room.

“How can you say that?” Lu demands. “We all know the trial is a joke.”

“Yeah,” Judd agrees. “If she shows up, it won’t be good.”

Ryatt shakes his head. “No, they just want a show. They need to put on a spectacle, slap Auren’s wrist, and send her on her way. They know they can’t push too hard and risk angering Slade, because he’ll rot their entire kingdoms to the core. All she has to do is show up, let them run their little power trip, and come back. Then there’s no risk of war, no risk of starvation—”

“Listen to me very fucking closely,” I snarl out, my voice low and deadly. “I’m not bringing Auren anywhere near them, and if you suggest that again, you and I are going to have a very big problem.”

The look he gives me is so piercing I can almost feel it stab through my skin. “I think you should at least consider it. With you there, they can’t do shit to her. You’re supposed to put the kingdom first. You’re supposed to protect your people.”

I see red.

“What do you think we’re talking about?” I demand. “That’s what I’m trying—”

“No,” he cuts me off. “You’re trying to protect Auren. You’re willing to let your people starve at her expense.”

“No one is going to starve,” I growl.

He lets out a scoff. “You don’t know that. Everyone in Fourth is going to be impacted. And the army doesn’t deserve this. They just marched on a frozen fucking kingdom for no reason. You dragged them across the Barrens twice, and now that they’re just getting back, you’re going to make them stay here at the overcrowded base or go off to become farmhands? It’s ridiculous, Slade, and you fucking know it.”

Lu looks between us. “Hey, I think we should all just relax—”

“Fuck that,” Ryatt says, erupting from his chair like spitting lava, his outburst making the others spring to their feet, their bodies tense as if they’re just waiting for a fight to break out between us.

Ryatt barbs a finger in my direction, ignoring them completely. “Your priorities have already changed. Your loyalties are in the wrong place. Be a fucking king and take care of your damned people like you promised you would!”

“I am.” My tone is smooth on the surface, but the sharp and jagged angles are below, steeping in barbed and boiling anger. “Which is why you will put your helmet on. You will gather the army. And you will carry out the orders as I’ve commanded you to.”

“Fuck you!” he bursts out, foot swinging back to smack into the chair, sending it flying across the room and crashing into the wall.

I don’t even flinch. The others watch on anxiously.

I get to my feet slowly.

Unfurled from my spot so I can brace my hands against the table top. So we’re leaning head to head, eye to furious eye.

“It must be so easy for you, brother,” I say quietly, fury an undercurrent dragging my enraged tone forward. “To throw your tantrums. To pass your judgments. So easy. You know why?”

His cheeks are snagged with red ire, mouth silent.

“Because you have never had to make hard decisions,” I tell him. “I have always been the one to do that. You just get to sit by with your outbursts and your righteous anger, and tell me what a shit job I’m doing at everything, while you haven’t ever had to carry the load that I carry. And that’s what you don’t get. You’ll never get it.”

His eyes flash, but his impatient anger will never win out against my enduring rage.

“I am not going to be blackmailed. I am not going to send Auren to be put on a stage for the world to rip her apart for their own political gain. I am not a dog to be called to heel, and if you ever question my motives for my kingdom again, then I won’t hesitate to put you in your place.”

His chest heaves. Eyes flared, fists curling at his sides like he’s going to leap across the table and throw the first punch.

I fucking hope he does.

“So you can stand there and spew whatever bullshit you want as my brother. But at the end of the day, I am also your fucking king, and you will do as I command.”

The silence between us is a sword.

Double ended, pointing in both directions between us. It hovers in the air, stabs against my skin, keeping us held beneath sharp tips and readying to pierce us both through. We’re both held motionless, waiting to see which of us is going to fall on it first, which of us is going to bleed.

My relationship with my brother has always been complicated. Since he went from an innocent boy to a man layered thick beneath mantles of resentment.

And I always take it.

I always fucking take his anger, his arguments. Because for the most part, I deserve it. I destroyed our mother’s mind. I’ve imprisoned her in a cave she can never leave. I’ve made him non-existent, stuck beneath a helmet to play a part as my double.

And my father killed his.

But when it comes to this, when it comes to her, I’m not going to fucking take it.

Because he’s right. My priorities have changed. And I will let the world corrode and crumble in order to protect her. But that doesn’t mean I won’t do everything I can to protect my people too.

For several moments, nobody in the room moves. I don’t think Lu is even breathing. We’re all waiting to see if he’s going to explode, to finally throw that fist he’s making and aim for my face.

But he doesn’t.

I’m not sure who’s more surprised.

Instead, he turns and stomps out of the room, letting the door slam shut behind him. The moment it’s closed, my tense shoulders immediately slacken, hands dropping away from the table.

“Well,” Judd says, breaking the awkward silence. “That didn’t go so well.”

Lu sighs. “You know how he is. He’s protective of the army.”

“We all are,” Os replies. “And the rest of the kingdom. Doesn’t mean he has to act like a little shit about it.”

She glances at the door. “He’ll come around.”

Os grunts.

“So...is anyone else feeling a little Wrathy?” Judd prompts as he rolls back on his heels with a grin. I appreciate the gesture—appreciate him trying to lighten the mood. “When you give Manu your answer, they’re probably going to have some retaliation planned,” he says to me. “Does that mean we get to go fuck shit up for the other kingdoms?”

“Absolutely.”

His grin widens. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“While you go off to First Kingdom to make this deal, I need someone to be my eyes and ears in Sixth. I want to see what Queen Kaila is doing.”

“I can go,” Lu volunteers.

I give her a nod of thanks before my eyes track to Osrik. “Can you pull some of our best soldiers to watch the borders?”

“Of course.”

“The first sign of anyone approaching, I want to know about it,” I say.

“You gonna go all King Rot on their asses?” Judd asks, rubbing his hands together like the idea thrills him.

I give a slow nod. “If they push me, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.”